Image – Flickr/Mauricio Mercadante
We are going to talk about one of the most appreciated plants in Europe for its winter flowering. It has great beauty, hardiness and many possibilities for ornamental use. It is cyclamen persicum. It belongs to the Primulaceae family and is native to the regions of Persia, the Middle East and Greece, hence its name Persian Violet or Alpine Violet.
Want to know more about this plant?
main features of cyclamen persicum
Image – Wikimedia/Zeynel Cebeci
The growth of this plant is globe-shaped and it has many varieties among which it can reach between 30 and 40 centimeters high. Although sometimes categorized as an annual plant, the Cyclamen is able to stay alive for many years to the point of naturalizing itself in your garden.
It is a perennial plant that has a large tuber and an upper central part that emits circular, heart-shaped, scalloped and mottled leaves with a silver marbled appearance. When it comes to flowers, we can see that the petals have a very special look as they fold in on themselves, enhancing their beauty.
They are hermaphrodites, so they grow on their own and are lightly fragrant. The color of its flowers can be varied. We meet colors of white to pink, red, salmon, etc
When the flowers are fertilized, they produce a capsule-shaped fruit that takes between 4 and 5 months to ripen. Its flowering period is very long, starting at the beginning of autumn and ending towards the end of spring. It only paralyzes its flowering in summer, when it enters vegetative rest.
Cyclamen Plant Care
The care you need to give him is quite simple as you will be able to discover now. In fact, it is a fantastic plant for beginners:
Is the cyclamen indoor or outdoor?
This plant can be used as an outdoor and indoor plant. If you want to use it as a houseplant in your house, you can only do that. for a period of two months because, even if it is subject to strict care, after this time spent at home, it can negatively affect the flowering and vigor of the plant.
If you decide to have it as an outdoor plant, it can help you prevent the cold season from making the garden so sad. The cyclamen persicum It is able to endure autumn and winter in bloom.
It is such a famous plant in Europe thanks to the fact that it has wide range of colors, quite exotic appearance, long flowering period which allows us to have the colorful garden and its great resistance to cold which allows to have it in winter and autumn. Because if we have the cyclamen persicum Inside or outside their support is different, we will differentiate them in two sections:
interior care
We can not forget that it is really an outdoor plant, so we will have to place it in very bright places. It is advisable to take them out from time to time on the balcony or terrace to keep them sturdy.
The plant needs a temperature between 12 and 15 degreesyou should therefore avoid placing them near stoves or radiators in winter.
To water it, add water directly to the pot without flooding it. We will place a plate under it and when the water is drained, we will remove the rest. You need a subscriber every 15 or 20 days. Fertilizer should be liquid and incorporate with water. The plant will need good aeration at all times.
treatment abroad
Outdoors, it requires less care. we will choose a place in partial shade and cool. They must be planted in very soft soil and be careful not to bury them beyond the level where they were in the pot when you bought it.
How to water the cyclamen?
The irrigation of the cyclamen will, in general, be moderate. This means you don’t need to water too much or too little, but it’s best to let the soil dry out a bit before adding water again. As it does not tolerate waterlogging, I advise you to check the humidity of the soil before watering.
Now it is also worth knowing that when thirsty, the flowers seem to “fall” and the plant looks sad. If you water it at this time, after a while it returns to its normal, healthy shape.
When to pay it?
The cyclamen persicum It can be fertilized from the first moment its leaves sprout until it finishes flowering. To do this, you can use liquid fertilizer or universal fertilizer, or powder, if it is in the garden.
When to plant the cyclamen bulb?
In reality, the cyclamen is not a bulbous plant but a tuberous plant. But it is true that their tubers are generally sold, which are planted in autumn, in pots or in the ground. It is important that it stays a little buried, so that the leaves and flowers can sprout without problems.
How is cyclamen stored in summer?
Image – Flickr/Romtomtom
During the summer, the cyclamen is inactive. It is a plant that is very affected by heat, so we will only see it beautiful during winter and part of spring. Now well, To keep it year after year, it must be placed in a place where there is no light and, above all, where it is cool. Water it if you see that the soil is too dry for the rhizome not to dehydrate, but do not fertilize it because it does not need it.
As you can see, this plant is well known throughout the Old Continent thanks to its great resistance to cold and can make our garden less desolate in winter. In addition, it has a wide color gamut and little overseas care.