CYCLAMEN
Try Cyclamen for big, bold winter color! This cool weather bloomer boosts unusually shaped, colorful blossoms and variegated gray-green elliptical leaves. Depending on the variety, the blossoms may be pink, lavender, deep purple, white, or red. Cyclamen needs cool temperatures to continue blooming, so be sure to keep this plant away from heat sources and, preferably, in the coolest part of the house.
To prolong the life of your plant, water the soil as soon as it feels dry to the touch. Avoid overwatering, and be careful not to spill water onto the crown (center) of the plant. If it becomes too dry, the leaves will wilt and may fall off, and flower buds may fall off too. You can also keep humidity high around plants by placing plants on a tray of moist pebbles; just don't let them sit in standing water. A McDonald watering TIP- would be to soak the pot from the base, as in a saucer for a few minutes, then drain the water. We recommend removing the flower stalks once they have finished blooming as this can promote renewed flowering. To do this, cut the dead leaves and spent flowers off with scissors. Be sure to remove completely, as stalks left on may rot and get gray mold disease.
If you want to try reblooming your Cyclamen for next winter, here’s some easy steps:
Once your plant stops blooming, reduce watering, and allow it to dry out. Remove the corn (the bulb-like structure from which leaves grow) from the soil, and place in peat moss, vermiculite, or a mixture of the two to keep it moist. Store it for a few months at 50 degrees F. In June, repot it in a mixture of equal parts peat moss, garden soil, and sand, keeping the upper half of the corm above the soil surface to help prevent rotting. Move it to a shady spot outdoors, and water as needed. Fertilize twice a month. Before the first autumn frost, bring your cyclamen indoors. Place it in a cool, sunny window, and wait for the blooms!