How to Water a Cyclamen?
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Were you given a magnificent Cyclamen for the holidays, but a few weeks later, the stems droop and the leaves turn yellow?
Don't feel guilty. The Cyclamen (Persian Cyclamen) is a robust plant, but it has an Achilles' heel: its bulb hates stagnant moisture.
Watering a cyclamen requires a particular technique to avoid rot. Here is the complete guide to keep your plant flowering all winter and make it re-bloom the following year.
1. The Golden Rule: Never wet the heart!
To water properly, you need to understand the plant's anatomy. Cyclamen grows from a tuber (a kind of large, flat bulb) located on the surface of the soil.
The Danger:If you pour water directly into the middle of the leaves (on the tuber), the water will stagnate. This causesgrey mold (Botrytis). The stems become soft at the base and detach.
2. How to water without killing the plant?
There are two schools of thought for hydrating a cyclamen without risking rot:
Method A: Soaking (The safest)
Fill a saucer or the bottom of a sink with water. Place your pot in it and let the plant drink from the bottom for 15-20 minutes. Then, drain well. The soil is moist, but the bulb remains dry.
Method B: Precision Watering (The fastest)
If you don't want to move your pots, you can water from above, under one strict condition:aim only for the edge of the pot, carefully bypassing the central bulb.
The surgical precision tool
To slide water along the edge of the pot without touching the central bulb or wetting the foliage, a long, thin spout is needed. This is the specialty of our copper watering can.
- 🎯 Fine Spout:Allows you to sneak under the leaves to aim for the soil.
- ✨ Copper Stainless Steel: A healthy material that does not rust.
3. When to water?
Cyclamen likes coolness (ideally 15-18°C). In our living rooms heated to 20°C, it gets thirsty faster.
- The Finger Test: Touch the soil. If it's dry on the surface, water.
- The visual sign:If the flowers start to slightly droop their heads, it's an emergency!
Attention :NEVER spray water on cyclamen leaves or flowers. Unlike tropical plants, it hates it and it promotes diseases.
4. Help, it's dying in spring!
That's normal! Cyclamen is a plant with an inverted cycle. It flowers in winter and rests in summer.
From April/May, the leaves will turn yellow and fall off. Don't throw away the plant!
- Gradually stop watering.
- Cut off the dried leaves.
- Place the pot (with the bare bulb) in a cool, dark place (garage, cellar) all summer, without water.
- In September: Repot the bulb in fresh potting soil and resume watering. It will rebloom!
5. And for wild Cyclamen (from Naples)?
In the garden, cyclamens (oftenCyclamen hederifoliumorlike) are much more autonomous. They grow in the shade of trees.
They generally do not need watering, except in cases of extreme drought in autumn when vegetation resumes.
Your turn!
The secret of the cyclamen lies in one sentence:Freshness, and water on the sides, never in the middle.
With the right precision watering can, you will keep your plant year after year.
View the Design Watering Cans collection