How to Grow and Care for Hardy Cyclamen in the Garden

Cyclamen spp.

Hardy cyclamen (Cyclamen spp.) offer pretty, fairywing flowers with a wonderful, upswept profile that adds low-growing color during the cold, dark months of winter.

Sweetly scented with light floral, honey, or spicy notes, the upright, nodding flower clusters grow in bright shades of pink, purple, red, and white, emerging from handsome rosettes of foliage.

The intricate, patterned leaves in rich shades of green are often frosted or variegated in silver or white.

As tuberous perennials, they spread slowly at first, but within a few years, charming drifts of color start to form, often popping up when nothing else in the garden is flowering.

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More petite than the popular florist varieties, hardy cyclamen species are naturals for settings like alpine beds, banks, containers, edging, rockeries, and window boxes.

They thrive in dry shade (yes, dry shade!) and make excellent seasonal ground cover under deciduous shrubs, trees, and woodland fringes.

Most varieties go dormant and lose their foliage during the summer.

New growth emerges in late summer to early fall followed by six to eight weeks of flowers in late fall, winter, or early spring, depending on the variety.

Hands-off care, hardy, and ideal for shady spots, does your garden need a splash of color when the days are short?

Then let’s dig into the easy steps of how to grow and care for hardy cyclamen in the garden!

Here’s what you’ll find ahead:

The Cyclamen genus has over 20 species with most categorized as hardy or semi-hardy.

Cyclamen is both the common and genus name, but these plants are referred to by a few other monikers as well, such as sowbread, and alpine or Persian violets.

Hardy varieties are suitable for outdoor planting in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9, depending on the species.

The semi-hardy types typically thrive in Zones 6 to 11 and are best suited for cultivation in greenhouses.

Most of the florist varieties are hybrids of C. persicum, which are cold-tender and suitable for outdoor growth only in Zones 9 to 11.

But they’re superb indoors! Read more in our guide to growing cyclamen houseplants.

The most common garden varieties are the species C. coum and C. hederifolium, but many other types are also worthy of consideration, such as C. cilicium, C. purpurascens, and C. repandum.

Our roundup of 15 different types of cyclamen has the details on these and many more.

And by selecting plants with different bloom times, you can extend the flowering season to several months!

Cyclamen plants are herbaceous perennials that grow from round or patty-shaped tubers, with mature ones reaching six to 12 inches wide.

If planted in a perfect spot, the tubers can live for up to 100 years!

Leaves emerge from growing points on the top of the tuber, and most species go dormant for summer with the foliage dying back.

Although a few species, such as C. purpurascens, are evergreen.

The pretty leaves are generally rounded or heart-shaped with a roughly triangular outline, and feature patterns and variegations in a wide range of green tones, often iced in cream, silver, or white.

Multiple flower stalks rise from the tubers with nodding, five-petaled flowers.

The recurved petals are fused at the base with a rounded or triangular shape, and often with a twist that gives an appealing sense of motion.

Flower colors include magenta, mauve, flame orange, scarlet, pink, purple, and white. After flowering, the stalks of many species coil around the seed pod and pull it back down to the soil.

How to Grow

Although dainty in appearance, hardy cyclamen are vigorous, easy-to-grow plants.

The tubers look like rounded or compressed bulbs, slightly patty-like, and the best time for planting is in late summer, fall, or even winter if the ground isn’t frozen.

Plant with the main root cluster end at the bottom – the tops typically have a slight depression and/or small clusters of old stem material.

You can plant singly or scoop out a large hole with a garden spade, amend the soil, then place several together to fill into drifts, spacing plants six to 10 inches apart.

Settle plants in place with the tuber tops just below the surface of the soil, avoid planting too deeply, which can restrict flowering.

Water lightly to settle.

Light

Hardy varieties do best in bright, indirect light and are typically planted in partial to full shade.

The dappled winter light that falls at the base of deciduous or mixed groups of trees and shrubs is ideal.

Soil

Cyclamen plants are tolerant of a range of soil conditions but do best when planted in humus-rich, well-draining soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH of 6.0 to 7.0.

Use a garden fork to loosen the soil to a depth of 12 inches and amend with compost, leafmold, well-rotted manure, or worm castings, working in one shovelful for each plant.

If needed, add some gritty material to improve drainage. Use materials such as landscape sand, crushed shells, pea gravel, or stone chips.

Mix in a tablespoon of bone meal per plant to help promote fast and strong root growth.

Water

The hardy varieties do best with regular moisture during the growing season of fall through spring, with the soil kept lightly moist but not wet.

Provide one inch of water per week as needed or when the soil surface is dry to touch.

To keep the tubers healthy, avoid soggy conditions – wet soil is a leading cause of tuber or root rot.

During summer dormancy, tubers do best in dryer conditions. Water only occasionally to prevent them from drying out completely.

Temperature and Humidity

Containers

In cold regions, use containers made from materials that can withstand freezing temps without damage.

And it’s very important that pots and planters have good drainage.

I like to line my pots with a couple of inches of porous materials like broken pottery, tile shards, or shells to prevent the soil at the pot’s bottom from becoming soggy.

Fill with humus-rich, well-draining potting soil that’s peat-free and mix in one tablespoon of bone meal per plant.

Plant singly in small containers or group several together in larger planters.

Place plants with the tuber’s crown just below the surface and backfill with soil.

Firm gently in place and water lightly to settle.

Fertilizer

Planted in humus-rich soil, sowbread needs little additional fertilizing.

But to keep your plants at their best, work in a two-inch top dressing of compost, manure, or worm castings to the root zone in early autumn after new growth is established.

Alternatively, a slow-release fertilizer with a balanced formula can be scratched into the surface in autumn.

Burpee Enhanced All Purpose Plant Food

I like certified organic products like this 5-5-5 (NPK) Burpee Enhanced All Purpose Plant Food.

You can find this product available at Burpee.

Species and Cultivars

Tubers are generally available from online bulb and garden shops.

Specialist societies that focus on bulbs or cyclamen species may also have opportunities to source tubers by exchange or purchase.

They can also be found as nursery plants in larger garden centers in late winter and early spring.

Here’s a look at some of the popular hardy species:

Cilicium

C. cilicium is a fall-flowering, mountainous species with handsome, variegated foliage and white to deep pink blooms with a sweet, honey-scented fragrance.

This species is native to southern Turkey and is hardy in Zones 5 to 9.

Coum

C. coum, aka eastern sowbread, is among the most popular of hardy varieties, with unscented white, pink, or magenta blooms that flower through winter.

This species is native to coastal and mountain regions around the Black Sea and the northeastern Mediterranean, and is hardy in Zones 4 to 8.

Hederifolium

C. hederifolium is a garden favorite known as the ivy-leaf variety and is among the best for coastal climates, with magenta, mauve, pink, or white flowers in fall that may be scented.

This species is native across much of the northern Mediterranean region and southern Europe.

It’s hardy in Zones 5 to 9.

You can pick up packets of two bulbs that produce pink flowers from Holland Bulb Farms via Walmart.

Purpurascens

C. purpurascens is a variegated charmer that flowers from late summer through fall, with sweetly scented blooms of rosy pink to purple.

Hardy in Zones 5 to 8, C. purpurascens is native to central Europe, from the Alps and France east through the Balkans, with a separate subspecies in the Carpathians of Slovakia.

Repandum

C. repandum is a spring-flowering species known as spring sowbread. The rosy pink to magenta flowers have a strong, sweet perfume.

It’s native to Italy, the western Balkans, and southern France, and is hardy in Zones 5 to 9.

Maintenance

Propagation

Species plants spread slowly through tuberous self-division, although they don’t produce offsets or pups.

Each year as the tubers expand in size, they develop new growth points for flowers, leaves, and roots.

Some species self-seed as well, and while it’s possible to start new plants indoors from seed, this is a slow process, and it can be a few years before flowers start to appear.

A faster method is through division. For hardy types, this is typically done in early to mid-fall, or towards the end of their dormant period. Here’s a look at the steps involved:

1. Use clean, sharp shears to cut back dry or dead foliage close to the base.
2. Using a garden fork, trowel, or small spade, carefully lift tubers from the soil. 
3. Gently brush away the soil to expose the roundish tuber.
4. With a clean, sharp knife, cut the tuber into two to four equal sections, each one with growth points for foliage and flowers plus roots.
5. Dust the cut surfaces with a fungicide such as garden sulfur to help prevent root rot.
6. Plant each tuber section with the growing points for foliage and flowers just above soil level.

New divisions can produce flowers in their first year.

Pests and Disease

Cyclamen isn’t targeted by a lot of pests, but can occasionally fall victim to aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, and thrips. The main disease concern is root rot.

Use a strong stream of water from the garden hose to knock off a few bugs or use an insecticidal soap for more difficult infestations.

If I must use a pesticide, I like ones with natural repellents like Bonide neem oil, which is available at Arbico Organics.

Bonide Neem Oil

Root rot is best dealt with through prevention. To ensure a well-draining site, amend the soil with grit before planting.

Colorful Shady Characters

For colorful winter flowers in shady settings, hardy cyclamen delivers in spades!

Plant in loose, humus-rich soil in fall and keep the soil lightly moist during the growing season.

And when the plants go dormant, water only occasionally to keep the tubers happy and prevent rot.

After new growth emerges, supply a topdressing of compost or scratch in some slow-release fertilizer.

Then kick back and enjoy weeks of scented, jewel-tone flowers in fall, winter, or early spring!

Do you folks have a favorite cyclamen for your shade gardens? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

And for more colorful winter flower ideas, add these guides to your reading list next:

• How to Grow Hellebores: The Winter-To-Spring Sensation
• How to Grow and Care for Winter Daphne
• How to Grow and Care for Crocus Flowers