Indoor

Cyclamen

Petals swept back like wings above marbled foliage — and a bloom that arrives with the cold.

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Cyclamen — Petals swept back like wings above marbled foliage — and a bloom that arrives with the cold.

Care Profile

A guide to ensuring your botanical companion thrives.

Origin

Mediterranean

Light

Bright indirect

Watering

Weekly

Maintenance

Moderate

Cyclamen — detail

The stem that coils like a spring

The wild species grows in rocky ground and open woodland across the eastern Mediterranean, from Lebanon to Tunisia: active in winter, gone entirely in summer.

Once the flower is fertilised, the stalk coils into a spiral and lowers the capsule to ground level, where ants carry off the sugary seeds.

"Its stem carries the seed back down to the soil."
01

Styling Tip 01

Cool suits it

A room at fifteen degrees suits it far better than a heated living room: in warmth it fades within a fortnight.

02

Styling Tip 02

Water from the saucer

Water poured onto the tuber rots it: fill the saucer, let it draw for twenty minutes, then tip away the rest.

03

Styling Tip 03

Summer rest, not death

When all the foliage yellows in spring, that's normal: keep the tuber dry until September, then start watering again.

Bring the Sanctuary Home

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