Florists Cyclamen – Cyclamen persicum and C. spp.

Common Name: Cyclamen, Florists Cyclamen

Botanical Name: Cyclamen persicum and C. spp., SICK-la-men or SYE-kla-men

Decorative Life: About 3-5 weeks or more in flower. Once flowering stops, the plant can live for many months.

Flower Color: Pink, Purple, Red, White

Availability: Winter, Year Round

Plugs can be stored for 5 weeks in the dark (6 weeks in light) at 36F and subsequently grown into very acceptable plants and/or flowers. Growing plants using 150 ppm nitrogen produced longer lasting plants after harvest than those grown using 200-300 ppm.

In one study, it did well if transported in 7 days or less at 40F. A second series of tests showed that it can be shipped at 34-68F for 4 days with no or little loss in postharvest life.

• The specific epithet name “persicum” probably means of Persia. This ties in with one use of this plant, as a Christmas plant in Germany.
• Cyclamen, from the Greek “kyklos” (circular, referring to the spiraling of the peduncle (flower stem) after flowering in some species.
• Will generally do well in light levels at least bright enough to read a newspaper in comfort. Some favorite cultivars and their respective flower colors include ‘Pannevis Romeo’ (red) and ‘Pannevis Boheme’ (wine red).

Ter Hell and Grantzau (1997) noted that high levels of ammonium fertilization during production caused increased abscisic acid and decreased cytokinin levels resulting in increased bud drop and leaf senescence after harvest.