When to plant cyclamen – a guide to autumnal blooms

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Whether you’re looking to fill your flower beds, pots or garden borders, these hardy perennials will add a range of shades to your garden – offering everything from pure white through all shades of pink, lavender and red. Planting them at the right time is key to securing strong and healthy growth and a well-timed flourish and this guide will tell you how.

Planting autumnal blooms is best done when the soil is still warm from summer, so right about now is ideal for a winter display of these delicately coloured flowers.

When to plant cyclamen

The beauty of this perennial plant is that there are different varieties which bloom at different times.

Planting a range of different cyclamens means you can enjoy the vibrant petals from winter, right through to spring with certain types.

Full hardy varieties are perfectly happy to stay planted all year round – so if you get started now, you’ll have very little maintenance in return for gorgeous flowers.

Plant in early autumn for a winter bloom – right about now is perfect for planting cyclamen.

Top-size tubers produce foliage and some flowers in their first year, often just weeks after planting.

How to plant cyclamen

The Royal Horticultural Society recommends planting cyclamen around three to five centimeters deep into the soil.

Avoid planting too deep, but do dig a large hole when planting to allow the roots to establish.

Tips:

To establish quickly, plant tubers when they are in root growth.

Position in part-shade and fertile, well-drained soil, avoiding excess summer moisture.

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Some species of cyclamen are more fragile growers and require warmer conditions in order to thrive, while others are very hardy and survive the most hostile of growing conditions.

The Royal Horticultural Society said: “Hardy cyclamen species and cultivars are ideal for naturalising under trees, on banks or in a shady border and planted in association with other early-flowering woodland plants such as snowdrops, winter aconites and primroses.”

Also known as ‘sow bread’, the cyclamen is a tuberous perennial which grows from a swollen root, called a tuber – its herbaceous properties cause foliage to die off each year during the winter and replenish annually.

Potted cyclamen

When planting a cyclamen tuber in pots, make sure you choose a pot that leaves about an inch of space around the outside of the tuber to reveal the delicate beauty of a well-grown cyclamen.

Grow your potted cyclamen in indirect bright sunlight for best results.

Cyclamen flowers have a multiple flowering stem and are topped with a sweet-pink flower with a small cluster of silvery marble patterned leaves beneath the flower, making for a great patio pot to brighten up the more neutral hues of autumn leaves.

The hardy perennial bulbs of cyclamen will repeat flowering each year for a continual show of autumn and winter blooms in your garden.

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