How To Deadhead Cyclamen {A Simple Guide}

Deadheading plants is actually a great way to not only keep your garden looking nice and fresh, but it can also help to keep them healthy. But how to deadhead Cyclamen, I hear you cry!

Luckily, we have a good few hints and tips to help you make your Cyclamen bed as healthy and happy as it can possibly be.

What To Do With Outdoor Cyclamen After Flowering?

Once your outdoor Cyclamen have finished producing their beautiful flowers for you to enjoy, it’s time to show them a little love.

1. Remove the stems once the flowers have finished. This will encourage good strong growth the following year.
2. Mulch well with compost or bark chips to keep the roots warm and protected.
3. Stop watering once you see signs that the leaves are starting to die off, to prevent the roots from rotting.
4. Do not fertilize once the leaves have died back, as the plant is now dormant and won’t need the extra nutrients.
5. Ensure the plant is shaded from the heat of the sun, and that it doesn’t get too hot in the summer months.

If you look after your outdoor Cyclamen after they have finished flowering, these hardy little beauties will reward you by popping up again the following year.

Should You Deadhead Outdoor Cyclamen?

The short answer is yes, you should! Deadheading extends the flowering life, and improves the health of the plant.

Deadhead your Cyclamen regularly, while at the same time checking for signs of disease or faded leaves.

You’ll know which flowers to pick off – they will be faded and drooping, and will come away easily in your hand when you pull them.

However, you should only nip off the dead flowers and tweak off the stems – do not cut the stems, as this can allow diseases to reach the roots of the tuber.

Follow the dead or dying stem at the way down to the ground and tug it upwards sharply – but watch out that you don’t break off a piece of the tuber!

If you deadhead the plant, and clear off the debris on top of it at the end of the flowering season, it will reward you by returning full strength the following year.

This simple video will take you through the steps of how to deadhead Cyclamen:

How Do You Deadhead Cyclamen?

Deadheading your Cyclamen will encourage it to bloom from winter through spring, and will prevent seed development.

The plant will try to create new seeds, for which it needs flowers – so removing the spent flowers will encourage new petal growth!

• Check the plant every few days for fading leaves and browning petals. These are what will need to be removed.
• Grasp the stem just below the petals, and follow the stem to the soil.
• Tug it firmly, but not hard enough that the tuber starts to break off. If the stem does not break off easily, give it another day or two.
• Do not cut the stems with a knife or scissors, as this can allow diseases to reach the roots of the tuber.
• Remove the yellowed leaves when the Cyclamen goes dormant for the year. You should also remove any remaining flowers at this point.
• Take off any debris from the top of the plant, to prevent fungus and plant disease from affecting the roots.

This short article will help you with some more tips to deadhead your Cyclamen.

How Do You Store Outdoor Cyclamen For Next Year?

Outdoor Cyclamen will need to be kept in a similar way to their indoor counterparts – in a cool place, with dry soil.

If you do not want to dig up your Cyclamen and move it, you can use other things to mimic the conditions that it likes best:

• Spread bark chips. This will keep the soil safe from the worst ravages of the hotter weather.
• Plant taller, shady plants to give your Cyclamen a break from the hot summer sunshine.
• Lay off the watering. Your Cyclamen does not need any extra drink while it is dormant, as this can cause the roots to rot.
• Don’t add any fertilizer. The plant doesn’t need it while it is dormant, and adding any will not help it.
• Remove any spent flowers and dead stems, to prevent any rot or disease from getting to the roots.

You don’t have to “store” your outdoor Cyclamen as such – the soil will do that for you!

However, if you want to dig up the tubers – for example, to move them somewhere else the following year – then this is also an easy thing to do.

1. Using a fork or sharp spade, dig around the plant a good few inches away from where the foliage was.
2. Gently lever the fork upwards, lifting the tubers out of the ground and being careful not to break off any parts of it.
3. Brush off the mud, and make sure the bulb is not damaged in any way.
4. Place it into a paper bag, and store it in a completely  dark, cool spot. In a drawer in the shed is an ideal spot.
5. The tuber will need to be completely dark, and cool enough that it is not damaged when you take it out of the bag for replanting.
6. The area you store it in also needs to be completely dry; moisture should not be allowed to reach the bulb or it may rot.
7. When you’re ready to replant, simply dig a hole in well draining soil and plant as you would normally.
8. You may not see any flowers the year you replant your tuber, but it will be worth it the following year!

Cyclamen is a lovely little flower, and one that can reward you for many years to come – as long as you look after it well. Deadheading is part of this maintenance!

Hopefully you are now armed with the best knowledge to keep your Cyclamen bed looking as beautiful and healthy as you can.