Cyclamen lovers know there’s nothing quite like seeing those unique blooms popping up on a windowsill, balcony, or out in the garden. While you can find them at the store pretty much year-round, there’s something way more rewarding about propagating your own plants at home.
Ways to Propagate Your Cyclamen
If you’re growing hardy garden cyclamen outdoors, you’re in luck—they usually don’t need much help from us! If they’re happy in their spot, they’ll produce seeds and naturalize all on their own.
However, if you want to multiply your indoor florist’s cyclamen, you’ve got two main options:
- Propagation by division
- Propagation from seed
Propagating Cyclamen by Division
This method is perfect for older plants that have developed a nice, chunky tuber. Once the blooming season is over, carefully dig the tuber out of the pot. A quick heads-up: make sure to wear gardening gloves! Cyclamen are toxic if ingested, and the sap can be irritating, especially from the tuber.
Gently brush off the soil and use a sharp, sterilized knife (this prevents any nasty diseases from spreading). Slice the tuber right down the middle. The key here is to make sure both halves have at least one “eye” or growth bud. These little bumps on the skin are where the new shoots will sprout from.
Plant both halves in loose, humus-rich soil that isn’t too heavy on nutrients. Place the pots in a bright spot, but keep them out of direct sunlight. With a little patience and regular (but moderate) watering, you should see new growth popping up before long.
Growing Cyclamen from Seed
If your cyclamen has developed seed pods, you can harvest them starting around May. You’ll want to let the seeds dry out thoroughly so the sticky coating breaks down—otherwise, they won’t germinate. Once your seeds are ready, here’s the game plan:
- Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours (rainwater is best if you have it!).
- While they soak, prep your seed trays with a mix of sand and potting soil.
- Scatter the seeds across the surface.
- Cover them with a thin layer of soil. This is important because cyclamen are “dark germinators”—they need total darkness to wake up.
- Mist the tray with a spray bottle rather than pouring water on it so the tiny seeds don’t wash away.
- Place the tray in a bright spot.
- Keep the soil consistently moist.
- Aim for a temperature around 68°F (20°C). It usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks for them to sprout.
- Once those first little leaves appear, you can carefully transplant your baby cyclamen into their own individual pots.
- From there, just treat them like your adult plants and enjoy the growth!
