Cyclamen Care After Flowering: What To Do When The Blooms Die

Don’t toss out your cyclamen after flowering, you can keep it for years to come! In this detailed guide I’ll tell you all you need to know about saving them after blooming, and give you tons of tips for the best aftercare success.

Cyclamen is a popularly gifted winter plant that blooms around the holidays, but what do you do with it when it’s done flowering?

Instead of throwing it away, use the tips in this guide to learn what to do with your cyclamen after flowering.

It includes everything you need to know about the best aftercare, like deadheading spent flowers, watering, and much more.

Can You Keep Cyclamen After Flowering?

Yes! They’re often discarded but it’s actually possible to keep a cyclamen after flowering.

By taking the proper steps during and after blooming you can save the bulb instead of throwing it away. It can come back larger with new growth and blooms in subsequent years.

What To Do With Cyclamen After Flowering

The reason that many people end up tossing them out is that a cyclamen will naturally begin to die back shortly after it’s done flowering.

It’s nothing to worry about, and trying to stop it can actually interrupt the necessary natural cycle that allows it to survive and bloom another year.

But it is important to understand how to treat it during this time so it will survive the transition, and you can keep it afterward.

How To Keep Cyclamen After Flowering

You can read all about giving them the proper care in this guide, but the following tips will help you learn the specific steps to take after your cyclamen is done flowering.

1. Deadhead The Blooms As They Fade

Remove the spent flowers as soon as they fade to keep your cyclamen healthy and neat. 

Doing this will encourage more blooms and also prevent seed formation, which will help the bulb conserve energy.

Use sharp sterile micro snips to cut all the way at the base of the stem, or simply twist and pull them off.

Make sure the stem of each one is completely removed. Any remaining bits can rot and damage the bulb.

2. Do Not Fertilize

You should avoid fertilizing during or directly after the blooming period because cyclamen need to rest.

Feeding at the wrong time can stimulate them and interrupt their natural dormancy cycle. Without the rest, the bulb will ultimately die, so hold off on fertilizer completely.

3. Reduce Watering

Gradually reduce the amount of water you give them when the flowers begin fading. You want it to stay on the drier side.

A moisture gauge makes that easy to check, it should be in the 2-4 range.

As soon as the leaves begin to wilt and fade you should stop watering completely. Any moisture from that point on can cause the bulb to rot.

4. Cut Back The Foliage

As the leaves start to wither after flowering, you can remove them to keep your cyclamen looking nice.

Leave any green ones alone however. Those should stay on as long as possible to help build up energy reserves for the next year.

Once everything has died, cut all of the foliage down to the soil level.

Related Post: Why Do Cyclamen Leaves Turn Yellow & How To Fix It

5. Put It In Dark

After you’ve removed all of the dead leaves and flowers, your cyclamen will need to go through a rest period in order to bloom again.

Keep it somewhere dark, dry, and cool. You can learn all about how to get it through dormancy here.

FAQs

Here I’ve answered some of the most commonly asked questions about what to do with a cyclamen after flowering. If yours isn’t on the list, please add it to the comment section below.

Should I cut off dead cyclamen flowers?

It’s optional, but you can cut off dead cyclamen flowers as needed. It helps encourage a longer bloom time, and keeps it looking neat.

Do you cut back cyclamen after it blooms?

You can cut back your cyclamen after it blooms or as the flowers fade, and remove all of the foliage once it has wilted and died.

Should I cut the leaves off my cyclamen when it’s finished flowering?

You should only cut the leaves off of your cyclamen if they’re dead. Don’t cut off the green ones, as they’re necessary for the bulb to build up enough energy to survive until next year.

With these tips in hand you’ll now know exactly what to do with a cyclamen after flowering. Follow the steps in this guide and you’ll be able to keep it instead of tossing it out.

If you’re ready to learn how maintain healthy indoor plants, then you need my Houseplant Care eBook. It will show you all you need to know about keeping them thriving year-round. Download your copy today!

More About Houseplant Care

Share your tips for what to do with cyclamen after flowering in the comments section below.