Quite a few years ago my secret pal at work gave me a cyclamen for Valentine's Day. It came in a hand-painted clay pot and had bright red blooms rising above the heart-shaped leaves. I thought it was a perfect Valentine's gift. It wasn't fussy, and it thrived on a shelf at work sitting in its pot on a tray of pebbles. I watered the tray of pebbles and let the plant take up what it needed. As the blooms died and leaves eventually yellowed, I pulled off dead flowers and leaves and left it on the shelf. It bloomed until late spring. I watered very infrequently for about three months and then eventually started to water it again around late September and it rebloomed in the fall. I still have this plant and I think about the person who gave it to me every day when I see it now in my kitchen window.
Cyclamens are perennials native to the Mediterranean region and grow from a tuber or a seed. The flowers can be hues of pink, red, peach and purple or white and bloom from the fall into June indoors. The heart-shaped leaves are green but can also have some silver in them too. Cyclamen need loamy, acidic soil with decent drainage. Some organic matter helps. I only water when the top inch or two is dry and then I only water until I just start to see the water running out the bottom of the pot. I make sure to check the soil first for moisture and to only water the soil around the tuber, not the tuber itself or the leaves of the plant. Cyclamen prefer bright, indirect light and a cooler, open, but not drafty space. Mine gets several hours of that in my north-facing window during the fall and winter. As the sun shifts around the house during the summer, that window and the plant get a lot less light. That is just perfect for a plant that goes dormant during the summer. Leaving it on the kitchen window shelf in its dormant state reminds me to give it a little water once in a while just to keep the roots alive. A little diluted, low in nitrogen, liquid fertilizer a couple of times a year (not during dormancy) also has helped this plant to keep on going.
Newer types of cyclamens have larger blooms, or ruffled edges with tiny white edging and some even have scent. All cyclamens are poisonous to eat for both people and pets. My cyclamen was a thoughtful gift all those years ago, and its beauty is still giving today.