Cyclamen Bulbs

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Order Dry Cyclamen Tubers Now For Autumn Delivery & Planting

Autumn & Spring flowering hardy Cyclamen produce dainty little flowers on leafless stems in shades of white, pink, red and purple.  

Cyclamen tubers were previously known as bulbotubers, which is now considered redundant.
Many readers grew up calling them corms (or just bulbs), which was a misunderstanding based on their shape, propagated by certain high quality plant nurseries who shall remain nameless.
Corms are like true bulbs, with a papery outer skin and a basal plate that all the roots sprout out of, but cyclamen tubers are like potatoes or dahlias, lacking the papery skin and producing roots all over if they feel like it.

They lie dormant through the summer heat, then depending on variety and weather, flowers appear between the end of August / early September and into the new year.

Cyclamen are easy to add to any size garden, and they make wonderful container or window box subjects. 

Browse our full range of flower bulbs, or our spring flowering bulbs. 

For strong establishment and the best flowering, we recommend using the Bulb Starter Rootgrow blend. 

How to Grow Cyclamen

Hardy cyclamens prefer partial or dappled shade in any fertile and well-drained soil.

2.5-5cm is about the ideal planting depth.Mulch over them when their leaves wither.

Difference Between Cyclamen coum and Cyclamen hederifolium

They are hardy, similar looking, and grow in the same conditions. The flowers fade after pollination and rapidly form a seed pod. The flower stalks corkscrew around the seed pod, pulling it closer to the ground. Both have the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

The differences are when they flower, and details in the shape of their leaves and flowers.

Cyclamen coum, Eastern cyclamen

• Blooms in Winter to early Spring, around late January to late March
• Flower colours are more diverse, from white to pink or purple-red
• Flowers are smaller, rounder, with no little bumps (auricles) at the base of the petals
• Leaves are smaller, in the shape of a rounded heart, with smooth edges

Cyclamen hederifolium, Ivy Leaf Cyclamen

• Blooms in Autumn to early Winter, around September-November
• Flower colours are less diverse, mostly pale pink or white
• Flowers are larger, longer, with little bumps called auricles at the base of the petals
• Leaves are larger, in the shape of a pointy heart or arrowhead, with a couple of angled points along the edges

Your bulbs are delivered by mail order direct from our nursery, along with expert advice and friendly support. 

See our handy bulb planting guide for the best flowering results.

Propagating Cyclamens

The easy way to propagate Cyclamen is to let them get on with it! 

If they are happy, the babies will come without you doing anything, and can be moved between September and November when they are 1-2 years old. 

How to Stop Squirrels Eating Your Cyclamens

There are several ways to stop squirrels eating your Cyclamen corms in harsh Winters.

The best way is to plant the corms beneath a piece of chicken wire mesh.

Cover the corms with about 2cm of soil, put the mesh on top of that, then cover with another 2cm of soil.With other plants like ivy rooting through it, the mesh will become immovable for your average squirrel. 

Pepper dust is effective when it's fresh, but needs regular re-application after rain, so we wouldn't bother. 

Cyclamen Planting Companions

Because cyclamens grow in Autumn-Winter, they are happy under most deciduous trees and hedges as long as the soil isn't too dry.

Planted under rose bushes, especially in the company of snowdrops and other spring flowering bulbs, perhaps hellebores too, it is possible to have a show almost 12 months of the year.

Cyclamen will do better than most other bulbs among ivy covering the ground.

Don't interplant the two cyclamen varieties, because the more vigorous Ivy leaf cyclamen tends to smother the less vigorous Eastern cyclamen.
Instead, plant swathes of them some distance apart, and they will mingle together in the gaps over time whilst maintaining their own turf.