Droopy Cyclamen? Add Water!
Pots of blooming cyclamen are one of the highlights of winter here in Israel, and one of the signs of early early spring in the wild. I'll never forget my first glimpse of wild cyclamen, it was so exciting. Lest I digress, the point of this post is to really answer the question of what to do with a droopy cyclamen, and to help avoid panic if it happens to you. Now it is true, a droopy plant can happen for two reasons at totally different ends of the spectrum. One reason is too little water, and another reason is so much water that the roots actually rot and suddenly are unable to provide the plant with its needs. In the case of a cyclamen, which assuming is in a cool, shady spot and only watered once or twice a week, if the plant suddenly droops, you can safely assume that it needs more water, so give it a nice drink, and hopefully that was the problem. This has already happened several times with this plant, poor thing, but there are still new buds sprouting up, so we'll assume the plant has forgiven me!
I in turn have brought him indoors (together with my spider plants and all portable succulents) because the freezing temperatures will surely not be something he'd weather. indoors I just have to make sure to keep him away from any heat source, so next to a cold window is the best place until he goes back outdoors.
And for a bit of Israeli culture: There are songs about the cyclamen, called rakefet, that kids learn in kindergarten, as it is a seasonal symbol, so I think that when people see cyclame for sale aorund chanukah they just can't resist. I know I can't resist, and I didn't grow up with that song, just a love for flowers, and especially ones that bloom in what seems like the dead of winter! This year I haven't been out much but very fortunately a neighbor sent a plant to me which of course caused me to squeal with delight. I would like to buy some others in other colors, but it might be a bit on the late side now, i"ll have to check out the condition of any cyclamens for sale, if I do make it to the nursery any time soon. Honestly I'm too busy folding tiny bits of paper, more on that later!
