Florists' cyclamen carry their delicate flowers — in shades of pink, red, white and purple — high up on wiry stems. With their intricately patterned, heart-shaped leaves and sweet, subtle scent, they're the perfect plant for Valentine's Day.
Cyclamen make wonderful gifts, and I've received quite a few in my day. Unfortunately, I've killed many as well.
With any plant, the clues to its care are in its physical form and native environment. Like all cyclamen, florists' — or Persian cyclamen, C. persicum — grows from a corm, which is a small, bulb-like structure, in this case about the size and shape of a horse chestnut. Its presence indicates that the plant goes through periods of dormancy and needs the food stored in that corm in order to survive.
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