Cyclamen Metis Mix

Cyclamen Metis Mix (Cyclamen persicum 'Metis') is the mini cyclamen that flowers through the coldest, dullest months of the year. Plants stay compact at about 20cm high and wide, with silver marbled leaves and upswept flowers held clear above them. The mix runs across white, pink, magenta and red, so one order plants a whole winter display.

Why you'll love it

• It flowers when nothing else does. The main flush runs from autumn through winter and into early spring, exactly when most gardens go quiet.
• Compact enough for any pot. At 20cm each way it suits a small pot, a window box or the front edge of a shaded bed.
• Marbled foliage earns its place. Even between flushes the silver patterned leaves hold the display together.
• A mixed range in one order. Colours come as a mix rather than a single shade, which suits a run of matching planters.

Where it works best

Pots and containers. This is the best use. A 200mm pot holds three plants comfortably, and a table or windowsill puts the flowers at eye level.

Indoors. Cyclamen make good short term indoor plants in a cool, bright room. Keep them off a heated windowsill, since they sulk above about 20 degrees Celsius.

Borders and small gardens. Plant 20cm apart along a shaded path edge in cool temperate, warm temperate and Mediterranean gardens. They take light frost only.

Growing cyclamen in Australia

Position and climate. Bright shade or morning sun, with shelter from hot afternoon sun. Cool temperate, warm temperate and Mediterranean gardens suit them best. Humid subtropical and tropical summers rot the tuber, so those gardens should treat them as a winter season plant.

Soil. Free draining and open, with the top of the tuber sitting just proud of the surface, because buried tubers rot. In pots, use a quality mix opened up with perlite.

Water and feed. Water into the saucer or around the edge of the pot rather than over the crown, and let the surface dry between drinks. A half strength liquid feed every three weeks through the flowering season keeps buds coming.

Pruning and dormancy. Twist spent flowers and yellow leaves off at the base rather than cutting them. As the weather warms the plant goes dormant, which is not death: stop watering, keep the tuber dry and shaded through summer, then start again in autumn.

What to expect when it arrives

These are grown as tubes and in 140mm pots sold in packs of ten. Tubes are young plants, often with a few leaves and no flowers yet, and they are the value option for a border. The 140mm plants are the ones for immediate colour, arriving in bud or flower and ready for a display pot.

Cyclamen travel with the flowers folded in, and a few bent stems on arrival are normal. Unpack them straight away, water lightly and give them two or three days somewhere cool and bright. Delivered Australia wide, delivery from $29.95, minimum order of $300 before delivery, with our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse indoor flowering plants
• Plants suited to pots and containers
• Choosing the right size pot
• Plants for partial shade

Common questions

Are cyclamen safe around cats and dogs?

No. The tuber holds the highest concentration of toxic saponins, and eating it causes vomiting and, in quantity, worse. Keep pots off the ground where a dog might dig.

Why have the leaves gone yellow and floppy?

In late spring this is normal dormancy, so stop watering. At any other time it usually means water sitting on the crown or a pot that is not draining, so check both.

Do they come back the next year?

Yes, if the tuber is kept dry and shaded over summer. Left in a wet bed through a humid summer most will rot, which is why pots are safer in warmer parts of the country.

Can I choose the colours?

Not with this one. Metis Mix is supplied as a mixed range across white, pink, magenta and red, and the split varies between batches.