Why Plants Die
Theme

Greek Cyclamen

Cyclamen graecum, Primulaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Greek Cyclamen (Cyclamen graecum), the whole plant.
Averater, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Greek Cyclamen is toxic

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Toxic to people. The bulbs are ornamental and should not be eaten. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS

What the sources say about its care

Light
Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H3 — -5 to 1°C -5 to 1 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
The bulbs are ornamental and should not be eaten. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Its thick roots search out and store water, and watering while flower buds form encourages blooms.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Seed
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Sow seed in darkness once ripe. Soaking the seed for 10 hours before sowing can help.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Pruning is not needed.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by cyclamen mites.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Can be troubled by vine weevil, mice, glasshouse red spider mite and cyclamen mite. Diseases: cyclamen grey mould, especially under glass.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

About the plant

Cyclamen graecum, the Greek cyclamen, is a perennial plant in the flowering plant family Primulaceae that grows from a tuber. It is native to southern Greece and Crete, and is prized for its variable leaf forms, which include some of the most striking of any cyclamen.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Greece, Kriti
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Greece and Crete
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Greece, Cyprus, Turkey
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
subtropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
tuberous geophyte
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Herbaceous Perennial; habit clumping
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Tufted (deciduous)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 2–4 in; width 4–12 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height Up to 10 cm; spread 0-0.1 metre after 2–5 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers pink, purple/lavender, white; blooms in fall
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowers pink in autumn
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Uses

What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.

The bulbs are decorative and are not for eating.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Cyclamen

More of the Primulaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.