A coloring page of a potted cyclamen in full winter bloom. This is a free printable for adults and seniors: the petals sweep upward in narrow, pointed shapes and the heart-shaped leaves overlap in layers, so there is plenty of fine detail to pick out slowly and shade with care. Download the PDF and print it at home — no registration required.
🗣 Conversation Starters — for care activities and family time
Have you ever kept a cyclamen going through the winter?
Has anyone ever given you a cyclamen as a gift?
Does having flowers in the room change how a winter’s day feels?
In Japan the cyclamen is the subject of a much-loved ballad, “Shikuramen no Kahori” (The Scent of Cyclamen). Is there a song that a particular flower brings back for you?
What kind of plant is a cyclamen?
Cyclamen is a tuberous plant of the primrose family, native to the countries around the Mediterranean. Its petals turn sharply upward and backward, which gives the flower its unmistakable shape, and cultivated varieties come in white, pink, red and purple. In Japan it is the best-loved potted plant of the winter season and a common gift at the end of the year.
Why is cyclamen also called sowbread?
The tuber is round like a small loaf, and pigs are said to dig it up and eat it — hence the old English name “sowbread”. That name was translated word for word into Japanese, where the plant is sometimes called buta no pan, “pig’s bread”.
How can you keep a cyclamen flowering for longer?
Cyclamen dislikes heat and humid air. Keep the pot somewhere cool and bright, around 15–20°C (59–68°F), and water at the base of the plant rather than over the leaves. Take off faded flowers and yellowing leaves as soon as you notice them, and give a liquid feed once or twice a week to keep the buds coming.
