From my perspective as a cyclamen, the most common reason I refuse to bloom again is that my natural life cycle is not being respected. After my spectacular store bloom, I am exhausted. I need a period of rest, known as dormancy. This typically occurs in the summer. My caretaker often mistakes this for me dying and discards me, or worse, continues to water me heavily, which will cause my corm (my storage organ) to rot. To encourage reblooming, you must allow me to enter this dormant phase by gradually reducing water as my leaves yellow and die back, then keeping my pot in a cool, dark place for a few months with just enough moisture to prevent my corm from shriveling completely.
My flowering is heavily influenced by temperature and light. I am a cool-climate plant. The forced environment of the nursery is perfect for triggering a mass bloom for sale, but your warm home is not. To get me to flower again, I need daytime temperatures between 60-65°F (15-18°C) and even cooler nights. A consistently warm room will stress me, causing me to hold onto my leaves but never initiate new flower buds. Furthermore, I need bright, indirect light during my growth period. Direct, hot sun will scorch my leaves and flowers, while too little light will result in weak growth and no flowers.
How I am watered is critical. I am highly susceptible to crown rot. Watering from above, directly onto my central crown (the top of my corm), is a death sentence. It invites fungal diseases that will kill me. I much prefer to drink from below. Please place my pot in a saucer of water for about 15-20 minutes, allowing the soil to soak up the moisture, then discard any excess. During my active growth period (leaf production and flowering), I also need nutrition. A balanced, water-soluble fertilizer applied at half-strength every 3-4 weeks provides the energy I need to produce those beautiful blooms. Without it, the soil becomes depleted, and I simply don't have the resources to flower.
The soil I came in from the store is often a lightweight, peat-heavy mix designed for efficient greenhouse production, not long-term health. Over time, it breaks down and can become hydrophobic or depleted of nutrients. Furthermore, my root system may eventually become pot-bound. While I don't mind being slightly root-bound, being severely constricted limits my ability to uptake water and nutrients. After my dormancy period, repotting me in a slightly larger pot with a well-draining, peat-based potting mix can provide a fresh start and the renewed resources I need to support a new cycle of growth and flowering.
