Question
QUESTION: Hi there, I bought a lovely red cyclamen. I went on holiday for 2 weeks and when I got home my cyclamen was pink! I want to know if they can change color or did my friend accidently kill it and replaced it with a pink one! Thanks.

ANSWER: Hi Tina:

I don't know much about Cyclamen. Until recently it was just a house plant or florists flower. It is not one of the plants I grow, but I'll tell you what I know.

What I do know is that the original color was pink or mauve. They have just recently bred them to be red.

I do know that some flowers like the hydrangea do change color according to the acidity or lack of it in the soil. Did you change fertilizer before or during the time you were gone.

I have a question for you--If your friend replaced it and was trying to fool you, don't you think she would have gotten one the same color? Since it was red and is now pink and you couldn't help but see the difference, wouldn't she have told you about it, if she accidently killed yours?

Whether the plant changed color or your friend replaced it with a new one, you still have a healthy plant. Enjoy it.

         Myrna



















---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for that. The red cyclamen was a rare find and I thought maybe she couldn,t replace it with another red one and she may think that I think that they could fade or change color.Never changed fertilizer. And no she would never tell me if she had accidently killed it, as I made a big deal about her keeping it alive because I loved it so much!

Answer
Hi Tina:

I tried but this is not really not a question for annuals, because cyclamen is not an annual, it is a very tender perennial. If you really want to know ask one of the perennial experts. They probably know more about it than I do.
         Myrna