Question
Have read your advice concerning yellowing leaves, which I am trying to prevent.

Should I water indoor pot-grown cyclamen from the top, please?

Generally, I have watered them from the bottom, making sure that they do not stand in water for too long.

I am concerned that watering from the top may cause the corm to rot.

Answer
Hi Martin,

The advice to bottom water Cyclamen so as not to wet the corm is misguided. If the corm is exposed to very cold water or if the top half-inch of soil is never allowed to dry, then the corm will rot and the plant will die. But that can happen with bottom watering, as well.

My advice is to use room temperature water and water from the top as soon as the top half-inch of soil is dry or the leaves start to wilt slightly, whichever comes first.

Be aware that Cyclamen prefer cool temps and tend to go dormant in temps much higher than 70 degrees F. So yellow leaves may be a result of warm temps, not improper watering. If that happens, don't overwater and try to provide cooler temps. Even if all of the leaves die back because of warm temps, the corm will produce new leaves as soon as temps are cooler once again.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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