Any ideas what this little guy needs? Yeah, it probably wants a bigger pot, but would that cause the leaves to curl under like this?



I don't see any sort of vermin on it, so I don't think it's bugs.

It looks like it is feeling too warm ..needs some nice cool temps. What temps is it growing in?

The room it's in typically stays around 68 degrees, and it's on a west-facing window ledge. The other two cyclamen in the same environment seem fine, so far.

I remember my cyclamen was happiest between 55F to 65F and in part shade, to shade. Either it is pouting about the temps or little mites are feasting at the soil line.

Yes, I was just reading about cyclamen mites. Unfortunately, I just watered the little rascal, with a bit of fertilizer, so I hesitate to try the cure for mites I came across. It involves submerging the whole plant, pot and all, in 110 degree water to kill off the mites. Assuming that's the problem. Sigh.

Take the plant out of its pot, check the roots if its mite damage i subspect you'll know by the roots. also root rot or maybe an infection?

Shouldn't be root rot; I'm more likely to kill them off by forgetting to water! But I think I will re-pot it, after giving it the water torture just in case it IS mites. A nice clean pot and some fresh, well-draining mix surely couldn't hurt? The other one I have is just starting to set new blooms, so it's probably not the best time to re-pot, but I'm thinking that may be the lesser evil. Apparently most people just toss these plants when they're done blooming, but I've had mine for several years now. Heh, my friend who was helping me do some cleanup wanted to toss this one, thinking it was a dried up, dead plant. She didn't believe me when I told her it was just "resting."

I'm no expert on cyclamen...
I know they prefer cooler temps, but I do grow mine in very bright room that gets quite warm in the day--like 85 F--when the sun shines and cools off to about 65 at night, and they do alright. Blooming now..


mites can cause the leaves to curl--so very tiny it's practically impossible to see them--are there other signs of mite damage? stippling, spots, scars? or twisted, deformed leaves? The common cyclamen mites are sap suckers so you would see the evidence on the leaves...I would think...should be worst on the new leaves closer to the corm but it doesn't look that way...
I can't really tell in the pic--besides the curling, the stems look really long and lopsided as if the plant is reaching for light...

over/under watering?
I have curled cyclamen leaves before with sogginess and rot--like it's plenty wet and then I water it anyway for no good reason typically after I have failed to water it as if too much ever makes up for not enough
I can't say as I recall the edges specifically curling like that when I have failed to water and the whole thing must recover from catastrophic wilt when I haven't overcompensated...but maybe...
The one pictured above was a tortured office throw away--it was so pitiful I just removed all of its leaves and made it sit in the corner and think about itself until it was ready to start over; it didn't take very long. If you think it could be mites, you could remove the leaves, treat the corm, and repot

The only thing I'm really seeing is just the edges of the leaves curling under very tightly. No stippling, no spots, and the only thing deformed about the leaves is that they're curling under at the edges. And I've been VERY careful not to overwater. I lost one to that some years ago, so I am much more likely to under water, rather than over water. This plant very likely was looking for more light. I recently moved it from another location where it was kind of buried under the foliage of a bunch of other plants. The other two I have were in the same circumstances, but they don't have that leaf curl and look much happier. It's hard to find much information on these guys, because, as I mentioned before, most people seem to just toss them. A mite infestation also seems like a bit of a reach, as they have been indoors the whole time I've had them, and I have no other plants that would harbor that type of mite.
Do you think just re-potting would help? And should I get rid of the curled leaves?

I dunno...try it
A nice clean pot and some fresh, well-draining mix surely couldn't hurt?

Re mites: I am not convinced you have them necessarily, but who knows where those little nasties come from??? I mean, I know they do not just spontaneously generate--they have to come from somewhere. It could be that you have no other plants that harbor that type of mite so the mites crawled off that plant onto the cyclamen, if you brought home a new plant or brought one in from outside or something...
Although the internet says leaves curling under = broad mites, in my experience cyclamen leaves can curl like that if the plant is not happy for other reasons as well...

(on a not so funny note, my mother recently gave me a cute mini that she has had for about five years, indoors, and it does have mites I should have pitched it! but it has been (and will be) doused with Neem--currently blooming and making new leaves--we shall see...)

dirtdorphins said:
Although the internet says leaves curling under = broad mites, in my experience cyclamen leaves can curl like that if the plant is not happy for other reasons as well...

Oh that is good to know! I think I'll try just re-potting it and giving it a bit of fertilizer now and then and see how it does. I had one that inadvertently got over-soaked (standing water for a few of days!) and I literally had to wring it out, stuffed it into a pot of dry soil, and it recovered nicely. Which surprised the heck out of me!

okay--let us know how it goes
...maybe we can generate some info for the five or so people who don't throw them away

All the ones I have, I've had for several years. I only discovered by accident that they go dormant and will rebloom. I left one in a neglected room upstairs, and dumped a little water on it when I thought of it. Darn thing came back to life and bloomed beautifully! So I almost never give up on these guys.