How to keep Christmas Gift plants alive
Greetings 
I don't have houseplants usually but two arrived for Christmas.
One is a Cyclamen and the other is a minature Rose. Types are unknown sorry.
I would like to keep them going for as long as possible but what is best to do with them? I havent had much luck with Cyclamen in the past but could possibly have over watered them (?)
The last minature Rose I had dropped its leaves. I took it out of the pot and discovered it was three small plants rather than just a single one.I planted them in the garden in late Spring and one did very well...later died.
At the moment they are in the sitting room which is warm but not hot ...22c ish...and they have daylight but no sunshine
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Cyclamen need it cool. Water from below....don't over water. Twist dead flower stem off from the bottom.
Have never had success with miniature roses
Last edited: 27 December 2016 16:10:25
Both of these plants prefer cool conditions. 22 may not seem much to you but it's tropical to a cyclamen. Try it in a porch or unheated room for best results and water sparingly. The roses are brought on out of season to flower when sold and many never recover. Again, keep it cool and move outside in Spring. It would be ok in a frost free greenhouse if you have one but acclimatise it gradually, not straight from central heating to just above freezing.
Joyce21 and Posy, Thankyou both very much for your advice which I will follow
Edd, is it ok to keep them inside for a while longer? They are so pretty that Id like to enjoy them if possible or is that not a good idea?
Yes Whippet I too would want to keep them within view whilst in flower. However they do need to be kept cooler than 22 degrees if they are to thrive for more than a couple of weeks - it is far too hot for them at present and they will soon wither and die.
I had a present of a rose in a pot, which I planted out in a flower bed once the first flush of flowers had finished - however I the plant in a room with about 16 degrees. The rose
has flowered again since planting out.
OK Guernsey Donkey2 I'll move them to a cooler place ..probably the hall. They will be cooler but not cold and have light but no sunshine. Have you left your Rose outside for the winter? Its a lovely colour.
I had a couple of miniature roses a couple of years ago and ended up planting them outside. They stay out in the border all year round and have really grown well.........but not so miniature now!
Last edited: 28 December 2016 10:01:59
Enjoy them while they flower: that's what they are grown for. When they go over, do as suggested above.
Yes, like flowers in the rain, I too have kept my rose outside all year, after the initial flowering indoors when it was first given to me. I didn't expect it to thrive outside, but it has and has new leaf nodes on it right now ready for next year. I wasn't going to plant it outside as I thought there was no hope of it growing and flowering again, but thanks to advice on this forum I gave the rose a chance and am so glad that I did.
Agree with Joyce about the cyclamen, assuming it is c. persicum, the type usually sold as houseplants. You also need to rest them; In mid to late July, stop watering them and allow most of the leaves to die down. Put them outside in the shade protected from rain (pot placed on it's side by the side of a north-facing house wall is ideal.) Around mid October, pull the corm out of the pot and remove all of the old dry compost from the roots. Pot the corm into fresh compost leaving the top half of the corm exposed above the soil. Use some grit to cover the surface of the compost around the sides of the corm. Stand in water for half an hour and then don't water again until you see new growth. This should give you flowers for next Christmas.