It is likely the fault of the growers with their mass produced stock. I bought two this Christmas, a massive bunch of leaves and loads of flowers but they quickly went the same way as yours. After unpotting them and clearing all the peat away I found that they were growing from tubers the size of my fingernail. The tubers are exhausted from being forced in this unnatural condition.
I have re-potted the tubers in small pots with a well drained soil based compost and am hopeing for the best.
I don't know what the answere is with florists cyclamen. For the amount of top growth on mine the tuber should have been about four inches diameter but you don't know what you are getting when you buy from most outlets.

Thank you. I will repot the tuber at the weekend and hope for the best. Would you say I'd be better growing them myself ? NAT

Well yes, you would be better off growing them yourself if you know how. The normal method for us common gardeners is from seed, except that you don't get seed from these 'florists' cyclamen. The species cyclamen are not too difficult from seed and, in my opinion, far more interesting than the ones in the shops.
If you think that you might be interested in exploring this further start by looking at the Cyclamen Society wed page:
http://www.cyclamen.org/

I think Cyclamen are fascinating...thank you I will have a look a the website. Thank you for your time.

well they don't like being watered from the top. they quickly rot if you do. put water in the saucer they are in and after about an hour pour away any remaining water. They don't particularly like draughts either.
I have grown many florist's cyclamen from seed and with a lot of success. But I find they don't always come true to the parent one.
when you pot them up leave the top of the corm above the surface, for some reason they seem to do better this way.

sorry you have been poorly. Hope you are feeling fighting fit now.

I could never figure out this riddle either, but yellowing of leaves could indicate too much water. Water from below, keep leaves dry & let excess water drain away. Cyclamens go dormant late spring and could appear as though they are dead.

Nice to see you back NAT - hope you are feeling a lot better.
If you find Cyclamen fascinating you might like a legend I heard. As you may know they grow wild in Palestine. The legend says that after the death of Jesus they all bent their heads toward the ground and put their ears back, to listen out for his second coming!

You see thats how you learn ! I didn't know they grew wild in Palestine or about legend. I would love to be able to do these little flowers justice. I am definitely going to have a go at growing some from seed.

Guilty of watering from the top Seaburn girl so will remember to water the saucer and drain. Thank you for the top tip.

:)

Cyclamen needs higher light levels than the interiors of most houses, and cooler temps than most people find comfortable, and the transition from the cool greenhouses that they are grown in and indoor conditions hits them pretty hard. Where I live, we recommend that customers not keep them indoors for more than a few days, but keep them long term in bright shade out in the cold. In the UK, I imagine a conservatory or lightly heated greenhouse, no lower than -3º C, would serve the purpose.
Bulba, I don't know how they are grown in the UK, but the corms of 15 cm pot plants in the U.S. generally run from 3 to 5 cm in diameter

Thank you. Mine are definitely to hot if that's the case. AND overwatered. I am a very bad cyclamen owner :-/

Tugarden centre chainsg, I doubt that anyone in the UK actually grows 'florists' cyclamen for sale, certainly they don't in my area, northern Scotland. They are all imported from Holland where they are grown using futuristic methods in square miles of greenhouses. They are grown for profit; quickly (they are probably only a year old) and to look as big and bright as possible. Whilst our parents and grandparents used to keep these cyclamen on the windowsill for decades they are now sold to be treated as cut flowers :-(((. These comments primarily apply to sellers who buy in large amounts of cyclamen such as supermarket chains and garden centre chains which is all I have locally. There are specialist cyclamen growers, eg Ashwood Nursery, who grow wonderful plants but they are all species cyclamen rather than what we are talking about on this thread.

yes they do like cooler conditions. I suspect that's why they thrive with me thermostat set at 17c. [hardy northerner you see and with lots of lovely jumpers to wear] I have mine on windowsills facing north/west so don't get full sun either. I find the florists ones stop flowering late feb/march and then I either let them go dormant by reducing watering or keep them going and give them a regular feed.

if you like them Nat why not give garden ones ago. C hederifolium is an autumn flowering one and will spread by seed over the years. Then there is C coum that starts coming into flower in the spring. mine are just showing buds now.

I would love to grow some and much prefer to leave things in the ground so I will def look into that ! Thank you ! From a slightly soft 'Southerner' :)

NAT I've not grown many indoor cyclamen but the one that did best was on a north facing windowsill in an underheated room (I kept it at work where we were always cold...well I was anyway.) The cyclamen loved it. (It was one of the big ones not the little sort that are popular outdoors at this time of year) Remember to stand yours on a dish of pebbles and water the pebbles rather than the compost.

Thank you x

I cannot have one in my house either Nat, its too warm, after thirty years without success I'm pleased to say I now have some growing in the garden and increasing, not bad going that, lol.....Patience and determination won in the end....

30 years is some determination ;)