Hi RD,

Sorry no one has answered, I suspect they don't have the experience to know what to suggest. While I've had these plants several times, I've not been successful keeping them. I also once gave some to my sister for Thanksgiving, after a time hers pooped out too.

I don't know what to tell you, my experience is over time the leaves yellow & drop or if not drop & look all yellow, I removed them.

I don't think one prepares the plant for dormancy, I think the plant tells us when it's going by turning yellow. I just have no knowledge or experience in how to hold them over. I'm curious what it says online about how to keep them, I've never searched for that info.

I have some friends here in NYC who have some winter hardy Cyclamen in their yard that comes back every year, but I think that's exceptional, rather than the norm.

If the plant has had leaves for 4 months or so, it made enough food for the bulb. To send it into dormancy, just withhold water. The leaves will yellow and die, and the bulb should be stored in the hottest driest place you have, but not the oven. A garage or shed is fine. don't let the critters eat it, a few do. Come November, you will probably see new leaves coming out the top. Plant the bulb in good organic rich soils and water it normally. Feed it well for best results, but not with too much nitrogen.

These come from a region extending from the Mediterranean to Central Asia. Lots of bulbs from this region. Garlics, Tulips and Fritillarias come to mind. Places that get no rain in the hottest times, and many plants like Cyclamen grow in the cooler, wetter times. If the plant gets water all year, it will keep a few sad leaves and not bloom. A hot dry rest will re-set the cycle.