A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Cyclamen

I have a five year old cyclamen that used to bloom continuously. I repotted it and after that the blooming slowed down and now there are no blooms at all. In addition, there is some kind of parasite attacking the leaves. There are brown bumps on the leaves which I have sprayed down numerous times with insectisidal soap but it hasn't gotten rid of them. Then if all this isn't bad enough, there is some kind of really sticky sap like substance on the pot of the plant, the shelf beneath it and the window blind behind it. What is this and how do I get rid of it? Also, how do I help my plant to bloom again?
Thank you!

Welcome!! I'm really novice, but i had a cyclamen last year and the brown spots were from drops of water on the leaves (i misted mine) but im assuming you've been watering by putting the pot in a saucer of water? as for brown bumps...the only things that I can think of that are bumps would be scale but i dont think they attack leaves, i know you find them on the stems of plants. I know brown soft scales will get to leaves too, and the secrete a sticky substance (i think its called honeydew). Scales have a hard covering over their bodies so its hard to control with sprays, may i suggest hand picking them off (or pry them off with a tooth pick or similar) or try using soapy water to wash the leaves (wipe with clean water to remove the soap afterwards) or use alcohol to get them off (touch q-tip wet with alcohol and rub the sides of the insect to get the alcohol under their protective shell. yo have to watch over a period of 2-4 months (i think) because their life cycles last that long and their eggs hatch withing that time period so maybe look for them on the plant every week or so. Maybe the reason for stopping blooming is because its season is over, or maybe the bulb is exhausted, or maybe it hasn't grown into the pot yet. Do you give the cyclamen a rest period for it to go dormant each year? I know its a long post and ive probably confused you, but i hope you get my point (generally). try to google up Coccus hesperidum or brown soft scale. Try this website: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05595.html and see if that's what's on your plant. More people might be able to help with positive ID