The Cyclamen Society Winter Show

[Tim Murphy]

On Saturday 3rd February, The Cyclamen Society held its winter show in the Hillside Events Centre at RHS Wisley. We had great weather and I've never seen so many visitors to a Society show before. Some nice plants were exhibited and I have some photos of those plants. The artificial lights made photography difficult and some of the colours in the photos are off a little, but they are good enough to show how good some of the plants were.

1. C. alpinum
2. C. alpinum
3. C. alpinum
4. C. coum
5. C. coum
6. C. purpurascens
7. C. hederifolium
8. C. rohlfsianum
9. C. parviflorum
10. C parviflorum

[David Nicholson]

Thanks for sharing those Tim, some lovely plants

[Maggi Young]

Foliage is super in pix 6,7,and 8, Tim. Never seen a hederifolium quite like no. 7. Great to get a chance to see these plants from the Cyclamen Society.
 Some of our nicest Cycs are grown from Cyclamen Society seed... join 'em, folks, and see!

[Lesley Cox]

Lovely plants indeed Tim. It seems C. rholfsianum never throws a dud, so far as folige is concerned. My first flower was out yesterday on C. cilicium, very dry under an oak tree but struggling valiently on. The tuber is 12 cms across now. And I found another full of buds when weeding a trough. So the beginning of autumn already. We had 2 days of summer early in the week though. Fog today "Season of mists....." and all that.

[Tim Murphy]

I'm especially pleased you like the C. purpurascens in photo 6, Maggi, as it's my own plant
You're right, the Cyclamen Society is a fantastic source of seed. If it's diversity within species you're looking for, it's unrivalled.

I think you're right Lesley; I don't recall ever have seen an ugly rohlfsianum. I try not to grow too many of them here because they end up taking up too much room. I wish I could grow it outside...

[annew]

Fantastic - that hederifolium is quite something.

[Maggi Young]

Does your  C. purpurascens smell as good as it looks, Tim? I've never had one in flower at this time of year, so I wondered if the scent was missing so early and in the cold weather?

[Tim Murphy]

It does smell as good as it looks, Maggi, yes! I get the main flush of flowers during August and September and then another smaller flush from November until around now. I've never been able to explain this second flush though. I don't think that there is a month when I don't have a flower on one of the purpurascens here, although that's probably due to the amount of them I have here, NOT because I'm doing anything special!

[Maggi Young]

It is a really yummy scent, isn't it? One of our favourites. Our purpurascens will throw an odd flower out of synch with  the main flush, but for January and February they are usually lying low!

[Paddy Tobin]

Tim,

Great plants. C. parviflorum is particularly beautiful.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

C. parviflorum is particularly beautiful.

 It is, Paddy, but, you know, I find cyclamen to be covetable in all its forms... foliage, flowers, wonderful sculptured corms, all full of interest.  And some so tough, too. Think of Tony Goode's pic of C. coum sitting proudly in the snow, quite unabashed.  I think that was in the flowering now page lately.

[Tim Murphy]

Paddy, I agree with your comment about C. parviflorum. It's a fantastic species and on a warm day the glasshouse smells of nothing else when my plants are in flower. It does well here, probably because I treat it in the same way as I do C. purpurascens and never let it dry out. I'd like to try some outside, but haven't been able to muster up the courage

[Paddy Tobin]

Tim,

I don't grow C. parviflorum as yet but do C. purparascens and do so in the open garden where it does very well, raised bed, good drainage and top-dressed with mulched bark. It is very good to give a different season of flower to the more usual C. hederifolium and C. Coum.

Paddy