Cyclamen 2014

[Jacek]

Here's a very confused C. purpurascens.

Steve,

My C. purpurascens could be confused as well. But it isn't - unfortunately unlike in the case of C. coum its buds are not hardy. One of my C. purpurascens was blooming till first frost (late last year, end of November) with multiple buds still waiting. Now, as the winter is over here as well, I can see all those buds are dead. Who knows, what could happen in frost-free conditions. I have only one such late-blooming plant. It was blooming longer than any of my few C. hederifolium.

Seed pot passed on to me by my friend Mike Quest- Cyclamen coum 'Nymans Group'

David,

This is the colour I like.

[johnw]

This is probably the most 'strident' colour form I have - from CSE seed. Strident in the sense that it's a deep shocking pink colour although I'm not sure if that's the shade you mean. (And the true colour is quite difficult to capture unless you're a skilled photographer, which I'm not .)

Steve  - That is a lovelky solid colour but not near the colour I try to describe.

The colour was much like this but lighter.  It diod not mix well with many other colours.

johnw

[johnw]

Jacek - C. purpurascens is our hardiest and best performer here.  It can start to flower here at the end of May and continue on into November.


You asked re: coum "I do not observe problems in freeze/thaw cycle. Do you have such conditions?"  Today the driver's door of my car was covered in ice, we needed a hair-dryer to get in.  To blame is the eavestrough which flows well, it is full to the brim after a quick freeze a few nights ago.................


Roma  - Cyclamen coum 'Meaden's Crimson' is a beauty and desirable but not close.

johnw

[David Nicholson]

I make no apologies for double posting (these and more in the Places to Visit thread) these pics taken last Sunday in the Churchyard at Killerton House, Nr Exeter, Devon. Cyclamen coum

[Jacek]

John, of course C. purpurascens is the only really hardy cyclamen in my climate. It has even one natural stand in  Poland - I believe the northernmost edge of its habitat. I have only a dozen of plants but only one is willing to bloom into winter.

Re your climate - obviously I don't know it. It must be more "aggressive". Yet, here in Central Europe we have alternating snow, deep soil freezing and thaw. That's true - not every other day. And sometimes we have mild winters. According to my observations, out of those conditions only severe frost without snow cover is deadly to C. coum. Primarily the tubers are injured and not the exposed leaves and buds. After long-lasting frost down to - 30 Celsius two years ago I still had some flowers (just a few, though).


David, I would wish to see such a view in my garden. Who knows - in 40 years??

[Matt T]

...pics taken last Sunday in the Churchyard at Killerton House, Nr Exeter, Devon. Cyclamen coum

Absolutely incredible! To such do we all aspire.

[johnw]

Re your climate - obviously I don't know it. It must be more "aggressive". Yet, here in Central Europe we have alternating snow, deep soil freezing and thaw. That's true - not every other day. And sometimes we have mild winters. According to my observations, out of those conditions only severe frost without snow cover is deadly to C. coum. Primarily the tubers are injured and not the exposed leaves and buds. After long-lasting frost down to - 30 Celsius two years ago I still had some flowers (just a few, though).

Jacek  - Our climates sound very similar though on the coast we would never get as low as -30c, inland yes but it is warmer in summer inland here.  My two gardens are bother on the coast, here in Halifax it rarely would get a little below -20c and then only briefly at night.  Zone 6b.  Most winters get to -15c to -17c.  The cold has been persistent this year but no frost in the ground as snow has come just in time.  The big challenge here is frozen ground combined with late March sun, at latitude 44 degrees we have the sun of Milan.  The second garden very very rarely see frozen ground and -15c would be lowest, summers are extremely foggy and the hottest day has been +27 twice in 15 years - windows had to be closed by 8pm! Cannot ripen a tomatoe in the ground there but it's Z7b. 

C. hederifolium can grown and seed here for 20 years and then get wiped out by one persistently cold snowless winter no matter what the low temperature, coum lasts 2 years.  I through coum seeds about and one may be persistent OR a survivor replaces it every few years???  Seeds of that northern-most C. purpurascens are extremely important, you should grow more of them and get a hardier population going as Ian did.

johnw

[David Nicholson]

From seed (SRGC 08/9 1024) Cyclamen coum ssp. caucasiacum. Sown October 2009 and flowering for the first time.

[Melvyn Jope]

Cyclamen libanoticum and C.coum 'Ashwood Snowflake'

[cycnich]

A couple of plants that I am really enjoying at the moment, the first and last thing I look at in the greenhouse after work every day. Both are Rhodium ssp Peloponnesiacum bought at a cyclamen show a couple of years ago from Ian Robertson. The third picture is a pot of seedlings from seed I collected in the Noupandi gorge near Kardamyli and although nice they really do not compare.

[Menai]

I am puzzled by my C. persicum f.albidum. It has produced more flowers this year than it has for some time but they are taking forever to open properly. I brought the plant in from the greenhouse at the beginning of the month and still only 2 out of 12 blooms have properly reflexed petals. Is it lack of light?

Erle
Anglesey. Watching the plants in my front bed to see how they survive having been inundated by Menai Strait twice this year.

[SJW]

Cyclamen libanoticum and C.coum 'Ashwood Snowflake'

A couple of plants that I am really enjoying at the moment, the first and last thing I look at in the greenhouse after work every day. Both are Rhodium ssp Peloponnesiacum bought at a cyclamen show a couple of years ago from Ian Robertson.

Melvyn - looks like a good leaf on your libanoticum. They can often have quite a dull leaf - if the plants I have are anything to go by!

Pat - you must have been pleased to have snapped those up, great leaves. 

[SJW]

I am puzzled by my C. persicum f.albidum. It has produced more flowers this year than it has for some time but they are taking forever to open properly. I brought the plant in from the greenhouse at the beginning of the month and still only 2 out of 12 blooms have properly reflexed petals. Is it lack of light?

Not sure if it is lack of light, it's happened occasionally for me where sometimes the petals seem to 'stick' before eventually fully reflexing. Perhaps try moving it back to the greenhouse? I have no idea if a good day/night temperature differential is important for C. persicum as flowers are developing - mine are in the greenhouse rather than indoors - but temperature is a trigger for all sorts of plant functions, I think. Thereagain, it's an old trick to bring potential show plants indoors overnight in the week(s) leading up to a show to bring them on so that flowers will open in time (or move them somewhere cooler to hold them back) so it clearly isn't usually a problem to bring plants indoors for a short time...

[SJW]

Three C. rhodium ssp peloponnesiacum, different leaves, all from the same seed packet (ex CSE 92060).

[SJW]

C. rhodium ssp vividum.