Cyclamen 2016

[Graeme]

I was surprised today to find Cyclamen mirabile coming into flower.  This plant is usually early but not this early.  Looks as if it will flower well this year.  It did not have many flowers last year.

Roma - third picture down - does the one in the middle have a red upper leaf edge?

[Roma]

Yes Graeme, it does have a red edge.  The silver leaf, bottom left in the fourth picture has a thin red edge and the leaf it produced last year stayed pink all year. 

[Matt T]

Autumn has arrived in the Outer Hebrides with the first Cyclamen hederifolium flower of the year! This is the first flower from a potful of about a dozen seedlings out of Jean Wyllie's Forrest Medal winning form.

[Roma]

Cyclamen mirabile

[Claire Cockcroft]

What a stunner!
...Claire

[David Nicholson]

Lovely Roma, when did you start watering. I haven't really started yet apart from a bit to stop the. Getting too dry.

[Roma]

Thanks Claire and David.  I had not started watering when the first flower appeared.  There may have been a drip from the roof or some dampness at the base from other plants watered on the bench.  Lewisia rediviva beside it are producing leaves.

[Darren]

Mine is very early too Roma. I am glad to see yours as I thought it must be my memory at fault but was sure it is usually much later. Same goes for graecum, I have had two plants in peak flower for over a week and the rest are showing buds and leaves too. They got some water on Thursday as they clearly want to grow. I can see flower buds on graecum candicum or whatever we are supposed to call it now. I bought a tuber from the Wallises several years ago and though it has lovely leaves it has never produced a flower when plunged in the greenhouse. I liberated it to a frame this summer and it is now covered in buds .

[Darren]

Here are some pictures from the bulb frame yesterday. Same three plants from two angles: two C. graecum originally from a batch of seedlings from the late David Mowle, and a mirabile.

A quick count in the open garden revealed five species in flower: hederifolium, intaminatum, mirabile, cilicium, confusum.

[Maggi Young]

Cor! Crackers, Darren!!

[Darren]

Thanks Maggi,

There are several other graecum elsewhere in the frame that are only just showing. I suspect some water must have seeped in under the frame at that end.

This is the best show I've ever had from graecum and didn't expect it because everything has been moved and repotted this year - many of the thick permanent roots were broken in the process of moving as they had extended beyond the pot drainage holes in the old frame. Just goes to show nothing is predictable about plants except their unpredictability!

[Graeme]

very nice Darren

Not got any Graecum at the moment - lost all of them the bad winter when the doors of the building they were in was frozen for over a month

[Darren]

I lost a couple of really nice ones in the last cold winter in 2011. They were in a very thin walled wooden frame and froze right through. Hopefully the new frame bases, which are 20cm thick walls, combined with our usually very mild winters, will prevent this happening again. These plants shown survived the same freeze so hopefully are hardier.  I can probably send you some seed next summer.

[Guff]

Purpurascens

[Roma]

Cyclamen mirabile with the leaves showing now
Cyclamen hederifolium at the front of the house