Cyclamen 2018

[Maggi Young]

Raz (Razvan Chisu)  is leading a trip to Greece  right now -  I could not resist  showing  his  photo of  Cyclamen graecum leaves that he has shown on social media....


Raz commented :
"When you visit tiny areas like these and find such an amazing variety, you fully understand the concept of biodiversity hotspot. In just over 2 acres there are thousands of Cyclamen graecum plants, virtually all different.
Notice the 10 pence coin by the side of the largest leaf on the right lower corner.
I always find Cyclamen foliage much more exciting than the flowers.
Another highlight of the Alpine Garden Society tour to the Peloponnese."

 Just to show you  how big that largest leaf  is , here is  Raz' pic of it on his  hand....

[Joakim B]

Lovely to ser such diversity

Is it possible to make a plant flower with very small flowers due to stress?

I bought some bulbs that I placed on sand and watered irregular. I or the cats managed to place some of cyclamen bulbs upside down. One day when I looked at the box I saw what was actually a flower coming from the back side of the bulb corm. The length of the stalk was 4 cm and the flower size was 5mm in diameter and the height of the flower was 7 mm.
I thought I got a nice unusual mini cyclamen but when looking at the label it was Cyclamen Neapolitanum so a normal sized cyclamen.
Could I expect that when I planted it properly in the ground and it will flower next time it will still be so small? Or was it just a result of the plant thought it would die?

[Bart]

Yes, my experience is that you get small and/or oddly formed flowers on stressed or very young corms. I think it is most notable on C. intaminatum, C.cilicium and C. hederifolium. In a grey past I posted a picture of a tiny cilicium, I'll see if I can find it...
In subsequent years, if the plant is happy, normal sized flowers appear.

[David Nicholson]

This was a kind gift from HansJ. in 2017, Cyclamen purpurascens forma album. Having read Chris Grey-Wilson's book though this might just qualify as forma carmineolineatum ("flowers white with a narrow carmine zone around the mouth, extending upwards a little along the veins")

HansJ has now been able to put me right as far as C. p. f. carmineolineatum is concerned and the plant I showed is indeed f. album. Hans posted some interesting pictures here  http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=14720.0

[Joakim B]

How are You with no solid winters doing with winter coverage?
I am thinking those that get -10C to -15C without snow.
In our summerhouse we have cyc hed under a beech so it gets the foliage from that as well as often a branch of pine to protect from sun and deer. Here in the city I have them under/ beside a magnolia.
The cyc purp are under and the cyc hed are more to the side.
I follow Ians advice and clear the foliage/leafs since it is here wetter and risk of rot. Should I also get a branch of pine as frost protection and possibly sun protection? No need to protect from deers in the city. The flowers was partially bent below the magnolia foliage so hence is lying down.
I also have a cyc grecum in a pot and plan to have this in my parents glassed frost free room. is that a good idea?
I add photos of my cyc purp in habitat and the two plants. Nice as there is different foliage also on cyc purpur and that was new to me here in Sweden so happy to have bought them on plant sale this autumn.
I also got a big cyc hed and a silver leafed one. The more normal foliage is on a plant taken from the summerhouse that has survived some years in a pot before it got in the ground

[bibliofloris]

Hi Joakim -

Cyclamen hederifolium, coum, and purpurascens grow in my garden without any protection, and have done well down to about -10 C (that’s the coldest it gets here, and only for a few days at a time.) When it’s very cold, the leaves are dull and flop to the ground. When it warms up, they pop back up and resume their normal appearance.

I grow my C. graecum inside my house in a sunny window year round, and haven’t tried it outside. Your plan for a frost free room sounds good to me.

Best of luck, and I hope someone can say how they’ve done in colder temperatures.
Kelly

[stone]

purpurascens MINUS 20 no problem

[kris]

Cyclamen purpurasense even at -35C  is hardy here but not hederifolium

[stone]

but u have snow

[Joakim B]

Thanks a lot for the input
Any more hardy cyclamen that works and I could test from seeds apart from the 3 above?
Just joined the cyclamen society and SRGC so hope to have some seeds to play with.
I thought more would be hardy than just these 3
The seeding will have to be in sown in situ as I am not so good in taking care of my pots.

[bibliofloris]

Hey Joakim —

I’m growing Cyclamen cilicium as well, and am planning to grow C. repandum, C. mirabile, and C. alpinum. But I don’t have personal experience with low temperatures yet with those.

You might find this article helpful, from the curator of a botanical garden near me:
https://www.pacifichorticulture.org/articles/cyclamen-for-winter-and-spring/
(We are US zone 8 here; I would guess you’re in zone 7, for the hardiness indications in the article.)

Hope that helps a bit,
Kelly

PS My climate has a rainy autumn through spring, but very dry summers.

[Maggi Young]

Two photos of  Cyclamen hederifolium leaves, from Kirsten Andersen on FB.




 Kirsten comments  that " Cyclamen Hederifolium, one of my favorites! Now it's over with flowering in the garden, but the leaves are so amazing different and are there until spring" and that  these are  " Cyclamen hederifolium leaves, picked in the garden today. New forms arise all the time!"

http://www.alpines.dk

[Gert-Jan]

Yes Bart, this comparison is very interesting, thank you.

what I like is when the cyclamen is naturalized in the garden, they sow by themselves:
 here are my mothers with their little ones.
 However, spontaneous seedlings are very long to arrive at flowering: none yet to flower. I would like more color than white for C hederifolia. are they not too tight?
   I have 3 species so that naturalizes in the garden
 C. hederifolia, C. cilicium, and the coum, which scatters much more and prefers the lawn.

are there other species that would do so in zone 7?

Hello,

We grow 21 of the 24  species in our Cyclamen garden, south facing, 12 m x 3 m. Also species like C. creticum, C. graecum. We have young plants from C. pseudibercium, C. intaminatum, C. alpinum and more. Some get some protection in the winter.

[ruweiss]

Maggi, many thanks for showing us the Cyclamen leaves from Kirstens
Paradise garden.

[Maggi Young]

My pleasure, Rudi!