Cyclamen 2013

[Gerry Webster]

Naoto - in the wild cyclamen often, but not always, grow around/under pine trees so they would naturally get a mulch of pine needles. In potting mixes people tend to use the term 'pine duff' which is just the well-rotted-down needles you get under mature pine trees. I've used it for potting up, eg purpuracens, mixed with grit, leaf mould, JI compost etc.

In his 1987 'Varieties List' Paul Christian suggests rotted pine needles can usefully be added to composts for woodland plants. He also states that they can be used on their own. To reduce their natural acidity chalk, limestone or dolomite should be added, together with a general fertilizer, after which they should be left to 'settle' for a few months. Not having access to a pine forest, I've never tried them.

[johnw]

Pine needles as a mulch are great for keeping the foliage pristine. You can top-dress with compost or manure and apply more needles atop the former annually.  As mentioned add lime.

johnw - +8c going to 16c tomorrow & driving rain.

[SJW]

In his 1987 'Varieties List' Paul Christian suggests rotted pine needles can usefully be added to composts for woodland plants. He also states that they can be used on their own. To reduce their natural acidity chalk, limestone or dolomite should be added, together with a general fertilizer, after which they should be left to 'settle' for a few months. Not having access to a pine forest, I've never tried them.

Yes, I usually add some dolomitic lime and bonemeal to the mix but I let it settle for just a few minutes - while I find the right-sized pot - rather than the few months Paul Christian recommends!

[SJW]

While I've had mixed results from my sowings of Tilebarn Greville/Shirley, this batch of C. hederifolium 'Silver Shield' seedlings are looking pretty true to type. Seems to be quite a slow grower, seed was sown in January 2012. 

[Naoto The Zombie]

Thanks for your answers, guys! Unfortunately I can't find any pine tree forest near my house so I'll have to stick to farmyard manure for my cyclamens and helleborus. 

By the way, is it possible that hederifoliums have scent? It could be my imagination, but the one I bought at Hampton Court Palace Show this year smells like C.cyprium (a bit of powdery smell - much weaker than C.cyprium though).

1st pic : the corm I bought at HC palace flower show from a dutch seller (it was 4 quid)
2nd pic : now in bloom

[johnralphcarpenter]

Bought these at the garden centre yesterday - they'll do me for now!

[SJW]

Thanks for your answers, guys! Unfortunately I can't find any pine tree forest near my house so I'll have to stick to farmyard manure for my cyclamens and helleborus. 

By the way, is it possible that hederifoliums have scent? It could be my imagination, but the one I bought at Hampton Court Palace Show this year smells like C.cyprium (a bit of powdery smell - much weaker than C.cyprium though).

1st pic : the corm I bought at HC palace flower show from a dutch seller (it was 4 quid)
2nd pic : now in bloom

Naoto - looks like a wild-collected corm (still legal but with quotas, I think) so probably from Turkey? Yes, some strains of hederifolium do have a strong scent eg those from Corfu and Zakynthos and other Greek islands. I don't have any Turkish heds but I'm pretty sure you get scented forms from there as well.

[Roma]

I visited the local Garden Centre today.  I was attracted to a trolley outside the front door with small flowered Cyclamen persicum cultivars.  I liked the pale pink ones on the top shelf but when I got closer noticed the flowers were drooping though the leaves seemed ok.  We have had frosts down to about -4C recently.  The ones on lower shelves looked better.  In the outdoor part of the garden centre were large flowered cultivars looking equally unhappy.  At the checkout I could not resist saying to the assistant that the Cyclamen had been damaged by frost.  She insisted they were hardy Cyclamen.  When I said 'Maybe in the South of England'  she said all their plants are sourced in Scotland.  No point in arguing with someone who knows they are right so I left with my bags of grit.

[cycnich]

I visited the local Garden Centre today.  I was attracted to a trolley outside the front door with small flowered Cyclamen persicum cultivars.  I liked the pale pink ones on the top shelf but when I got closer noticed the flowers were drooping though the leaves seemed ok.  We have had frosts down to about -4C recently.  The ones on lower shelves looked better.  In the outdoor part of the garden centre were large flowered cultivars looking equally unhappy.  At the checkout I could not resist saying to the assistant that the Cyclamen had been damaged by frost.  She insisted they were hardy Cyclamen.  When I said 'Maybe in the South of England'  she said all their plants are sourced in Scotland.  No point in arguing with someone who knows they are right so I left with my bags of grit.

I live in shoreham on the south coast. A few years ago the local councils started using these as bedding plants. A couple of hard winters soon put paid to that. They are not hardy even here and certainly not where you live. Nice house plants though.

[Gerry Webster]

Cyclamen graecum anatolicum

There has been some discussion on the forum on how this should be distinguished from other forms of C. graecum. Tony Willis suggested (privately) to me that in this form growth occurs all over the top of the tuber rather than just from the centre; this is consistent with my own observations of the 3 plants I have under this name. I have also noticed that the flowers on these plants mostly tend to droop & then shrivel while remaining attached to the scape rather than falling away cleanly as mostly happens in other forms of graecum. Has anyone else noticed this?

[johnralphcarpenter]

I visited the local Garden Centre today.  I was attracted to a trolley outside the front door with small flowered Cyclamen persicum cultivars.  I liked the pale pink ones on the top shelf but when I got closer noticed the flowers were drooping though the leaves seemed ok.  We have had frosts down to about -4C recently.  The ones on lower shelves looked better.  In the outdoor part of the garden centre were large flowered cultivars looking equally unhappy.  At the checkout I could not resist saying to the assistant that the Cyclamen had been damaged by frost.  She insisted they were hardy Cyclamen.  When I said 'Maybe in the South of England'  she said all their plants are sourced in Scotland.  No point in arguing with someone who knows they are right so I left with my bags of grit.

The ones I pictured recently are on our patio facing south at the foot of the stone house wall, so I'll see how they do.

[Naoto The Zombie]

Naoto - looks like a wild-collected corm (still legal but with quotas, I think) so probably from Turkey? Yes, some strains of hederifolium do have a strong scent eg those from Corfu and Zakynthos and other Greek islands. I don't have any Turkish heds but I'm pretty sure you get scented forms from there as well.

Thank you for your reply, SJW!
This was the marquee I purchased the hederifolium at Hampton Court - if I had known that these corms were wild-collected, I wouldn't have bought mine (although it is still legal). How would you tell the difference between wild-collected and nursery-grown? (for my future reference)

[SJW]

Thank you for your reply, SJW!
This was the marquee I purchased the hederifolium at Hampton Court - if I had known that these corms were wild-collected, I wouldn't have bought mine (although it is still legal). How would you tell the difference between wild-collected and nursery-grown? (for my future reference)

Well, the flippant answer is that nursery-grown plants tend to come in a pot and the tubers have roots and foliage! The fact that the one you bought was large, dried out, and had the roots trimmed off/tidied up made me think it was an imported, wild-collected hederifolium. And nursery-grown plants tend to establish better than imported, dried tubers (although I see yours came into growth and is flowering).

[Maggi Young]

I would guess on wild collected tubers simply on size, Naoto.
The chances of buying a dry tuber of that large  size from cultivated stock are virtually nill, I reckon.

[cycnich]

I I have to agree. That tuber must be 8 to 10 years old. No nurseryman would keep a plant that long before selling it.