Cyclamen 2013

[SJW]

A good leaf-form of C. pseudibericum. And purpurascens seedlings looking ready to pot on...

[bulborum]

WOW

Good job Steve

Roland

[SJW]

Thanks, Roland. I'm looking forward to growing on some of the better leaf forms of purpurascens in those batches of seedlings. The species doesn't get the same attention commercially as some of the others, I think. You've got Jan B at Green Ice Nursery on your side of the channel but here in the UK I'm not aware of any nurseries really selectively breeding the species for the better leaf-forms. This will be a cue for UK posters to point me in the direction of any number of said nurseries! Anyway, the moral is to keep sowing seed and, after a few years, good forms will appear 

[Mark Griffiths]

very nice Steve.

I'd appreciate some opinions on some plants raised from seed that aren't quite as expected. They've come to me either as C.creticum or C.balearicum but have been mislabelled.

b1 -  came as C.creticum but I think it's balearicum - particularly due to the veining at the tips of the petals.

b2 - I think is balearicum, pretty typical

c1 - I'm wondering if this is creticum?

thoughts anyone? and help telling the diference - I can't quite fathom the difference in leaves quoted in books

 

[Mark Griffiths]

and here is c1 - the one I think might be creticum

[SJW]

Mark, I think we could both benefit from having creticum and balearicum stock plants of known provenance in the greenhouse so we'd have something against which to compare pots of seedlings! I'm no expert but would agree with the IDs of your three plants although I think b1 could be either. It's not straightforward because there is a lot of variation in the wild, I think, and they do hybridise in cultivation...

Creticum flowers are meant to be slightly larger and not as 'stumpy' as balearicum. I wonder also if there is a noticeable difference in scent between the two species? Both are fragrant but does one (balearicum? creticum?) generally have a stronger scent than the other? While the leaves should also be a diagnostic feature, I have to say I have struggled sometimes when it comes to deciding which leaves key out to which species (it's that genetic variability again!) The cyclamen info on the Pacific Bulb Society website has photos of balearicum and creticum on the same page which helps to compare. Creticum usually has a more pronounced toothed/'wavy'edge to the leaf, I think.

[Mark Griffiths]

I think the "problem" is mainly down to balearicum. I remember the plants illustrated in books in the 50s & 60s conformed to a particular type - big blue green leaves, silver washed with small stumpy flowers heavily veined with lilac. When I saw the plant in the wild the leaves were more like repandum and I think we have now many more varied plants in cultivation.

To an extent the same has happened to creticum which used to be hard to get hold of.

So I have some reference balearicum that are from that old form, (too) few CSE creticums (which are generally tiny) and a bunch of things that are probably balearicum that came to me as creticum. And possibly vice versa. I expect the hybridise too.

[David Nicholson]

See reply 107 on previous page-does this mean my little grown from seed creticum may not be?

[Mark Griffiths]

David I can't tell. I think creticum can have a pink nose but I don't think it ever has lilac veining at the tips of the petals. Sometimes that's hard to see - I only changed my bets on one of the photos I put up after looking at the enlarged photo.

[SJW]

David, your plant looks like creticum to me.

[SJW]

Cyclamen rhodium subsp. rhodium. This particular plant has a pink tinge to the flowers.

[David Nicholson]

David, your plant looks like creticum to me.

Thanks Steve.

[bulborum]

Cyclamen repandum RBGG Sicily starts flowering here
they survived -13ºC here in the garden
and I thought they weren't hardy at all

Roland

[Mark Griffiths]

A few pics from me. Some are a bit blurred, sorry.

C. rhodium ssp. peloponnesiacum. This has been out in the garden for several years now.

C. rhodium ssp. peloponnesiacum - in the greenhouse

C. rhodium ssp. peloponnesiacum vividum



 

[Roma]

Cyclamen pseudibericum is nearly over here
Cyclamen repandum, rhodium peloponnesiacum and rhodium vividum have been very good this year
There are two flowers on persicum in the background, four out of six survived the big freeze of 2010 but are still not performing well