Cyclamen
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Article by: Geoff Bryant Think of cyclamen and the chances are that Mothers Day immediately comes to mind, which is something of a pity. Now don't misinterpret me, there's nothing wrong with mothers or with having a day for them, but it does seem a little unfortunate when such beautiful, , Growing Asparagus adaptable and useful plants , Soil, Drainage, and Water become so commercialised that there's difficulty escaping that association. But no plant , This Fall, Give Your Trees Some TLC as beautiful , A Guide to Vines and How to Vine Beauty with Your Garden as the wild cyclamen can remain so neatly packaged and presented as its cultivated forms may have it. Gardeners are always willing to experiment, to use outdoors , Transplanting Tips what might be considered house plants , How Do I Keep My Pond From Turning Green? and to seek out less widely grown but hardier species for their gardens. , Bonsai trees Mastery - Different styles in Bonsai ing Once thought to consist of many species, the genus Cyclamen is now considered to include just 19 species, some of which encompass subspecies and forms previously considered distinct. Related to the primroses, they form a few large tubers or numerous small ones, soon spreading to cover a considerable area, if happy. They occur naturally in southern Europe, neighbouring western Asia and the moister parts of North Africa with one species from Somalia, and as with many of the western Asian bulbs, , Basics of Landscaping corms and tubers, some species are now rare in the wild because they have been over-collected by commercial bulb , The Art of Painting Trees and Shrubs gatherers and enthusiasts. Cyclamen are generally most at home , The Art of Painting Trees and Shrubs in fairly dry, partly shaded, well-drained conditions such as might be found in a rockery. Although hardiness varies with the species, if planted in well-chosen sites, all can be grown in coastal New Zealand gardens , The Best Fertilizing Tips For A Green Healthy Lawn and many can be cultivated inland too. While the exact flowering , Bottle Gardening or Terrarium - Design and Maintenance time varies with the species, none bloom to any great extent in summer, , Garden Room Basics the cooler months from March to October being the main season. , Blower Fans Common speciesThe best-known cyclamen is Cyclamen persicum, which is so widely cultivated as an indoor , Tillandsia "Airplants" - Don't Plant These Plants! or gift plant , Soil, Drainage, and Water that it usually known as the florist's cyclamen. This species, or rather the countless cultivars or probably hybrids derived from it, is a native of the eastern Mediterranean, Libya and the islands of Rhodes and Crete. The true species, sometimes seen but often hard to differentiate from the cultivated forms, has dark green , Soil, Drainage, and Water leaves heavily marbled with silver-grey and its fragrant flowers, , Planning Your Garden from Scratch - the Planting which have reflexed petals up to 3 cm long, may be white, , Bottle Gardening or Terrarium - Design and Maintenance mauve or any shade of pink , The Best Fertilizing Tips For A Green Healthy Lawn from pale to cerise. This natural , Gardening and Flowers variability and the ease with which it adapts to pot , Best Florists Online culture has made the plant , The Art of Painting Trees and Shrubs what it is today - a universal favourite. Cyclamen persicum is so well known that it's fashionable to dismiss it as being too common and to look instead for less widely grown species. However, anything that is popular becomes so for a reason and you don't have to search for the secrets to the success of the florist's cyclamen. It has lush foliage, masses of beautiful flowers , 5 Most Popular s for Your Garden in a huge range of colours , The Art of Painting Trees and Shrubs and styles, it blooms from autumn , Bonsai trees Mastery - Different styles in Bonsai Gardening to spring , Good Tools and Hard Work is What Creates EyeCatching and Functional Gardens and can be grown indoors , Tips for Planting Flower Bulbs or outdoors , Garden Room Basics in mild climates. , How to Choose the Right Bulbs for Your Spring Flower Garden What else could you possibly want? Well, perhaps you might want greater frost hardiness, more flowers , Man Made Puddle with less foliage, greater sun , An Autumn Garden for Halloween tolerance and the kind of diminutive stature that makes the finest rockery and alpine plants , Creating A Balcony Garden Oasis so appealing. And that's where the three species that come next in the list of the most widely grown cyclamen really shine, features , Soil, Drainage, and Water not lost on the gardeners to which we often look for guidance, the British. Cyclamen have always been popular in Britain but Cyclamen persicum rarely succeeds outdoors , Man Made Puddle in the British climate. , Gardening - Growing Herbs In Containers Consequently other species have been sought out and developed as garden , Man Made Puddle plants. The first of these was the local , Man Made Puddle Cyclamen purpurascens, from central and eastern Europe, which in its common form was formerly known as Cyclamen europaeum. This small species has marbled, rounded to ivy-like leaves and deep pink flowers , Gardening - Growing Herbs In Containers that open from late summer. , Gardening - Growing Herbs In Containers While still popular in British and European gardens, , Landscape Fabric - Is Landscape Fabric Even Necessary In Landscaping? Cyclamen purpurascens is not commonly met with here, though its style of growth paved the way into cultivation for three species that are: Cyclamen coum, Cyclamen hederifolium and Cyclamen repandum.Cyclamen coumUndoubtedly my favourite, this tough little plant , Winter Gardening is found from Bulgaria and the Caucasus to the northern parts of Syria and Iran and may extend southwards into Israel. It dark leaves are small, usually 25 to 50mm wide, and are heavily marbled, with reddish undersides. The flowers , Blower Fans are tiny too and may be white, , Landscaping Your Patio pale pink , The Best Fertilizing Tips For A Green Healthy Lawn or tending towards magenta. They open from early winter , Planning Saves Money, When Landscaping Your Property and continue unabated into spring. , Tillandsia "Airplants" - Don't Plant These Plants! The flowers , The Art of Painting Trees and Shrubs are remarkably resistant to frost and although they can look very downhearted when frozen, they immediately perk-up on thawing out. This is a terrific plant , Can Robotic Lawnmowers Save the World or at Least You Money? for rockeries or alpine troughs and is at home , The Best Fertilizing Tips For A Green Healthy Lawn in sun , Gardening and Flowers or partial shade.Cyclamen hederifoliumFormerly known as Cyclamen neapolitanum and still widely sold under that name, the attractively marbled, ivy-like foliage of this native of southern Europe and Turkey dies away in spring , Why I Decided To Plan My Next Years Garden Last Fall, And Why and does not reappear until well after the plant , Tillandsia "Airs" - Don't Plant These Plants! has started to flower , Bonsai trees Mastery - Different styles in Bonsai Gardening in late summer. , An Autumn Garden for Halloween The small flowers , The Best Fertilizing Tips For A Green Healthy Lawn occur in a wide range of shades and when spent, their stems start to coil like springs , Planning Saves Money, When Landscaping Your Property and turn downwards to the ground as the seed , Mosquito Farms? Is That What Water Gardens Are? capsules develop.Cyclamen repandumThis species is found from southern France to Greece and has large, lobed leaves that are dark green , An Autumn Garden for Halloween with conspicuous silver-grey mottling and marbling. Considering its lush foliage, spring , Gardening and Flowers blooming habit and Mediterranean homeland, it is surprisingly frost hardy. Its flowers , Birdhouses are pleasantly scented, have petals up to 20mm long and occur in white , Tillandsia "Airplants" - Don't Plant These Plants! and all shades of pink , How Do I Keep My Pond From Turning Green? to light , How to Choose the Right Bulbs for Your Spring Flower Garden red. These three species are so common that if you see a garden , Flowers Guide cyclamen that is obviously not Cyclamen persicum then the chances are that it's Cyclamen coum, Cyclamen hederifolium, Cyclamen repandum or one of the subspecies or forms of those species. However, collectors and enthusiasts, being what they are, have imported other species that you may occasionally have the pleasure of seeing.RaritiesWith so few species in the genus I'm reluctant to say that any of them aren't cultivated. Indeed, it's very likely that they're all in gardens , Plants - Your New Roommate - somewhere - in one form or another. But while I've learnt to never say never when it comes to stating what's to be found in our gardens, , Man Made Puddle I'm yet to see the Somalian species, Cyclamen somalense. Another exclusively African species, Cyclamen africanum, from Algeria is also very rare. It has rather glossy, toothed edged leaves up to 10 cm wide and its 25mm flowers, , Southwestern Landscape Art - An Investment? which are deep pink , How Do I Keep My Pond From Turning Green? and open in autumn, , Planning Saves Money, When Landscaping Your Property have the scent of violets. It is somewhat similar to Cyclamen hederifolium and along with the white- to deep pink-flowered Cyclamen ciliatum from Turkey is usually the first cyclamen to start blooming in late summer , Home and Garden Decor Needs or early autumn. , Backyard Landscaping Ideas To Make A Difference In Your Home Also from Africa, the Libyan Cyclamen rohlfsianum has silvery marbled bright green , The Best Fertilizing Tips For A Healthy Lawn leaves with a covering of fine pinkish hairs when young. Its bright pink flowers , The Basics of Plant Growth; (Part 2) Plant Energy open in autumn , Pink Hibiscus and are often scented. It dislikes winter , Can Robotic Lawnmowers Save the World or at Least You Money? wet and is best grown in pots , Planning Saves Money, When Landscaping Your Property with the addition of some limestone chips. The eastern Mediterranean species: Cyclamen creticum, from Crete; Cyclamen cyprium, from Cyprus; Cyclamen graecum, from Greece, the Aegean islands and southern Turkey; and Cyclamen libanoticum, from Syria and Lebanon, are all to be seen locally, though none are common. However, because these species are becoming increasingly rare in the wild and live in areas that are threatened by that most pernicious of predators, the tourist, we should be doing our bit to ensure their survival by making them more widely available. They are, in the main, dainty plants , Why I Decided To Plan My Next Years Garden Last Fall, And Why with small leaves and pink flowers. , Mosquito Farms? Is That What Water Gardens Are? Cyclamen graecum has some of the most beautiful , Pesticides foliage in the genus. In addition to the usual silver-grey mottling, its leaves have pale to vivid green , Mosquito Farms? Is That What Water Gardens Are? veins, maroon undersides and reddish teeth.CultivationAs mentioned earlier, cyclamen generally prefer partial shade, very well drained, somewhat dry soil , The Basics of Plant Growth; (Part 2) Plant Energy and cool conditions. They thrive in lightly shaded rockeries, growing , Tips for Planting Flower Bulbs happily in the crevices between rocks and also adapt well to container cultivation, especially in alpine troughs. Most species have a preference for neutral to slightly alkaline conditions. Adding a few limestone chips to the soil , Best Florists Online aids the drainage and keeps the pH about right. That said, tough species like Cyclamen hederifolium usually adapt well to being cultivated with acid soil plants , Man Made Puddle such as ericas and dwarf rhododendrons, so don't be afraid to experiment. While a few species, such as Cyclamen libanoticum, prefer their tubers to be below the surface, in most cases the top of the tuber should be at or above the soil , Planning Saves Money, When Landscaping Your Property surface. This helps keep the tubers dry in winter , Gardening and Flowers and ensures that the crown of flower , Blower Fans and foliage stems does not rot off at ground level. The tubers of indoor , Planning Your Patio Garden potted cyclamen should be kept dry - water , Patio Chairs - Why My Green Patio Metal Bench Is Giving Me Immense Satisfaction the soil , Who Sells Flower Bulbs? surface, not the tuber - and even then only when it has dried. Cyclamen are not heavy feeders. Regular feeding with mild liquid fertilisers will keep house-grown cyclamen flowering , Southwestern Landscape Art - An Investment? well, while a light , Birdhouses application of general garden , This Fall, Give Your Trees Some TLC fertiliser during the summer , Transplanting Tips dormant season , 5 Most Popular Flowers for Your Garden is enough to ensure that outdoor plants , The Basics of Growth; (Part 2) Plant Energy continue to thrive. Pest , Basics of Landscaping s and diseases , Blower Fans are rare on healthy , Best Florists Online plants and when present are usually a sign of poor growing , Conservation conditions. While slugs and snails can attack outdoor , The Art of Painting Trees and Shrubs cyclamen, they should otherwise be pest-free. If indoor , 5 Most Popular Flowers for Your Garden cyclamen show signs of botrytis, mildew of other soft rots, the soil , How to Grow Bananas conditions are probably too damp. If mealy bugs and scale insects occur they may indicate low humidity or may have spread from other plants , Home and Garden Decor Needs that have been infested.PropagationMost cyclamen are bought in nurseries as ready-grown container plants , Planning Your Patio Garden intended, in the case of Cyclamen persicum, for growing indoors, , Summer Gardening is All Weeding and Watering! or otherwise for planting out. As they grow , Good Tools and Hard Work is What Creates EyeCatching and Functional Gardens and their tubers multiply, they can be lifted and dived when dormant. This slow and steady method of propagation ensures a continuity of growth, but if you need to speed up your cyclamen reproduction consider propagating the plants , Landscape Fabric - Is Landscape Fabric Even Necessary In Landscaping? from seed. , Can Robotic Lawnmowers Save the World or at Least You Money? While some of the fancy-foliaged forms must be propagated vegetatively to maintain their characteristics, most cyclamen cultivars reproduce reasonably true to type from seed , Mosquito Farms? Is That What Water Gardens Are? and the species certainly do. Grow , Who Sells Flower Bulbs? ing from seed , Home and Garden Decor Needs is quite straightforward, though you may have to wait quite some time before the first flowers , 5 Most Popular s for Your Garden appear, typically 18 months to two years. Sow the seed , Pink Hibiscus when ripe, usually late spring , Can Robotic Lawnmowers Save the World or at Least You Money? to early summer, , Tips for Planting Flower Bulbs in a fairly light, , Planning Your Garden from Scratch - the Planting gritty soil. , An Autumn Garden for Halloween The temperature , Growing Asparagus should be cool, around 18°C, and the seed , The Best Fertilizing Tips For A Green Healthy Lawn should be lightly covered with soil. , Home and Garden Decor Needs If viable, most of the seed , Greenscapes: Energy Efficient Landscaping should have germinated within 28 to 42 days. The seedlings may be pricked out into individual pots , Tips for Planting Flower Bulbs as soon as they are large enough to easily handle without damaging their fleshy stems.I am a garden , Ellepots/Paper Pots book author and horticultural photographer based in Christchurch, New Zealand. I run a stock photo library called Country, Farm , Creating A Balcony Garden Oasis and Garden , Soil, Drainage, and Water (http://www.cfgphoto.com). This article may be re-published provided this information , Basics of Landscaping is published with it and is clearly visible. |
  
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