Terry L. Ettinger Horticulture Consulting Services
Meeting The Needs Of Today With A Vision For The Future
Recommended Bulbs, Corms & Tubers -
Hardy Cyclamen
The first time I saw hardy cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium) blooming here in Central New York was in a
bed of vinca (also known as myrtle or periwinkle) at the north end
of Cazenovia Lake in early November a number of years ago! At the
time, I didn't know what I was looking at until I got back to my
office and did a bit of reading.
What I learned is that hardy cyclamen is native to mountain woodlands from southern France eastward to Turkey, including the
islands of Corsica, Sardina, Crete and those in the Aegean
Sea. The florist, or "Persian," cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum)
that we're all familiar with, at left, on the other hand, is native to the warmer regions of the eastern
Mediterranean and northeastern
Africa.
Besides their delicate white through dark pink flowers, hardy cyclamen produce dense clusters of small, English ivy-like leaves. They range from
solid green to almost solid silvery-green, with a wide range of intermediate forms having intricate markings. The flowers and
foliage never grow more than about six inches tall.
The flowers and leaves of all cyclamen arise from slightly flatten, disc-shaped tubers,
below right, that can measure four to six inches in diameter
after many years and bear dozens of flowers. When grown under ideal conditions, it's been reported that individual tubers can survive
for decades.
Like many spring flower bulbs and woodland plants such as dogtooth violet, trillium, etc., hardy cyclamen grow best in
well-drained
soils that are moist, but not wet, from September through May, that then dry out completely as their foliage fades.
Among the exposed roots of large shade
and evergreen trees where nothing else grows could be good spots, for example.
Under good growing conditions in these spots, many of the dozens of seeds produced by each plant will germinate during the summer, about nine months after the flowers fade. The resulting seedlings will grow into flowering plants in about three years, creating increasing masses of fall blooms for years to come.
Finally, while a number of bulb suppliers offer dormant tubers, nursery-grown, potted tubers,
at left, are a better option for
establishing new plantings. Fortunately we have an excellent source for hardy cyclamen right here in Central New York. If you're interested,
drop me a line
and I'll share my source with you!