Even after growing the hardy Cyclamen hederifolium for over five decades, I’m still amazed by the incredible diversity of leaf patterns. Since cyclamen are obligate out-crossers (they can’t have productive sex with themselves), the pattern diversity from each new crop of seedlings continues to expand. In the garden, we plant similar patterned forms nearby, resulting […]
Psyched for Cyclamen Read More »
It’s peak flowering season for the Mediterranean native Cyclamen hederifolium, both in the gardens and cold frames. Here is our crop of nursery cell packs currently. These were transplanted from seed pots last year, and are putting on quite a show, which typically last several months. It’s hard to imagine any garden not being filled
The fall-flowering Cyclamen cilicium has put on a lovely floral display in the garden this year. The honey-scented flowers will be wrapping up their show before too long. This native of the Taurus mountains of southern Turkey, grows in sandy soils above limestone rocks. Our plants have thrived in a deciduous woodland with our amended
We have been fascinated with hardy cyclamen since the 1960s, but in recent years have spent a bit of time isolating some of the best silver-leaf variants that showed up in our seed pots and getting these established in the garden. These silver leaf oddities can be found in the wild, although they are fairly
Precious Metals…Investing in Silver Read More »
Here are a couple of images this week from the garden of our older clumps of Cyclamen hederifolium. For garden areas that are dark and dry, where nothing else grows, cyclamen are your best bet. Of the plants below, one is at the base of a cryptomeria and the other at the base of a
Cyclamen and Cyclawomen Read More »
It’s hard to find a cyclamen we don’t love in the winter garden, but we are particularly enamoured with Cyclamen maritimum…formerly a member of the Cyclamen graecum complex. Learn more about growing hardy cyclamen.
More Hardy Cyclamen Read More »
When we completed our crevice garden, we wanted to see if it would be a good home to cyclamen, since they like to grow naturally in well drained sites, and sites that are very dry during their late spring/early dormant period. Here, they also get a couple of hours of morning sun, but shade after
Cyclamens in the cracks Read More »
Cyclamen hederifolium is a great addition to the winter garden. They begin flowering in late fall/early winter before the foliage. When foliage emerges it will remain during the winter. The foliage is quite dramatic with intricate patterning of silver and shades of green. Most hardy cyclamen are grown from seed, so like snowflakes, no two
Cyclamen are like Snowflakes Read More »
Tony’s first encounter with hardy cyclamen was in the garden of the late Rachel Dunham of Cary, NC in the 1960s. He was amazed to see what he thought was a rare perennial, seeding all through her woodland lawn and was immediately struck by how tough cyclamen were, and obviously, how easy they were to
Cold Hardy Cyclamen Read More »
When we had our new home built, the design resulted in several potential planting areas under a wide overhang that never sees any moisture…unless something akin to a hurricane blows in. The idea was to keep water/irrigation and mulch away from the wood siding. Cyclamen seemed like a good choice for this difficult spot, so
Cyclamen experiment Read More »
