| CYCLAMEN |
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| My favourrtie of all the bulbous plants, the Cyclamen species are distributed all around the Mediterrainian area to the Middle East. Many are not frost hardy and require growing in a frame to recreate the temperature and conditions they enjoy in their natural habitat. |
| One of the attributes that makes Cyclamen so appealing to gardeners is the widely spaced flowering periods of the various species, the earliest of them is C.Coum, which starts in January, though to C.Hederifolium, which flowers up until November. Both are very hardy, C.Hederifolium can take -30 degrees, whilst the flowers of C.Coum can handle all the snow and frost without showing any ill effects. |
| For nurseries who sell Cyclamen check the links page. THE best book on Cyclamen is Christopher Grey-Wilson's "Cyclamen" published by Batsford. This is the only reference guide you will ever need to successfully grow and understand this delightful genus of plants. The text is writen for gardeners as well as botanists and it's packed with superb photographs of all the species and current hybrids. I can't recommend this classic highly enough. |
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| It's not only the flowers of Cyclamen that are attractive, the variations in the shape and markings of leaves are vast. This is particularly pronounced in C.Hederifolium & C.Coum but most species have this considerable variation in leaf markings. |
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| When buying Cyclamen it's very important to buy them from a reputable grower who raises their own plants from seed. There are 2 good reasons for this; firstly despite them being covered by the CITIES laws, which ban the digging up and selling of wild plants, many still make it into the country & secondly you get a better quality plant, which is going to grow better and you get less chance of something incorrectly named. |
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