GARDENER'S READING ROOM
Bulbs

Cyclamen

Cyclamens are among my favorite plants. Their blooms look like delicate hovering pink or white butterflies. They help my shady woodland garden come to life with great color. I have some nestled under my rhodies, maples, and azaleas where no other flowering plant would bloom. They are happy with some morning light and then very late afternoon slanting sun rays. I find that they thrive in rich porous soil with lots of humus.

Under my big rhododendron on the east side of the house I have Cyclamen hederifolium (a.k.a. C. neapolitanum), which normally blooms from the end of August through October. These cyclamen are unique because the rose-pink or white flowers appear before the leaves. The leaves flourish through the fall and winter, and then the whole plant goes dormant in the summer. The foliage is heart-shaped, patterned in silver and green. You’ll find this one in Sky’s bulb department In the spring or in bloom in our perennial department.

In February and March, I look out my kitchen window to see the hot pink flowers of Cyclamen coum brightening the dreary days of winter. Cyclamen coum's leaves are rounded, fabulously patterned, and appear at the same time as the flowers. Coum also comes with white or pale pink flowers. Like hederifolium, it goes dormant in the summer. Get this one with the spring-arriving bulbs or in Sky’s perennial department in February or March.

Florist cyclamen, hardy cyclamen's big sister, is available in Sky’s houseplant department September through early March. These larger varieties come in shades of pink, bright red, coral, lavender, and white. Because they like cool temperatures, I like to use them on my front porch and along the walkway rather than inside the house. I leave them in the pots and sink the pots in the soil. If a freeze threatens, I bring them into the garage until it warms a bit. Doing this, I have had blooms from November through February. Around the holidays, I add cut holly or cedar and a bow for instant decorating.

Remember, cyclamen provides outstanding color outside your house when little else will. Choose plants with many buds just starting, pinch off blooms when they’re spent, add a dash of liquid organic fertilizer such as Dr. Earth, and enjoy! I certainly do.

By Ken Plante
Skylights Autumn 2005 Vol. 19, No. 3

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