With many places experiencing the first flush of spring flowers (not I as I am under feet of snow still) I thought I'd share my newest bulb...Cyclamen coum 'Pewter Group'. The foliage is striking on its own but in combo with the flowers, its wonderful. Those in mild area can enjoy the silver foliage all winter. Flowers vary in colour from white, pink shades, magenta to reddish. The pictured one is a 'Pewter Group' selection from Cyclamen coum forma pallidum.
A close-up of the flower.
and a close-up of a magenta coloured selection from the 'Pewter Group'
Glorious! I've got seeds for these types going. I've got a few years to go 'til I see
the bloom but even the leaves look sumptuous!
Tam
Fantastic! Love the "Pewter Group"! Beautiful foliage and awesome flowers!!! Did you purchase these or grow them from seed? If you did purchase them, where did you find them???
I have a couple of different Cyclamen that I am growing from seed also. It is my 1st attempt and I'm so happy that I have germination! At least I didn't kill them all!!!
I have 3 of these I grew from seed 7 years ago. They took 5 years to flower and have only just reached a mature size, I thought they were duds!
They are all in full flower now in my cold greenhouse, it's such nasty weather I haven't got a recent photo, but did when in bud.
This was taken 14th February
Gee Wallaby1, we DO have a lot of plants in common! You must be my UK equivalent.
I bought mine 2 weeks ago when attending the North American Rock Garden Society Winter Study Weekend in Victoria, BC. There were lots of plant vendors there, including one who specialized in cyclamen. He had all sorts for sale. I already had most but I had no coum (I too started some this year from seed but will have to wait a while). When I saw the silver ones, I had to have them. They came in two colours so I got one of each for $12 each. The nursery is called Island Specialty Nursery located in Chemainus, BC. I don't know if he mails to the US. He selected these silver ones from his own crosses. They may be borderline hardy in my area but I won't risk planting them outside. I'll keep them in my cool basement window where they can flower all winter long.
Oh haha, funny isn't it? I tried to post a pic of my OUTDOORS coum last night, at 4am it gets busy and wouldn't post. The flowers on mine are the same on all 3, but the leaves vary slightly in green edging. Yours goes all the way to the edge by the looks. My flower colour looks to be inbetween yours but one of my outside ones has really started to bloom it's head off and is a bright cyclamen pink. I'm starting to get some baby seedlings too, I have left them to self seed as it is sometimes more succesful and you don't have to grow them!
Your pewter leaf must be about 10years old, much bigger than mine, but I haven't pumped it up with fertiliser, hardier that way.
Looking at your magenta flower it looks more like the shape of my outside coum, but the light one looks like my pewter one in shape. They do vary quite a lot in colouration and form, I suppose it's from breeding with different types. I love the purple stain on the mouth of yours, that reminds me of the white one I have, but different shape!
Close up of coum pewter flower
White coum flower
White and pink coum have been flowering like crazy for weeks! I actually bought them as C purpurascens but they are not, but quite pleased, these have set lots of seedlings around them, the pink a little ahead of the white but this year should be loads of both.
Taken 17th feb.
The white with the purple eye is called 'forma pallidum'. That form can be pure white like yours or pale pink like mine. Island Specialty did not have any really white Pewter Leaved types....they were all pale pink. I crossed the two I have to collect my own seeds to try.
How do you cross them, i.e, what do you need to look for and at what stage? It might be interesting to try mine with the outside ones, probably too late now. The cold weather certainly must be prolonging the flowering.
What other types do you have? I have slowly been collecting, last year I got a C. cyprium, not yet flowered, this year C. libanoticum. I also have some from shop bought hybrids that I took seed from and grew, but they are different sizes and desperately needed potting up last year, some are struggling for space! They flowered within 2 years, this winter I have just left them in the greenhouse and a purple one has flowered and gone through lots of frost (to -7C) and cold, they are only supposed to go to +2C but growing hard in a suitable medium obviously makes them hardier. Also have C hederifolium. Got some free seed of C. persicum from T&M this year just for ordering, (6 seeds £4.99), lucky as that's a lot to pay if they don't grow! Best to buy a bulb and get fresh seed from it.
I currently have 8 species of Cyclamen. I have several C. hederifolium, both inside and out, in purple and white. The rest are growing inside. C. purpurascens is hardy outside here but I only have one and don't want to risk it. I have the two new coums and a pot of seedlings. My C. intaminatum must have the tiniest flowers of them all. It flowered last fall but still has its leaves. I also have a pot of seedlings. In bud currently is C. repandum, C. libaniticum and C. pseudibericum. The latter has really nice foliage. The last one I have is C. graecum with nice foliage as well.
Here is C. purpurascens from last September.
It looks healthy, but yes protect it, they are difficult to come by here. I'm surprised it's hardy in your cold. Does it have much of a scent? Is it normal for the leaves to have no markings or can that vary?
I really want them all, but that has to be done slowly! There is a nursery here that sells seed of many varieties, it will be fresh so a good way to get some of the unusual ones. It is sometimes easier just to buy a ready grown bulb, often not much more than the seed and quicker!
http://www.ashwood-nurseries.co.uk/cyclorder.htm
Now that I dug them up I will have to think of ordering! It is best to order early to secure them. They do a phyto for £10.
The markings vary...unfortunately my purpurascens, intaminatum and repandum have hardly any markings. In the next day or two I'll get pics of the foliage on the others.
Purpurascens is the hardiest of all the cyclamen.
I got mine from Beaver Creek in British Columbia...great selection of all alpines, cyclamen included. They cost around $6-8 Canadian each. I'll probably get some more this fall..he has some selections noted for their foliage.
My C. cilicium are growing the best so far. A lot of germination, but still are puny. It hasn't gotten it's 1st set of true leaves yet. C. coum are beginning to germinate also and C. mirabile is coming up 3rd. I bought the seed from a Cyclamen grower in the U.K. He got the seeds from the British Cyclamen Society & from his travels in Europe.
I got my C. intaminatum and coum from the British Cyclamen society. My seedlings have about 2 leaves each and they are nearly a year old...VERY SLOW! C. cilicium is one of the few I don't have. I used to have one but the bulb rotted. I'll have to re-order one of them in the near future.
