Cyclamen coum

It's that time of year...the cyclamen coum are starting to bloom. Well mine are pampered as they are growing in a frame so are protected from the worse of the winter. I grew these from seed.

and a nice pale form with particularly silver foliage.

Beautiful plants Todd and stunning photos!

They are so pretty, I'm happy you started this thread Todd!
Just today I fell for them as I saw them for sale on my local flower market and bought 4 of them. They will add more interest to my shady garden at this time of the year.
I have a question about them; I figured out what growing conditions they like, but was wondering what plants they could be combined with. Do they keep their beautiful foliage all year round and if not perhaps they could be combined with perenials that are dormant or with ferns that lose their foliage in winter ?

The ones I bought came without a tag, but I think they are the C.coum and the ones with entire silver leafs belonging to the 'Pewter group'.

a couple of pics that didn't come out perfect because of the poor light conditions in the garden at the moment;

the other type

a detail;

Well done Todd--all the cyclamen seed in NARGS seed exchange makes me wish I grew in a cooler climate. :)

Bonitin, they will go summer dormant and disappear. Mine produce leaves in October and disappear by June. I grow then with other woodland plants like Trilliums, Erythroniums, Ferns, Violets, etc.

Thanks for the useful information Todd!

Todd, mine are trying. They did nothing last year, but have sent up a couple of pathetic flowers this month. Warms my heart nonetheless. Patti

I've tried them twice from a dormant state, and have been careful to keep them dry. But each time they rotted. I'm going to look for live plants . . .

I've been so enjoying these cyclamen pics, and also bummed out because the seed I wintersowed in January '06 did nothing. I had heard that they could be slow and could take over a year, so I held on to the container (it stayed under the edge of the deck all year). I just happened to think about it while doing some wintersowing today and ran out to check. I have the prettiest little cyclamen babies!!! I'm thrilled beyond belief. Just had to share my joy, LOL
Neal

That is so promising! I'm going to winter sow some this season, and hope for the best.

Just don't give up on them. I'm soooo glad I didn't chuck it out as a failure! I've gotta get a camera; the tiny leaves already have pewter markings....so cute!

Please do post a shot -- I am eager to see them!

My Pewter Leaf coums must have got sweaty in the greenhouse this year, the tops went mouldy so I will have to get them in the ground, the corms are getting nice and fat though.

Nice ones Todd, it's easier to get pics when they are in pots, you can put them where you want, lol. They are difficult to picture in the garden, in dullness they don't work, in sun they glare.

bonitin, your pewter leaves don't show any green at all, very pretty!

happy, if you can get fresh seed and sow them in October at anything from freezing to 15C they should germinate in a few weeks, but keep them covered excluding light as they germinate underneath leaves in the ground. Lightly cover the seeds with leaf mould and keep moist.

Here's two of my C. coum in the ground taken today, just getting going nicely.

Those are so sweet! I covet them so badlly! I'm going to try the seed, definitely. I also found a place that sells the plants, so I won't have to wait forever.

How beautifully displayed in the raised bed! And those are my babies parents, don't they look proud, LOL.

My outside ones are under 4 feet of snow! Might be in bloom by late April!

Lovely wallaby, specially like the setting how they are planted, looking so natural!

I could try to save some seeds of mine if you like;
tried to take another pict, but strangly my camera doesn't manage to focus on leaves and flowers simultaneously.

I'm in love!

Super silver! None of my silver leaf types have flowers as deep pink as yours!

Sorry Neal, these aren't the pewter leaf ones, they are still in pots in the greenhouse. Can't take pics this year because the tops sweated and went mouldy, and I can't post any pics unless I have some on a DVD from last year. The white one does have strong markings on it's leaves so I can try to get seed this year for you.

My bright pink one is slower than these two, but it has a few flowers now. They are difficult to take pics of, it doesn't have much marking on it's leaves either but the flowers are iridescent pink.

That would be nice to try them bonitin, if you remember to find them before they drop, lol, they usually turn their collars back while the seeds are still moist before dropping them.

4 feet of snow, now I feel sorry for you Todd, lol! We had a lovely warm day today, I had to take my jumper off. Only a little above 10C but the sun was warm and no cold winds, it felt warmer than July!

Happy, I have had some white coum flower 2 years after germination, the Pewter leaf one took 7 years, lol, hope yours are quicker Neal! Some of those quicker flowering seeds coming your way..

I will try to get a better pic of the bright pink one, this is the best I managed on the 21st January.

Mine are still blooming, but are wee little things that are about to be dwarfed by a snow drop. But they are bright and cheery. Patti

Super close-up!

As you are in love with it Happy and Todd, shall I save some seeds for you too, that is if I manage to catch them ? I have three of them so might be lucky to get some...
Beautiful close-up Wallaby! Nice rich deep colour.
I'll try to get a better one from mine.

Ah, I see. In any case, they are just precious. And thank you, I'd love to try the quicker blooming selection too!

I have an area in mind as a permanent home for these babies, and wanted to run it by all of you with experience with these. It is in the shade of limbed up spruce trees, and tends to be dry through the summer months. The soil is dark and rich, a clay-loam. It is somewhat protected too as it is by the back entrance we use where the house forms an L shape, giving wind protection from 2 sides. I'm thinking the summer dryness will suite them, and at the entrance those little sweeties will be easily seen. Does this sound suitable for them?

That would be wonderfil Bonitin! I'd love some seed.

I'd be thrilled to -- I'd be delighted to send postage.

Thanks Todd and bonitin, I looked today but the bright one hasn't come into full flower yet, the first ones are getting tatty.

Neal, my Cyclamen coums are under a deciduous tree, and as you see the bed has been built up using gritty soil and leaf mix dug from the drain, it hadn't been dug for many years at the time so there was plenty. They do really need to be free draining, if you could incorporate some sand and leaf mould they should be OK. Of course mine get the wet and some sun in the winter, and when the tree is in leaf it's roots use water as well as the leaves keeping too much water from them.

The Pewter leaved one may flower sooner if kept outside, mine might have flowered sooner but keeping them in pots in the greenhouse was an insurance to me as I didn't have a lot of them. Although the white ones flower sooner they of course are only small corms at that time, and don't make many flowers but it's nice to see them. I haven't seen many seed pods on them either, they can be found curled up long after the leaves have gone.

The flower stem winds into a corkscrew, taking the seed capsule closer to the mother corm. They don't throw everywhere when it opens, just drop on the ground near the mother corm and will germinate in a cluster there. I guess this is for protection, but how they travel further away to grow on I can only suggest they get moved when small by any means nature provides. The tiny corms only have one thin root for a start, the corm sits on the surface and could easily get blown or washed elsewhere until it regrows.

The corm I kept last year grew long spindly leaves and no flowers this year.
I guess stronger light is needed when they wake up? They received plenty of food. Any tips appreciated!

I'll keep it in mind Todd and Happy!
What would be the most likely time for the seeds to be ripe enough to harvest so I can be vigilant at the appropriate time..
I have watched the process of other types of cyclamen in the past like wallaby describes it ; the flower stems winding into a corkscrew and the fattening of the seed buds, and the baby cyclamen that only had one root and clump up around the mother plant, that also happens with C.hederifolium that spread happily under my birch tree.

When I bought the Pewter-leaved ones they were planted very shallow in their pot, showing almost the entire corm, is that normal and should I have planted them so shallow in the full ground ? I planted one in a larger container and the other two in full soil, but a bit deeper, just covering the corm.

I also wonder about the 'leaf mix dug from the drain', wallaby.
Does that has to be well decomposed (ripened) or can it also be halfway ?

The flower of the silver-leaved .C.coum

I planted my first cyclamens last fall but didn't know about the drainage. Now they are under lots of snow. If they make it, I will add grit to the area. Actually, if they don't make it, I think I will get more. You have all inspired me!

That's a very different pink bonitin, it looks to have salmon and lilac colours in it. A very pretty colour.

The drains hadn't been dug for about 20 years, so most of it was well decomposed anyway, but it doesn't matter if half decomposed. That may depend on the type of leaves too, I have read that Oak leaves prevent seeds from growing so should be 2 years old, the leaves in mine will be mostly oak. I do have seeds geminate as it's now been there a long time, the leaves which drop on the bed are Horse Chestnut. I wouldn't think Oak leaves would bother a plant already growing.

I put my corms near the surface and cover with leaf compost for a little protection, I don't think they like being too deep and they are quite hardy. They will eventually place themselves where they need to be.

Fingers crossed booj! If you got already growing corms in a pot they establish much easier, the half dried ones can struggle and some will rot.

Which ones are you growing kathy? Hederifolium is the easiest for me outside, along with purpurascens. Coum is challenging and none of the others are hardy enough so I grow them inside. Cyclamen repandum is starting to bloom now. I have two. This is the normal form.

but the other has funky twisted petals!

I have been in love with cyclamen since I saw an episode of Victory Garden
many years ago of a woman who had them naturalized under her trees. I've
tried and tried but they just don't like the spot under my dogwoods out front.
I have gotten a few to come back in my shade garden out by the spring - it seems
they really like it cooler. I've got a bunch of babies in my greenhouse. They
are from last year's NARGS and are getting a decent size. Maybe another
year and I'll plant 'em out.

These pictures are wonderful! Just a terrific thread.

Todd, it's a c. heterofolium. Is that the same as hederifolium? Love the twisted petal one.

No such thing as heterofolium so it must be hederifolium. BTW, that is a fall bloomer, not a winter-spring like the coum.

That's what I thought. I think I got it from an iris society member and it bloomed in fall. So maybe I can amend the soil around it carefully. But I need to get some spring bloomers to go with the trilliums!