On the shortest day of the year, I put forth December's plant of the month. It is a winter-blooming beauty that can be planted in the garden or displayed indoors as a house plant. Cyclamen is a genus of about 20 different species that are mainly native to the area around the Mediterranean. They grow naturally in forests, scrubland and even in alpine regions. The florists' varieties are derived from Cyclamen persicum and are prized for their large, beautiful, star-shaped flowers in white, pink, magenta and red. The green heart-shaped leaves of the plant are often marked with interesting patterns of icy white lacework. I have found that if protected from a hard freeze, these plants can be kept alive and blooming outdoors throughout the winter, but be warned, if it drops into the 20's, you might lose all the flowers. I think it is a risk worth taking. To have these winter-blooming exclaimation points of color in a special container garden or even as a drift of winter annuals in a prominent planting bed, can add some brightness to the dark winter garden.
There are other species of cyclamen that are hardier than the florists' varieties. Cyclamen coum, c. hederifolium and c. repandum are smaller leaved, have smaller flowers, and will naturalize and persist in partly shaded areas of the garden. The Krukeberg Botanical Garden in Richmond Beach, Washington has some good- sized drifts of c. hederifolium and c. repandum that can be seen flowering throughout their wooded grounds in the spring and late summer.
The vital statistics for this Genus vary greatly by species. In general, most of the species perfer partial shade and evenly moist soil while growing. Add a balanced, organic fertilizer and mulch the plants lightly in the fall to keep your hardy varieties happy and healthy for years. As an annual, you can plant them just about anywhere - just make sure to protect them if it gets too cold. So if you're looking for a spot of color to brighten up your winter garden, try Cyclamen.
Nice choice...I have all these itty bitty delicate cyclamen that appear in various places around my yard - paler colors, but they come up when it's pretty cold out, so must be hardy. I consider them little alpine fairies ...thanks for al the wintry ideas, maybe after xmas I'll have some energy to put some cold weather plant in my containers as you suggest.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer. A little Cyclamen trivia: A gardener friend of mine recently told me that this plant is spread throughout the garden almost entirely by the efforts of ants!
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