 Cyclamen hederifolium
- common names: cyclamen
- flowering season: the end of summer into fall
- height: 4 to 6 inches
- Light requirements: shade
- Soil requirements: average garden soil that is well drained
- Water requirments: although it enjoys the amount of water that your average perennial likes, this plant grows well where winters are wet and summers are bone dry
- Growth habit: low and clump forming
- How to propagate: transplanting its seedlings
- Leaf type: heart shaped, green leaves that often have a baze of creamy white in the center
- Ways to use it such as in a pot or otherwise: one of the few flowering perennials that grow well in shade; also grows well in competition with shrubs and the roots of trees
- Special characteristics: seedlings of this cyclamen often sprout at some distance from the parent plant, so do not be surprised at some of the strange places this will pop up
The flowers of this cyclamen show in late summer to early fall, before the plant has any leaves. A bit later in fall the leaves show and persist over winter. And by late spring the plant goes dormant until late summer when the cycle repeats. A plant will grow about 4 inches tall, from a flattened tuber that grows larger and wider with age. It likes well drained, fertile soil with morning light or filtered sun, such as under shrubs or trees. There is an added advantage to growing it under bushes and trees because they will tend to keep the soil drier during summer when the cyclamen is dormant and doesn't want to be wet. The color of the flowers varies from pink to magenta to white. Seeds are produced prolifically, and in coming years you will find new plants popping up around your garden, sometimes in strange places such as the middle of a shady lawn. USDA Zones 5 - 9. The plants offered are unbloomed seedlings. |
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