For the first few years, cyclamen hederofolium and cyclamen hederofolium album grew happily away under the old apple tree bulking up and forming groups of pink and white flowers at this time of year.
I say "happily" but every year they were bombarded from above by windfall apples.
And every year the area became infested with a small spreading weed (something like "Mind your own Business) that formed a dense mat which extended out over the whole area and into the strawberry patch. It was so time consuming weeding it again and again. Not a good use of my or rather his time. The Undergardener gets all the fun jobs!
It was time for a move. We replanted the area with box plants and mulched with slate. And the cyclamen were potted up . Eighteen months later the plants are still in pots.....
It happens a lot at our place, plants get potted up for a host of reasons and are lined up against the kitchen garden wall. So it was with the cyclamen...
Just as well as it transpired that the wee weed had ended up in the pot too. Believe it or not I had not been negligent in cleaning up the plants and weeding it out as much as possible. The weed, however persists and is as we speak (or type) forming a small mat round the plants.
So there will be no cyclamen planting anywhere in this garden for the time being. Imagine if that weed spreads out of control and I (or the undergardener) have to spend many hours on our poor knees weeding it out for time immemorial....
After cleaning up this pot yet again an application of a fresh layer of grit might sort the problem. In the meantime the pots are on a table. At least we can admire them better at that height.
The flowers are exquisitely formed with up-swept petals on arching stems. They are the smaller cousins of the house and bedding plants available in great numbers in garden centres at the moment. They look their best in drifts under trees as they would grow in the wild.
They come in shades of pink, purple and white.
The plant has attractive ivy-shaped, green leaves with pewter coloured patterns. It makes an effective ground cover plant given the right conditions. The tubers or corms can grow up to 24cm in an older plant.
The seeds are interesting too but you have to get down close to have a look. After fertilization they form in a pod at the end of the flower stem which coils tightly like a spring and rests above the tuber until the seeds are ripe.
For the sharp eyed among you, yes that is a weed on the right of the photo. But this time it's only Bittercress and it can be easily pulled out!
They are a beautiful plant but I have not had much success with them for some reason - perhaps they are worth another try
ReplyDeleteElaine, They are worth a try. I find they do well in cool shady conditions or in pots.
ReplyDeleteI love these...When I was a kid and we lived in Germany I grew both the white and the pink kind under the walnut tree in the front yard. Maybe I should get some for my parents' new garden in Michigan...
ReplyDeleteThat would bring back memories for them maybe they'll need the walnut tree as well....
ReplyDeleteI think Cyclamen are the ideal plant for shade, we started out 20 yrs ago with just a few that I planted in the woodland and thanks to the ants who spread the seed (it has a sticky sugary coating which they like) they have now spread far and wide. They are looking really pretty at the moment,with their flowers rising above the falling leaves.
ReplyDeleteI recognise your weed, no idea what it is called, but I have LOTS of it up at the allotments... I think having a display of Autumn Cyclamen on a table is inspired Janet, anyone would think you had planned it all along! Ahough drifts beneath trees does sound rather beautiful too. I've never grown them - maybe in my next garden.
ReplyDeleteI love cyclamen and haven't a one (that I know of) in the garden. I've that pesky weed as well! Kelli
ReplyDeleteLovely variety of cyclamen. I have the common household variety I received from work as it was being pitched (a container was being replanted for summer) this year. I have it inside and it has begun to bloom. My first good experience with a cyclamen.
ReplyDeletePauline, I did a little reading about cyclamen and the ants spreading the seed. Maybe we have no ants because the coums got bigger but there didn't seem to be any new plants!
ReplyDeleteJanet and Kelli, I spent some time trying to name the weed but now I just want to get rid of it. At least ours was in a small bit of the garden. Can't get it out the pots though...
Tufa Girl. I think it's some achievment torescue a large cyclamen and get it to flower. So many are brought on and not supposed to live long.
I am also forever potting up plants for use in the future, they do come in handy at times. Tried the Cyclamen on a couple of occasions without success. I wonder if it is more successful planting them whilst in the green, mind you when I think about it I may have placed them in a sunny position.
ReplyDeleteHi Janet, One word on this: mice. It may be that my mice are especially partial to cyclamen, but certainly they are the main reason why I don't grow as many as I would like. Such as I do grow, I grow in a gravel path, with virtually no soil (they don't really need much). Might this be a solution to your weed problem?
ReplyDeleteThere were no cyclamen at the Priory, Janet but I've now planted several dozen (thankfully not under any apple trees). They are just so ... perfect.
ReplyDeleteKininvie, Thanks for the suggestion That would be a solution if I had the space! The next best thing is to leave in the pots with a good layer of gravel or get a trough and just have a small group. either way gravel will have to feature.
ReplyDeleteDave, in spite of our problems with THE WEED, cyclamen are best in a drift. You don't know what THE WEED is do you?
Janet, I've never seen cyclamen growing anywhere but in florists' shops before, and even then not the elfin beauties you show here. A drift of them must be a real show-stopper, even if it's just lined up against the kitchen garden wall.
ReplyDeleteHi Stacy. Cyclamen probably wouldn't cope too well with your New Mexico climate.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this cyclamen and have patches of the pink and white varieties all over my garden. It is one of the best foliage plants ever because it is evergreen and gorgeous. Right now just the flowers are emerging.
ReplyDeleteI'm giggling at the thought of planting cyclamen in my gardens... I can't even keep it alive more than a few weeks in my home. But I do love its delicate blossoms.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn, I'm sure cyclamen will look lovely in your shade garden, in fact they were probably made for each other.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn it's a shame that cylcamen and desert don't go together. You'll have to persevere with the pot plant which I think is the more difficult option!
I've had cyclamens as house plants off and on over the years but I've never tried them in the garden. The florist cyclamens are not hardy, and one of the very few times I saw hardy cyclamens the nursery, they were in such sad shape, I almost bought one just to give it a decent burial. That experience has left me hesitant to give them a try. But I have to say, they are a touch of the tropical for the garden, and especially if they can winter over out of doors, I would love to put some in our woodland garden.
ReplyDeleteHi Cathy and Steve, cyclamen hederifolium grows in scree or woodland and it needs it cool, so it wouldn't do with you in the heat. I'm fairly useless with the pot plant variety and they never seen to survive much after the initial flowering.
ReplyDeleteThey are such adelight to have in the garden or even in pots .
ReplyDeleteI am trying so hard to make a carpet of cylamen under my shurbs ,its a slow process.
Where is the best place to buy these plants .
I live down the road a few miles from you.
I found hardy cyclamen in several garden centres in the area in the past such as Glendoick and probably Dobbies (though I wouldn't use them if i could avoid it)The other place is Silverwells outside Arbroath. I haven't been in recently so I don't know if they have them. I have also been successful with from corms planting them in gritty compost but I do prefer to plant in the green.
ReplyDeleteDo you know a online supplier that I could send to?
ReplyDeleteSorry, Scotkat I've never bought them online. The RHS plant finder website is often where I look for plant suppliers.
ReplyDeleteI love the leaves of Cyclamen hederifolium. Sadly mine perished of powdery mildew and I'm reluctant to get more at the moment because of having to keep everything in pots.
ReplyDeleteNot got that weed, but I spent an hour this morning trying to wash dozens of self-seeded Stachys out of my Perovskia's roots, so I sympathise.