Eleanor Clarke
OUTDOOR PLANTS
Plant of the month: Cyclamen
You know the ones, out there in the coldest of weather, face on to the frost at the front of the smartest, most colourful window boxes… The ones with the bright red, pink or white flowers, noses curved down, petals swept back in breezy disregard for the weather. You’ll have noticed their leaves too, most probably: heart shaped and etched with intricate patterns, they’re gorgeous in their own right.
Which kind are best?
It’s true, the topic of cyclamen can be a bit confusing. You can buy them in petrol stations around now, but they’re not the same as the pale pink ones you see carpeting the ground under trees in autumn. Not are they the ones that tend to be planted in pots outdoors for winter colour… So what’s what in the world of cyclamen?
- Cyclamen persicum
The bright red, pink and white ones often sold in florist’s around now. The wild variety is a spring-flowering plant but we generally treat them as annual bedding as they won’t tolerate frost. They’ll flower for six weeks or so indoors, given a cool, bright spot. - Cyclamen coum
A small, delicate-looking winter-flowering outdoor variety with round, silvery leaves and small white, or pink/purple flowers - Cyclamen hederifolium (aka ivy-leaf cyclamen)
Lovely autumn flowering variety with pretty marbled, heart-shaped leaves and pale pink flowers; it will naturalise gradually in a semi-shaded spot.
Why We Grow Them
We can’t get enough of that out of season colour, and they’re the kind of plant that’s all about the details: look closely and there’s so much to see, from those upswept petals to the tiny, delicate buds, then the beautifully sculpted and painted foliage. A total joy.
Show Them Some Love
Both outdoor cyclamen varieties (coum and hederifolium) love rich, moist soil that mimics their native woodland understorey. So when you plant them, dig in some well-rotted leaf mould, if you have it. Failing that, some good homemade garden compost or multipurpose. In spring, give them a mulch of the same, as their leaves start to die back.
Do…
Plant under deciduous trees and/or in dappled shade. Or, of course in a window box or pot by the front door.
Try not to...
Let them dry out. Cyclamen like to be in moist (not wet) soil
Also invited
In a window box, stick to one colour or cyclamen: red, pink or white, not a mixture of the three. Combine with trailing ivy and, ideally another plant such as a miniature eucalyptus or barbed wire plant (Calocephalus) – silvered foliage really picks out the markings on the cyclamen’s leaves. In beds and borders, winter cyclamen coum look fabulous with snowdrops intermingled.
Novice rating
As long as you know which kind of cyclamen you’re growing, you’ll know what to expect. They need good, fertile soil and moisture, but outdoors, once they get settled in, they’ll soon start spreading.
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OUTDOOR PLANTS
