Cyclamen in cold climates

Jane McGary janemcgary@earthlink.net
Tue, 08 Apr 2003 10:24:58 PDT
Jim Shields in Indiana, USA, wrote, 
>
>Cyclamen do not do terribly well outdoors here.  Cyclamen coum and 
>hederifolium have survived in the ground in some places, at least for a few 
>years.  C. hederifolium even blooms a bit in autumn growing in the ground; 
>C. coum outdoors in the ground rarely manages to put up more than an 
>occasional leaf, and no flowers.

This is surprising, since I know of gardeners in upstate New York and in
New England who grow multitudes of Cyclamen hederifolium outdoors. I don't
know how well C. coum (somewhat more tender) does there but I believe it is
grown and flowered. Perhaps Jim has some problem other than climate that C.
hederifolium dislikes, though I can't imagine what it would be, since this
species seems to tolerate any possible garden conditions here, from deep
shade to full sun and from extremely good drainage to heavy, stagnant
soils. (One constant would be that it has rather acidic soil - but it can
self-sow into a limed lawn, too.) In fact, this is one plant that I
invariably recommend to plant sale customers who need something noninvasive
for a problem space, such as under a conifer or at the base of a big hedge.

One thing that I have heard destroys C. hederifolium is squirrels. Have you
got a lot of them, Jim? (Oh, and pigs, but I assume you haven't got any of
them in the garden!)

Best regards,
Jane McGary
Northwest Oregon, USA


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