Cyclamen Species, Hardy Cyclamen

Seeds are very difficult to germinate. Plant is much like the African Violet, likes to watered from the bottom. A very temperamental plan...Read Moret, but beautiful.

Cyclamen mirabile is so called because of the reddish colour of the young leaves of some plants - but not mine! I started it from seed o...Read Morebtained from The Cyclamen Society's seed distribution (the best source of species cyclamen seeds) in 1982; it didn't flower until 1989, but had attractive leaves meanwhile. Since then it has flowered every year but one, when it took a whole year off (1991-2 - no leaves or flowers - cyclamen sometimes do this!). The picture I'm submitting was taken in October 2003 when it was 21 years old. I don't think it is likely to be hardy outside here in Newfoundland (Canadian zone 5b), but it has done well in an unheated cold frame against the south side of my house where it catches the winter sun when it isn't buried in snow! In the wild it is found in SW Anatolia, Turkey, and has a more restricted distribution than some of the other species.

I recieved this plant as a get well gift. It was in a cute pot but didn't look real good soon after I got it home. I read that it would t...Read Morehrive if I planted it near a cedar tree. I don't have any trees in my yard, so I took a chance and planted it outside in a shady spot. For a few days I was sure it was going to die. It looked awful. But much to my surprise the flowers turned a darker pink and it pulled through. The temperature here has been cooler than normal and we've had a lot of rain. I'm not sure how well it will do when we return to our typical Kansas heat. For now, I'm thouroughly enjoying the ever blooming dark pink flowers.