[pbs] Cyclamen hederifolium planting depth
Jane McGary
janemcgary at earthlink.net
Fri Sep 21 12:16:27 EDT 2007
Roy wrote,
" C. graecum is one of the types that grows up, not out. In this species,
formation of a trunk is to be expected. My biggest difficulty in growing
them is to find a pot that is deep enough to handle the tuber..."
I grow most of my C. graecum now in plastic mesh pots plunged in sand, and
so I can plant them deeply and they still have as much run for their annual
roots as they want, extending them out through the mesh. I use soluble
fertilizer with a hose hook-up, so the plunge sand has some nutrition for
them, in addition to the fines naturally in it. I have just one C. graecum
in the garden, in a sloping scree situation, and it's going into its third
year in the open; it was pretty big when I planted it, though.
Cyclamen mirabile has also returned in the open this year; I had some
extras rescued from among the pots, where ants sow the seeds that I don't
get to first.
Regarding Cyclamen hederifolium and moisture, there's a path between two of
my bulb frames that is regularly under an inch of water in winter. C.
hederifolium has appeared there and has flowered for some years now. Yet
I've also seen it in the wild growing as a chasmophyte (cliff-dweller) in
crevices on a vertical rock face. In gardens in this area it often appears
in lawns that aren't mown in winter. When people ask me what to plant in
"impossible" places, such as the base of an old hedge, I recommend this
species, with the caveat that it disappears in summer.
Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA
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