A colourful gift!

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Author Message   Psilo  My Garden Journal My Garden Posted on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 - 10:36 am EST :    I have never grown hardy cyclamens before but a friend of mine persuaded me to give them a try and boy am I glad he did!! This little beauty, Cyclamen Cilicium is flowering away in my cool conservatory Psilo - United Kingdom, Zone "8"   Zephirine  Posted on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 - 10:52 am EST :    How lovely Annette!!!! Very delicate pictures indeed.. Have you never tried C.hederifolium (blooming like mad at this time of year) or C. coum (for spring)? Oh you should !!! Zephirine France zone 8   Psilo  My Garden Journal My Garden Posted on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 - 10:55 am EST :    Yes zephirine my friend gave me loads of hederifolium and they are all full of leaf in the greenhouse but no flowers? I only planted them in a mix of general purpose compost and grit and no feed. Why are they not flowering? maybe they are still too small. The corms are only about 1cm across. He also gave me aload of species seed but they havnet germinated yet. Psilo - United Kingdom, Zone "8"   Gardenbug  Posted on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 - 12:27 pm EST :    They will germinate eventually, erratically over time too. Mine are under lights now. This is my second batch. Are yours in the conservatory because they are young? Next year they certainly could go outside. Gardenbug Ontario zone 4b/5b   Zephirine  Posted on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 - 12:50 pm EST :    I agree with Mary..They need some cold to bloom correctly, I think. Plant them outdoors ! Are you sure they are hederifolium, by the way, and not Coum (spring cyclamens)? They are not fussy at all about feeding, you know, in my father's garden they grow all by themselves in a thick mattress of tree roots , with probably close to nothing to eat or to drink ! Another idea, just in case...they should be right below the surface, not too deep! That could eventually be another reason for no bloom, though as I'm talking to mrs Psilo herself, I don't think I should even mention it...lol... Zephirine France zone 8   Gardenfiend  My Weather Posted on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 - 01:10 pm EST :    I can attest to their lack of fussiness. I've got some growing under birches, about the worst situation you can put a plant in. They've been coming back for years and years - though I suppose they'd be bigger and better if they had more decent living conditions. Today: Autumn scene with some of the billion or so chestnuts from our tree, that I still have to collect. Ouch! Mara Germany zone 6-7   Galanthophile  My Favorite Photo My Garden Posted on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 - 01:49 pm EST :    Annette - you have a beautiful plant there. I adore these - both the spring but especially the autumn blooms. Mine self seed all over the garden and the tiny corms will just produce leaves for the first few years. Enjoy! Galanthophile - Ann (Northern England), Zone "8"   Psilo  My Garden Journal My Garden Posted on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 - 06:07 pm EST :    Zephirine when it comes to Cyclamen I know nothing!! lol so please feel free to give me any advice at all. The corms are planted half way into compost then are covered with a top dressing of grit. Im not exactly sure of the name I will check it out tomorrow. In the future I do intend to plant them in grass but I havent prepared the site yes so I have them in pots in the cold greenhouse and the cold conservatory, I love your ones gardenfied, Those are lovely and under a sweet chestnut tree too oh how I long to have one of those in my garden but they grow far too big. Hopefully I will get the flowers too next year but for now I will just enjoy the foliage :) Psilo - United Kingdom, Zone "8"   Terryk  Posted on Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 11:58 am EST :    Annette how lucky you are to have such a generous friend (could it be Tim Murphy?)! I also am lucky, Tim sent seeds to me and they have germinated and are now under lights. Marie, you give me something to strive for! My seeds and are still tiny. At this point they only have one leaf, Tim has advised to transplant but I am not sure they are at the correct stage for it yet. How long before you got them to this size? I will have to post picture later today. Terryk - NY, Zone "6"   Psilo  My Garden Journal My Garden Posted on Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 12:44 pm EST :    Hi Terry No my friend wasnt Tim but was someone not known to this forum. He is a very keen enthusiast of cyclamen and was determined to get me interested too! lol Psilo - United Kingdom, Zone "8"   Gardenbug  Posted on Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 01:26 pm EST :    Terry, one day soon you will start to see little curls surfacing and each plant developing more and more leaves. Some grow faster than others and the markings differ too. Gardenbug Ontario zone 4b/5b   Terryk  Posted on Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 08:18 pm EST :    Thanks Marie, yes I think I saw one the other day. At that point do you transplant? Tim's recommendation is to pot them on individually vs. some instructions which say they should stay in the pot longer. He feels they bloom faster, some within a year. Terryk - NY, Zone "6"   Gardenbug  Posted on Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 08:44 pm EST :    Well I planted only one seed per pot in the first place...but I'm considering repotting them soon so that they have more room to expand. Also last year a few of them developed some aphids on the underside of their leaves. These were easily washed off and the problem did not recur. Mine are in a cool room, about 60F. Gardenbug Ontario zone 4b/5b   Lindablond  Posted on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 12:14 am EST :    Mara - I just LOVE your photo with the chestnut! Thanks! Linda Vancouver, Canada Zone 8   Marlene  Posted on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 02:42 am EST :    Mara, I can see that you have the chestnut to eat (and not the horse chestnut - Aesculus hippocastanum), and it surprises me that it is hardy in Germany. Which part of Germany do you live?}}} Marlene - Denmark, Zone "7-8"   Gardenfiend  My Weather Posted on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 03:44 am EST :    Marlene, I don't exactly live in one of the milder parts of Germany (I'm in Berlin). Chestnut trees are perfectly hardy here - though not very common. Ours is very old and enormous. We have a huge chestnut harvest every year and never know what to do with all the nuts. They taste good, but are so much trouble to prepare. Our friends happily accepted them once... Now they all say "No thank you". Mara Germany zone 6-7   Marlene  Posted on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 06:51 am EST :    Wow - that's wonderful to hear; I will plant such af tree in my garden. I actually did not believe that they were hardy in Denmark. But if they are perfectly hardy in Berlin, they should be here too. Hmmm... I don't find them that troublesome to prepare; I like them roasted in the oven with lots of salt. Unfortunately, I often find small worms/grubs (when I buy organic chestnuts). Do you have the same problem? Marlene - Denmark, Zone "7-8"   Gardenbug  Posted on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 08:03 am EST :    We used to eat them in France when I was young. Mother also made a wonderful dessert with purée de marons...which is a very sweet concoction which I wouldn't mind tasting again ! I don't know the details, but the American chestnut tree was struck by a fungus years ago and may be making a comeback. You can read about it here: http://forestry.about.com/cs/treeid/a/achestnut.htm Since my posting above, I have repotted the cyclamen seedlings and they seem to be enjoying their new pots. Gardenbug Ontario zone 4b/5b   Gardenfiend  My Weather Posted on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 08:19 am EST :    Marlene, summers are warmer and sunnier here than in Denmark. That may make a difference. Oddly, I've never found any worms or bugs in the chestnuts, in spite of their being grown organically (how could you possible spray 20 metres up anyway?). My experience roasting them in the oven wasn't good. I had nicked them with a knife, but they exploded anyway, some while I was opening the oven door. Lots of fun cleaning up. Since then we prefer to boil them, then remove the shells. Mara Germany zone 6-7   Marlene  Posted on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 01:45 pm EST :    Yes, the summers may be warmer in Berlin than in Denmark. We certainly had a cold summer this year I don't know whether the not organically grown chestnuts are being sprayed or not, but I have never found any worms in those. I can see why you don't want to prepare your chestnuts in the oven anymore I have never tried to boil them - but often thought of it; I just love the taste of them. Marlene - Denmark, Zone "7-8"

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