214 ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK GARDENS. 



recovering from the shock this will give them. Even 

 when in a dormant state they should be kept in the 

 soil. 



The hardy Cyclamens, like the tender varieties, are 

 best raised from seed, which may be sown in pots or 

 pans in spring, and shaded to check evaporation until 

 germination has taken place. The plants will be best 

 on a bed of ashes in a frame throughout the summer. 

 It is quite likely that they will grow slowly, and that 

 they will not be strong enough to put out till the 

 following summer, because they have to make their 

 corms. They must be watered as required, and kept 

 in a half-shady place, where the conditions are cool 

 and moist. 



The following are a few of the best of the hardy 

 Cyclamens : Count is a winter-flowering Grecian 

 species, with round, smooth tubers, green, heart-shaped 

 leathery leaves, and crimson or purplish-red flowers. 

 It grows about four inches high. A variety called 

 album, white with purple eye, is offered by hardy 

 plantsmen. Atkinsii is listed in some cases as a distinct 

 species, and in others as identical with ibericum. It is 

 probably a garden hybrid of Count parentage ; at all 

 events it belongs to the Coum section. It has purple 

 and white flowers. Hederae folium is the Ivy-leaved 

 Cyclamen, and has the great merits of being hardy and 

 an abundant bloomer. It forms a large tuber, from 

 the upper surface and edges of which the roots push. 

 The flowers are purplish-red, and are produced in 

 autumn. A white variety (album) is listed. The 

 leaves are handsomely marked. Ibericum, with red 



