CYCLAMEN 



THE BULB BOOK 



CYCLAMEN 



and beautiful dwarf scapigerous 

 herbs with large roundish, depressed, 

 fleshy, corm-like tubers (Fig. 109). 

 Leaves long - stalked, ovate heart- 

 shaped or kidney-shaped, entire or 

 sinuate-dentate. Scapes slender, one- 

 flowered. Flowers nodding, white, 

 rose, or purple, with the scape often 

 spirally twisted after flowering, and 

 pressing the seed -capsule into the 

 ground. Calyx five-parted, with per- 



Fio. 109. — Cyclamen, tuber. 



sistent ovate or ovate lance-shaped 

 segments. Corolla hypogynous, with 

 a small roundish tube thickened at 

 the throat j lobes five, twisted, re- 

 flexed. Stamens five, attached to 

 the corolla at the base of the tube. 

 Ovary superior, ovoid. Capsule 

 globose or ovoid, many-seeded. 



With the exception of the beautiful 

 C. latifolium (the culture of which is 

 treated separately), all species of 

 Cyclamen mentioned below are almost 

 perfectly hardy in the British Islands. 

 As may be seen from the synonyms, 

 there is a good deal of confusion with 

 the names, but those given ia the 

 author's Practical Guide to Garden 

 Plants are retained here as being 

 the most correct and accepted at 

 the present time. 



Hardy Cyclamen are particularly 

 suitable for growing in rock-gardens, 

 and on sloping banks where they 

 will be sheltered from the sun by 

 the shade of overhanging trees in 

 summer, and from severe frosts in 

 winter, by the boughs and leaves 

 that have fallen from them in the 



177 



autumn. Positions resembling these 

 should be chosen if possible; other- 

 wise, an aspect between the north- 

 east and north-west should be 

 selected, and if trees are absent, the 

 tubers should be protected during 

 the winter season with a covering 

 of dry leaves, litter, or bracken. 



As the plants in a state of nature 

 are generally found growing on sandy 

 or chalky porous soil, with the tubers 

 well out of the ground, it is essential 

 in gardens to have a well-drained 

 loamy soil to which leaf -mould, peat, 

 and some limestone rubble or mortar 

 rubbish may be added. 



Generally speaking, the best time 

 to plant hardy Cyclamen is from the 

 end of June till November, according 

 as to whether the plants flower in the 

 spring or early summer, or in the 

 autumn. A handful of sand may be 

 placed beneath the tubers when plant- 

 ing, to secure perfect drainage ; and 

 the tops of the tubers should be 

 slightly above the surface of the soil, 

 so that water shall not settle in the 

 crown. In early winter it is advis- 

 able to spread old leaves or old 

 manure over and around the plants, 

 not only as a protection against frosts, 

 but also as a mulching to the soil, to 

 replenish food for the roots. 



Hardy Cyclamen ripen seed freely 

 in many instances. In such cases 

 they may be reproduced by sowing 

 the seeds when thoroughly ripe in rich 

 sandy soU in pots in a cold frame or 

 warm greenhouse. In some vigorous 

 cases seedlings appear naturally from 

 self-sown seed near to the parent 

 plants. Seedlings raised under glass 

 are best grown on in small pots for a 

 season or two until well established, 

 before transferring them to the open 

 air. 



Another method of increasing 

 hardy Cyclamen is by cutting the old 

 tubers into pieces, each piece having 



