CYCLAMEN 



CYCLAMEN 



425 



suit Fr. Hildebrand, Die Gattung Cyclamen, Jena, 

 1898- L. H. B. 



All Cyclamens are very beautiful, and would be much 

 more popular were they hardy in our eastern climate. 

 On the Pacific slope many of them probably would be 

 perfectly at home as outdoor plants, producing a great 

 number of flowers above the bare soil in the depth of 

 winter before the leaves are developed. It is, however, 

 with the Persian Cyclamen, which is tender, that florists 

 have had the greatest success. There is no common 

 winter-flowering subject of as much value for duration 

 in bloom, variety of coloring, or wealth of color. 



It is preferable at all times to begin the culture of 

 Persian Cyclamen with seeds, sown in the early winter 

 ra:Ouths. Grow on without any check for the following 

 year. They should bloom freely about fifteen months 

 from planting. Old tubers, such as are offered in fall 

 with other florists' bulbs, rarely give any satisfaction as 

 compared with a packet of seeds. It is not the nature 

 of the plant to have all its roots dried off, as if it were 

 a Hyacinth or Tulip. Our summers are rather too warm 

 to suit Cyclamen perfectly, and it will be found that the 

 most growth is made in the early autumn. It is best to 

 give them a little shade in the hot months, such as a 

 frame outdoors near the shade of overhanging trees at 

 midday. This is better than growing them under painted 

 glass, as more light is available, together with plenty of 

 fresh air on hot days. It will be found that Cyclamen 

 seeds require a long time in which to germinate, — often 

 two months. This is due to the fact that the seed pro- 

 duces a bulb or corm before leaf growth is visible. As 

 soon as two leaves are well developed, place the plants 

 around the edge of 4- or Scinch pots until every one is 

 large enough for a 3-inch pot. The roots are produced 

 sparingly in the initial stages, and too much pot room 

 would be fatal at the start. By the middle of summer 

 another shift may be given, and in September all will 

 be ready for the pots in which they are to flower,— 5- or 

 6-inoh pots, according to the vigor of the plants. It 

 will always be found, however, that there will be a cer- 

 tain percentage that will not grow, no matter how much 

 persuasion is used. These may be thrown away to save 

 time and labor early in the season. The Giganteum 



^.i& 



named varieties that will reproduce themselves almost 

 to a certainty. 



Of recent years cultivators have had much trouble 

 with a tiny insect or mite that attacks the plants and 

 renders them useless for bloom. Its work is done mostly 







633. Cycas revoluta. 

 Specimen grown in partial shade. 



strains produce the largest blooms, but at the expense 

 of quantity. For the average cultivator it is better to 

 try a good strain that is not gigantic. There is a recent 

 departure in the form of crested flowers. Cyclamens 

 come true to color from seeds, and one can now buy 



'>j 



634. Leaf of 



Cycas revoluta. 



after the plants are taken 

 into the greenhouse and 

 when about to mature into 

 blooming specimens. If 

 the first flowers come deformed, or 

 abnormally streaked with colors 

 that are darker in shade, it is a 

 sure indication that the pest is 

 present. No other treatment can 

 be recommended but to destroy 

 the infected plants and keep the 

 stock clean, for the pest has not yet been 

 studied carefully. 



Cult, by E. O. Okpet. 



Cyclamens should be removed to the 

 greenhouse about the end of September, 

 or before any danger of frost. In the 

 house they should always have the lightest 

 bench. It is impossible to grow them in a 

 warm, shady house. About 50° at night is the 

 ideal temperature when in flower. The soil 

 best suited to them is a fresh, tufty loam, 

 with a fourth or iifth of well rotted horse- 

 manure, to which add some clean sand if the 

 soil is heavy. At all times, the pots should be 

 well drained. Greenfly is sure to attack the 

 plants at all stages of their growth. In the 

 frames the plants can be plunged in tobacco 

 stems, and in the greenhouse they must be fumigated 

 or, what is better still, vaporized with some of the 

 nicotine extracts. William Scott. 



A. Fall'hlooming species. 



Afric4num, Boiss. & Rent. The largest of Cyclamens : 

 tubers often as large as a turnip (4-10 in. across) : Ivs. 

 ovate-cordate, coarsely toothed, pale beneath, dull and 

 pale green marbled above: calyx pubescent, the lobes 

 'bi'oadly ovate-acuminate: corolla nearly white, faintly 

 rose- or purple-tinged, the segments 1 in. long and deep 

 purple at the base. Algeria. B.M. 5758. P.S. 8:841. — 

 Little known in this country, but sold by the American 

 agencies of the Dutch bulb houses. The same remark 

 will apply to most other species, except G. latifoliuni. 

 Perhaps a form of the next. 



Neapolitinum, Ten. Tuber very large, black, thick- 

 rinded: Ivs. variable, from hastate to round-reniform, 

 more or less wavy-plaited on the edges, green or some- 

 what parti-colored : calyx small : corolla pink or rarely 

 white, the segments short and twisted and the edges 

 raised and white-edged at the base. S.Eu. B.E. 24:49. 

 Gn. 51, p. 37. E.H. 1855: 21. as O. hedercefoUum. 



Europaeum, Linn. {C. Clusii, Lindl.). Lvs. ovate-or- 

 bicular, entire or nearly so, with a deep and narrow 

 basal sinus, more or less white-marbled above, purple- 

 tinted beneath : fls. on scapes 4-5 in. high, bright red and 

 very fragrant, the corolla-segments oblong-spatulate 

 {%in. or less long) ; calyx glabrous. Central and S.Eu. 

 B.R. 12:1013. — Lvs. appearing with the fls. Variable. 



CiUoicum, Boiss. & Heldr. Much like C. Etiropceum: 

 fls. white, with purple at the mouth, about twice larger; 

 calyx puberulent. SicOy G.C. III. 23; 81. 



