Cyclamen bloom sequence
Roy Herold (Sat, 15 Mar 2008 07:57:53 PDT)
One species missing from the bloom sequence list is C. rohlfsianum. For
me, they start to bloom right after the graecums, in late September and
early October. I leave them outside in pots until the first frost, and
shuttle them inside and outside for a few weeks before the final
transfer to the cool greenhouse. I'm sure that the bloom time could be
moved backwards or forwards depending on when they get their first watering.
Mine bloom moderately well, with a couple of dozen flowers (not all at
once) on each plant, but nowhere as spectacular as the ones pictured in
the AGS or SRGC bulletins. I think my leaves are as good or better,
however. Each plant has distinct leaves (and flowers), and if you didn't
know better you'd swear they were different species.
My four (or is it five) 'mother' rohlfsianums take up far too much room
in the greenhouse, but are well worth it. They are a bit crowded in 8 to
10 inch pots, but seem happy. My policy has been to leave them in the
same pot until it splits, which doesn't take all that long. Dry out
completely in the summer, start watering again on Labor Day (first week
of Sept).
The tubers are decidedly irregular, with widely separated growing
points, and unlike most other cyclamen can be divided with a well placed
cut. Not recommended for the faint of heart...
--Roy
NW of Boston, where the snow is changing to rain, and C. balearicum is
just starting to bloom in the greenhouse.
Jane McGary wrote:
A friend in Portland, Oregon grew the rare C. rohlfsianum outdoors under
Douglas firs, where it enjoyed shelter and dryness and became magnificently
large. I'll probably move mine outdoors eventually, since the property I'm
buying in the city is badly infested with these trees, some of which are
too large to contemplate removing.