Cyclamen 2007

[Hans J]

Hi all ,

After a lot days with rain it was today possibly to get outside and make some pictures .

Cyclamen purpurascens f. album
Cyclamen pupurascens f. carmineolineatum

These plants are very unusual and flowering for me for the first time

Enjoy
Hans

[Maggi Young]

These unusual forms are most interesting, Hans, thank you for posting the pictures. I am particularly taken with the very fine foliage of  the forma alba. Perhaps it is not surprising that these  rare colour forms should also have good foliage. Is there any red on the reverse of the leaves, or only green?

We have had quite a good day today, also, perhaps summer has come! In the garden C. purpurascens is making buds and there are also some seed pods. We have only some dark forms, I must look for photos... or wait for more sunshine here!

[Hans J]

Is there any red on the reverse of the leaves, or only green?

Hi Maggi ,

I'm glad that you like the pictures of this plants.
To your question ( I have looked outside ):
The leaves of the album form is more or less green on backsite, the other carmineolineatum form is a little red .
I hope this album form is more fertil than my others - they had made a lot of fruits in last year -but in spring there was only few left - and more and more was dry and has no seeds inside .
After talking with a Cyclamen breeder he tells me this is typical for this plants -thats the reason why this plants are rare .
From last year I had only 4 seed grains !!!

Greetings
Hans

[Maggi Young]

Thank you, Hans. I expected that there would only be green on the leaves of the white form but one never knows for sure about these things!  We certainly find that the "ordinary" C. purpurascens in the garden do not make as many seeds as we would like.
 I should have asked this question before, now I must make you go back to the garden  ... are these forms as sweetly scented as the usual forms?

[Hans J]

No problem Maggi

I have always a lot of seeds in my garden from the normal form of C. purpurascens -please remember me and I will send you a pic later.
My Cyclamen purpurascens grows free in my border without protection - exept some rare in pots .
To your other question : yes - the f. carmineolinatum is scented.
More difficould for me is to get seeds of Cyc. colchicum - I pollinate they often as possibly -but with not so good results .

Greetings
Hans

[Lesley Cox]

The white forms are certainly lovely and I suppose will be nicely fragrant as well? I've had the album form twice from the seedlists but both times it eventually turned out to be C. hederifolium album.

[Gerdk]

Hans,
Lovely pics.

Is there a hint of pink around the mouth of the corolla of Cyclamen purp.  f. album?

I don't know the reason for the poor seedset of your Cyclamen colchicum.
I have no problems with my plants although I never handpollinated them.

Gerd Knoche, Solingen
Germany

[Hans J]

Lesley : Yes it is typical - hederifolium f. album makes easy seed -and the people send it to the seeddistribution as purpurascens.....I have heard the same from other friends .

Gerd : yes -you are correct there is a hint of pink .
May be your cooler wether in Solingen is better for the pollen of C. colchicum .

Greetings
Hans

[Hans J]

Hi Maggi ,

Here are some pics from today ( the sun is still shining ) from my borders with Cyc. purpurascens

Greetings
Hans

[Hans J]

Here now pics of my Cyc.hederifolium  f. album - this plants are really fertil .
I have bougth before some years two plants and now comes up in my garden this plants -really far from the motherplants . This form is genetis very stabile - around 90 % of the seedlings flowering also white . They are always a little bit earlier than my other C. hederifolium .

[Lesley Cox]

Yours are flowering from bare ground Hans. For some reason my white hederifoliums always flower when the leaves are well developed. That is, the flowers and leaves mature at the same time. I have pink forms that do this too, while other pinks flower leafless. There are so many different things to notice, even about a single species or form, of so many plants. A gardener's life in infinitely interesting and diverse.

[Hans J]

Yes Lesley

I agree with you - we will never understood what mother nature all doing -thats the things who makes gardening so interesting.

Greetings
Hans

[hadacekf]

Hans,
Just like with Lesley, my white hederifoliums always flower when the leaves are well developed. They flower however always in October.

[Anthony Darby]

I have one clump of album flowering now from bare ground. I'll take its pic later today.

[DaveM]

Very curious - I've noticed similar flowering habits in C hederifolium.  I've attached a couple of pix of Cyclamen greacum taken in the Peloponnese, a bit later in the season (early November). Both pix are of the same population, but it's clear that some plants are flowering without leaves and some with leaves very well advanced. What is controlling this? Do they follow the same pattern year by year? Anyone with any thoughts?  I'm intigued......