code: 578
It is very tolerant of dry shade being summer deciduous
Family: Primulaceae
Common name: CYCLAMEN NEAPOLITANUM
Plant Classification: Hardy perennial
Minimum Height: 8 cm
Maximum Height: 13 cm
Plants produce handsome silver-marked foliage with red, pink or ivory white flowers in August and September. They are completely hardy and relatively easy, naturalising by self-seeding. Cyclamen hederifolium has a wide distribution stretching from south eastern France, through Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, (including Crete and many of the Aegean Islands). It is very tolerant of dry shade being summer deciduous, coming back to life with the late summer rains.
Sowing advice:
Seeds should be sown at any time, and as soon as possible after you have received them. Sow the seeds thinly onto a gritty, loamy compost and cover about 6mm or 1/4 inch deep as light can inhibit germination. Keep at between 10 and 15 degrees C. Germination can take from one to twelve months and is generally erratic, a strategy that has evolved to protect the strain in the wild. Pot on into a low-organic content compost.
Garden Uses:
A small, fall bloomer which fits well in a partially shaded area of the rock garden. Also, effective massed in front of shrubs or around trees or in woodland gardens. May be overplanted in summer with annuals.
Culture:
Grow in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soil in part shade. Prefers moist, humusy soils with protection from hot afternoon sun. Plant corms just below the surface in spring. Plants are dormant in summer (see Problems section below). Mulch corms in winter. May self-seed in the garden.
