code: 550
They live in the wild in woods and shaded banks in Mediterranean countries
Family: Primulaceae
Common name: Wavy-edged cyclamen
Plant Classification: Hardy perennial
Maximum Height: 10 cm
Packet Content(approx.): 8
Late spring-blooming, showy, fragrant rose-pink flowers, deeper coloured at the base of the petals, open above wide, heart-shaped leaves, which are often coarsely toothed or lobed. They live in the wild in woods and shaded banks in Mediterranean countries, from southern France to Greece, and also in Algeria. Very few seeds collected.
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.
Habitat:
Cyclamen repandum var repandum grows in moist areas with copious winter rainfall, in shady places from sea level to about 1300m, in deciduous and evergreen woods and in scrub or shady spots in rocky terrain. C. repandum var baborense also grows in an area of very moist Mediterranean climate, with winter rainfall of 80-200cm a year, from 400-1800m, in deciduous oak forests.
Cultivation:
Cyclamen repandum is a woodland plant with thin leaves, easily damaged by strong wind or overnight frost, weakening the plant, and strongly dislikes drying out but when planted deeply, 10-15cm, in a sheltered and damp (not wet) situation, it can naturalise in milder parts of northwest Europe. In colder climates it grows well as a pot plant in a cold greenhouse. Leaves with brighter patterning, including an all over silver wash, have also been found recently.
