It’s not mean to leave these pretties in the cold
IN most of the country, florists’ cyclamen is just that, something to bring that new mom, or put on a sunny windowsill at home. With its distinctive nodding flowers, twisted petals and heart-shaped leaves, it is one of the more colorful indoor plants, if a trifle short-lived. But forget all that in our mild Southern California climate. Here, florists’ cyclamen is best for brightening pots or beds outdoors in winter, when there is little else blooming.
Put some on the porch or patio, or plant a bunch now in the garden for instant and long-lasting color during this cooler time of the year. Line a driveway, as one homeowner did, with a blizzard of white cyclamens, interspersing them with bright ‘Telstar’ dianthus. The cyclamens will bloom until the first hot days of summer. Pasadena nurseryman Frank Burkard says he often sells red and white cyclamens for holiday color outdoors but quickly adds that most are still sold for indoor use.
“They are so misunderstood,” says Evelyn Weidner of Weidner’s Gardens in Encinitas, which grows about 40,000 cyclamens each year. “The frequently seen advice to put them in a sunny window may work in Chicago, but not here. They do best outdoors in a cool and shady spot.”
Near the coast they can take sun and even in Pasadena they don’t mind a few hours in the morning, but they are one of the few things that will bloom reliably when long winter shadows stretch to every corner of the garden.
Sure, it’s OK to keep them indoors for a week or two, as holiday or table decorations, but even then be sure to put them where they’re cool and out of the sun. “Turn off the heater and save some money,” suggests Weidner, only half kidding, “and put them out with the dog at night.” Growers don’t expect them to last indoors for more than a month.
Outdoors they are “bulletproof,” says experienced landscape designer Lew Whitney of Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar. He uses them in beds but because they’ve become expensive (flats are about twice as much as other bedding plants), he’s more likely to put them in big containers. “They have real impact in a pot,” he says, and adds that they outlast most flowers and need practically no maintenance.
The colors are perfect for this chilly season -- vibrant reds, snowy whites, scarlet, pink, salmon, fuchsia, purple, wine, orchid, plus cool lavenders. There are some new “flame” flower types that seem to glow, thanks to a lighter-colored edge on each petal. Other new kinds, many coming from Japanese seed companies, have frilled flowers and a few are even striped, though these might not be the best for bedding because they need to be seen up close.
The foliage is often streaked or marbled, dramatically on the miniature ‘Silverado’ strain. It can be quite silvery, as on the ‘Sterling’ strain, a favorite of John Kister of Sunlet Nursery, a large wholesale grower in Fallbrook. “The silvery kinds are really something,” says Burkard, who runs Burkard Nurseries in Pasadena, and has a hard time keeping this strain in stock. They have a definite wintry elegance about them.
The wild Cyclamen persicum, from which all florists’ cyclamen is descended, were fragrant but scent was lost in the large-flowered hybrids. Now fragrance is showing up in some of the miniatures, such as ‘Silverado,’ and a few varieties of intermediate size. Flowers on the regular, full-size cyclamens are about 2 inches across, while the intermediates have flowers around 1 inch across and anything smaller is called a miniature. The intermediates and miniatures are both proportionately smaller, with the minis growing to about 6 by 6 inches.
What you’ll mostly find at nurseries are quart or 4-inch pots of tough garden varieties such as ‘Laser,’ ‘Latinia’ and ‘Concerto.’ These have intermediate-sized flowers that bloom for a long time, coming in dozens of colors, though Burkard and Whitney suggest the same strategy often used with impatiens. Plant a single color or plant in drifts, say a cluster of five pinks, then a cluster of seven lavenders and maybe a cluster of five reds. This keeps plantings from looking too much like a crazy quilt (unless, of course, that’s what you want).
Many of the best garden varieties are coming from seed companies in Northern California and the south of France so they feel right at home here. Their wild ancestor is actually native to the Mediterranean, growing under scrub that is very similar to our chaparral, or under trees on hillsides much like our oak woodland. In the wild, they can be found in Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Tunisia and on various Greek islands, though the modern selections and hybrids are much changed from the demure little wildling.
Because they came from a summer-dry climate, even the fancy hybrids will go dormant in summer. They’re not dying, just resting, and they require it just as babies need a nap.
Fat little tubers sustain the plants through summer. Those in pots can simply be moved out of sight while dormant. Tip small pots on their sides so you don’t accidentally water them. You can try to keep those planted out in the garden reasonably dry, but Weidner suggests digging the tubers up along with some soil and setting them aside in garden flats or boxes, much like is done with tuberous begonias. Leave the clump of soil attached to the roots and keep them shaded and dry until it’s time to plant next October. Then you can shake the soil off. You can do the same with tubers in containers too big to move. Because even small cyclamens can cost $6 to $7 each, it’s worth trying to keep them alive through summer.
It’s important to plant cyclamen so the top of the tuber is exposed -- it should actually be a little above the soil line. “Cover or bury it and you kill it, 100% of the time,” Weidner says. Plant the 4-inch pot size about a foot apart. They will bush out a bit as they grow so plants end up 10 inches to 15 inches across by spring.
Because they are woodland plants, they prefer rich organic soils but they also want good drainage, as do most Mediterranean plants (often rocky, gravely soils lie just under the leaf litter). Most potting mixes have the good drainage and high organic content. Out in the garden, add organic amendments (“planting mixes”) to the soil beforehand. Water plants moderately once they are settled in. Don’t over water or you’ll rot them off, warns Burkard.
Weidner says cyclamens definitely benefit from fertilizing. The only other care might be the removal of old flowers, which should be pulled off, not cut, with a quick, twisting tug. You can also pull flowers to use in bouquets. Though small, they make a surprisingly good cut flower.
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Full blooms for an instant show
The best bouquets aren’t always at florists. Several flowers found at nurseries now are sold in full bloom -- not the best way to start them in the garden (it makes for a short show), but great in containers for instant, seasonal effect indoors or out. Stuff a few flowers from quart pots into a decorative container, or fill it with several plants from packs. Who cares if they last for only a couple of weeks? Toss them and get new ones.
Chrysanthemums. Some of the most autumn-like colors are found in traditional mum flowers, as colorful as any fall foliage. Not many have the patience to grow these fall bloomers year-round but stuff a few into a pot now for a week or two of glorious fall color.
Pansies and violas. So many are sold in full bloom that they too can be used for instant color. Orange varieties are a favorite because they are almost pumpkin-like, but there are yellows, blues, you name it. Give them sun, as they really don’t like more than one-third shade.
Zinnias, red salvias and other bright summer bloomers. These are about finished (the first cold night will shut them down), but they look great stuffed into pots until the mercury drops. This gardener used a pot of shocking orange zinnias as our Halloween “pumpkin.” The neighborhood kids didn’t get it, but the parents were amused.
Berried plants. Pyracantha, cotoneaster, the native toyon and other plants with winter berries are quite festive in pots, even indoors (though they won’t tolerate more than a week or two inside). When their decorating days are over, plant them in the garden. Most make dense shrubs of manageable size.
-- R.S.
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Growing tips
Florists’ cyclamen is finding a home in the garden.
How to plant outdoors
If planting in the ground, add organic amendments to the soil.
Plant so the top of the tuber is exposed, just above the soil.
Space about a foot apart in the ground, less in pots.
Water moderately; fertilize monthly.
Caring for them
in the house
Keep in 55- to 65-degree rooms.
Take outside at night, bring inside in the morning.
Don’t put in a sunny window.
Water edges of pot once or twice a week, keeping the top of the tuber dry.
Wilting stalks are likely a sign of over-watering. Soil should be damp, not wet.
Lightly fertilize twice a month.
-- Robert Smaus
