The Mysterious Cyclamen
By Chuck Goecke, North Haven Gardens Horticulturist

     What are those gorgeous bedding plants with
the svelte stems and exotic flowers that you seem to notice everywhere? You’ve maybe seen them as an attractive accent in your neighbor’s yard or in a beautiful and colorful container arrangement. No, not the pansies. They are cyclamens, with their dense clumps of leaves that are so naturally and artistically marbled with silver. They steal the show with orchid-like blooms in various shades of pink, red, and white.
     Persian Cyclamen have long been used as holiday houseplants in the North, where they have gained a reputation as being finicky. Here in the Dallas area, these cyclamen can perform very well outdoors both in the garden and in containers. These varieties have parentage from the Mediterranean region; thus, they particularly like our cool moist winters and grow well here. Plants received during the holidays as gifts can be happily moved outdoors to the garden (plant with the bulb partially above ground) or to a decorative planter for continued enjoyment.
     The best location is protecting them from the hot sun. Their main requirement is excellent drainage. Planting in a raised bed or on a slope is ideal. It keeps them above our clay soil, which holds a lot of water, and provides drainage from “sprinkler system over watering”. Lots of organic matter is also important to healthy plants.
     During our hot summer weather, cyclamen will go dormant. If you keep them dry from May to October, your cyclamen will perk their heads up with the cool fall weather and begin to delight you once again.
     Persian cyclamen should be protected from very cold weather — temperatures below 25 degrees F., by covering them or bringing them inside until warmer temperatures return. (Container plantings will accommodate these moves easily.)
    Hardy cyclamen are species that are winter hardy perennials in the Dallas area. They need only light mulch for protection. Hardy cyclamen have especially attractive foliage. They are more intensely marbled with silver coloring. Persian cyclamen are also available in dwarf forms, which are similar to the hardy cyclamen varieties.

Primrose - a Companion to Cyclamen in the Garden
By Chuck Goecke, North Haven Gardens Horticulturist

     The primrose is an excellent companion plant to cyclamen and for shady garden areas and container plantings. They are low growing (about 8-10” in height) winter annuals in our Dallas climate and come in a broader range of colors than the cyclamen. Primrose colors are vibrant in their primary-color range. Keep them slightly moist and, like cyclamen, don’t overwater. If possible, use a soaker hose in order to avoid wetting the foliage too much. They, too, like shade and particularly appreciate a high organic content soil. Planting primroses in January and February, these flowers are very winter hardy; however, if the weather becomes extremely cold, they will go dormant for a short winter period and then awaken and resume growing in early spring.