Cyclamen for Indoors

Gay Nightingale looks at this aspect of cyclamen that is often overlooked by the serious grower.

What is the most interesting thing about cyclamen? For me it is the fascination of finding delicate blooms without leaves appeared from dark soil. In the case of Cyclamen persicum, the flowers come when leaves are already present, but there is still the same sense of surprise as buds arise from a hard wood-like structure known as the tuber, which develops from the hypocoytle.

The way cyclamen flowers unwind definitely reminds me of the Japanese paper flowers that unwound from small tablets dropped in a glass of water. The corolla unfolds slowly, lobe by lobe, and waiting for a specimen to open in time for the show bench can be tantalising. Similarly, plants spring to life from hard little seeds. And this too is a fascinating process. The grower values plants raised at home more than pots purchased in full bloom - every stage of development is interesting to the sower.

Cyclamen for the house are sown in trays, clay pots or pans. Ripe seeds germinate readily, and only need a good wash before sowing - although some gardeners like to use a single drop of washing-up liquid to remove the natural substance on the seedcoat that sometimes causes delay in germination. If seed from packets is used (and this germinates very well for me) soak overnight and then rinse thoroughly - even two nights in water will do no harm.

Space the seed apart in trays or pots. (Soil-less compost may be used). Cover the seed lightly with just a little more depth of compost or grit than the depth of the seed itself.

If you hope to have cyclamen germinating in quantity like mustard and cress it is most important that you water once and place the whole container in a polythene bag. Don't trouble with tying knots - you will need to open the bag every few days to let in a gasp of fresh air, just turn the end under. Drops of moisture from inside the bag drop back on to the compost. This seems to encourage germination and single leaf seedlings should appear within six weeks.

Put the containers in a warm, shady place. Scorching sun doesn't suit cyclamen seedlings, nor high temperatures help -temperatures over 658F (188C) actually inhibit germination. Remember to label at this stage.

November is a month which I associate with cyclamen germinating; they are to be found germinating in the house, garden, cold frames and greenhouse. They will germinate indoors in every month of the year, but in November I also have hardy cyclamen germinating outdoors from summer sowings - some from self-sown seed and some from seed sown in trays and placed against a shady fence.

As I have indoor cyclamen plants placed outside during the summer, it often happens that seed from these gets into the pots of other cyclamen, and this has led to some unexpected results. C. persicum seedlings managed to find a footing in a C. libanoticum pan where they both struggled for existence, growing in lower than generally advised temperatures in a cold frame. The uncommon C. libanoticum flowered, but not so freely as usual. When they flowered, the scarlet red seedlings and the pink frilly cyclamen gave a gaudy display. But what intrigued me was the amazingly small amount of space the new seedlings made do with; cramped against the side of the pot and yet still performing quite well with little compost and no top dressing.

But by far the most interesting experiment of this kind has been the recording of a C. persicum plant that emerged in a wooden tub (half a barrel) of C. coum. The leaves were thicker than normal and smaller than average indoor kinds. Would they be hardy? When the buds came, I wondered if the first frost would pinch them off before the blooms opened. But no, a cyclamen pink flower unfolded, absolutely C. persicum with elongated flower and fairly wide corolla, stigma exerted, seed capsule bending to soil level on a straight, or slightly arched, pedicel.

This plant came from the Kaori strain crossed with persicum plants of my own. It proved to be quite hardy and evergreen.

Leaves were still persisting at the end of July, when the new season's C. coum foliage was just beginning to reappear on some plants in the tub. By this time the old persicum leaves had survived slugs, frost and summer drought. Not bad for an indoor plant! The Japanese breeder may have been working towards a hardy strain of C. persicum. Kaori is highly fragrant and a good strain for small spaces.

Fragrant flowers always attract visitors. A crimson plant from the large flowered 'Scentsation Mixed' grown from seed was exceptionally scented and filled my hall with its perfume. A popular choice for conservatories is 'Victoria', a variety raised around the turn of the century. Easily recognised by its red-edged ruffled flowers with matching crimson sinus or mouth, it is chosen by flower arrangers, unless plain flowers are preferred. Cyclamen make long-lasting cut flowers.

Perhaps one day we shall see a display of cyclamen at the Chelsea Flower Show. The problem is how to overcome difficulties regarding the resting season. Most cyclamen are not at their best in May. Certainly some of the early species are held back for the Show and these are worth going to see. Otherwise the RHS Westminster Shows have had increasing numbers of cyclamen on display in recent years, where, not surprisingly, the rarer species and forms at winter shows have drawn the crowds.

Other species besides C. persicum may also be grown from seed for use as house-plants. Summer-flowering C. purpurascens is remarkably fragrant and often in flower by July in the garden. It usually stays in flower for many months, but when grown in the house all-year-flowering has been known. Even C. graecum flowers best for me on a sunny windowsill, while C. rohlfsianum (long considered the 'penny black' of the cyclamen world) produces generous supplies of seed capsules indoors, when grown at living room temperature with sun in the morning, shade in the afternoon. Starter seed of this species is obtainable from the Cyclamen Society seed exchange scheme. The rarer C. repandum forms also benefit from house protection, and I have had luck with the more brightly marked foliage forms of C. cyprium on a kitchen windowsill.

Returning to indoor C. persicum, people are often surprised to learn that the whole lifecycle of the plant can take place on one windowsill. The seed is sown in a small pot, transplanted into separate pots at eight weeks, and potted on into 3-6in (7.5-15cm), according to size, to flower. After flowering, when space is limited to the sill, the parent cyclamen remains where it is. When the capsules have ripened in June, the plant naturally rests for a short time without water, and the leaves usually fall, but it can be restarted in late summer when new flower buds appear on the old plant. Some plants flower every year for decades, often receiving little top-dressing or feeding, as I am constantly reminded by readers who send photographs of flourishing plants they claim are never fed. But in my experience, lack of nutrients leads to small leaves and sparse flowers.

Young or old, always remember the secret of growing cyclamens of all kinds is good drainage. Whichever compost is used (soil-less or John Innes type, both with extra grit) there should be holes in the bases of the containers. The compost must allow water to run through without lingering on top. Master this and you will be on the way to success with cyclamen.

Some of the miniature indoor cyclamen varieties can be raised from seed to flowering size in six months. Whereas outdoor kinds (which as we have seen can also be displayed indoors) will take from eighteen months onwards to bloom from seed. This takes patience, but raising plants from seed results in plenty of plants to try in several areas of the home and garden.

Cyclamen plants can last as long as their owners, producing more flowers every year. I look forward to cyclamen providing not only colour and fragrance this autumn, winter and spring, but lots of interest regarding tender indoor plants and hardiness.