An Iowa Garden

Cyclamen coum in February... There are few more incongruously cheery sights in the late winter garden than this little cyclamen blooming its head off in freezing temperatures. Cyclamen coum, C. hederifolium, and C. purpurascens are all perfectly hardy here (and to my surprise, C. cilicium, which is questionably hardy, is surviving nicely, though we've not had one of those winters we here in Iowa call "cow-killers" for a few years). I like coum the best; its leaves come through winter with the least damage, it reseeds the best (many of my plants are surrounded by babies), the leaves are neater, and less "flopsy" than hederifolium, and the flowers are brighter, and more special by their very early spring appearance. Cyclamens are in the family Primulaceae, which includes dodecatheons (shooting stars) and , of course, primroses. The flowers of cyclamens have that same swept-back look as shooting stars; kind of like a beagle in a high wind. Most of these cyclamens put out their leaves mainly in the fall, with hederifolium and cilicium blooming in the fall, coum in early spring in our climate, and purpurascens in the late summer. They all become basically summer dormant except for purpurascens, which is evergreen. I'm particularly enamored of the silver-leafed coums. Their blossoms range from white to deepest mauve; they are supposed to smell of honey, but their perfume is elusive to my nose, whereas hederifolium and purpurascens are quite sweetly perfumed. All the hardy cyclamens like shade, good drainage, and dry conditions during their dormancy (purpurascens, being evergreen is an exception and does not like to dry out too much). There is no plant in my garden that I look at more this time of year, with each plant's leaves being different, and all are beautiful.If you were to want one, I'd invest a few dollars and buy a potted, named variety. The dormant tubers purchased more cheaply in the fall are often so dried up, that half of them don't return, and therefore end up being expensive.