Cyclamens galore

[paghat]

C. hederifolium &amp C. cilicium were already blooming by August this year (a couple hederifoliums jumped the gun in July). But they were really gung-ho for September & still going stronger every day of October. C. coum's leaves are appearing now, some have already reached mature size, others haven't quite yet emerged, & lots of baby leaves. A few C. coum have jumped the gun on blooming a little right now, or at least have buds all over them now, but their main flowering will be December through March, but pleasant leaves begin now. A few non-cultivar C. persicum have been flowering all month.

As so much of the garden goes dormant between autumn & winter, the autumn & winter cyclamens become increasingly important & exciting. I go out to see what they are doing at the start of each day, they keep the "off seasons" as thrilling as spring.

I've been revising text of old pages & adding new pages to the cyclamen section at paghat.com, & adding more photos. These pages link to one another in a full circle that goes through several species & a great many varieties, & this is a good page to start from for the autumn cyclamens:

the years I've learned a lot about cyclamens but my knowledge is not perfect & I welcome suggestions for revisions or corrections so that eventually the cyclamen pages will become the best "advanced introduction" to be found on the web.

-paghat the ratgirl

[madgardener]

[paghat]

Lewisias are another big thrill for me. Around here their cold-hardiness is not really tested, but I've gotten e-mails from people growing them in their gardens in Norway & Alaska. They seem impervious to harm IF you can keep them from ever being wet for long at a stretch, & the only "trick" I have for good luck with them is planting them exclusively on ledges or raised areas that even in the rainy season dry out quickly; it's not getting wet but staying wet that bothers them. They thrive on adversity & I've seen them growing wild on rocky Wenatchee hillsides, where it has got to be one of the most unpleasant climates in the northwest, by turns way too hot & way too cold.

-paghat the ratgirl

[Janet Baraclough]

The message from [e-mail] (paghat) contains these words:

Here, people often plant them in the gaps between stones on drystone walls (no mortar used) which imitates their natural habitat on steep stony rockfaces. The roots stay cool and damp but never sit in water.

Janet. (Scotland)