THE florists’ forms of the Persian cyclamen are well known and deservedly popular pot plants. Their highly coloured, large, long-stemmed flowers are very decorative. However, my own greatest affection is reserved for the miniature, hardy or nearly hardy species. I qualify the adjective ‘hardy’ because a few of them ask for slight protection against the bitterest winter wet and cold. Several, though, are utterly reliable and colonise freely, and it is with these that I am immediately concerned.
Possibly the best known of the hardy species is C. hederifolium, probably more familiar to most gardeners under its former name, C. neapolitanum. It is an accommodating plant and will grow happily in almost any garden, but is especially content in an alkaline soil.
Like others of prefers light shade or a cool aspect and, given these, will colonise by self-sown seedlings. The leaves are variable in shape, although generally reminiscent of those of ivy, and are marbled in a pattern of white lines. The flowers are pink and appear in abundance from late July into the autumn. There is also a handsome albino form with pure-white flowers.
