Galanthus and Cyclamen

Hi folks,

I've planted any and all snowdrops that anyone will give to me, plus I've
even bought a few.  Bobbi is right -- get the bulbs fresh.  Stay away from
the mass market outfits; you'll probably receive bulbs in October that were
dug in May.  Galanthus elwesii bloomed a week ago in the woodland garden,
as did G. nivalis 'Atkinsii'.  Every batch of Galanthus nivalis I have
received has turned out to look a little different from all the others.

I'm not doing very well with my Cyclamen outdoors.  C. hederifolium 'Bowles
Apollo'  did well for a couple of years, but is dwindling.  Bulbs of C.
hederifolium raised from seed and planted out in the dappled shade did not
come up last fall, nor did others bought as mature bulbs.  C. coum bulbs
planted out in the woodland beds try to shoot a few small leaves in fall;
but they are really miserable looking, compared to the overcrowded pots of
seedlings in the greenhouse.  The coum in the greenhouse are blooming now.

I'll keep trying these Cyclamen outdoors, but I'm beginning to think they
are only really satisfactory in a greenhouse in winter.  The pots all spend
the summer outdoors under the benches in the lath house.

I have also planted bulbs of C. coum caucasicum outdoors last fall, and I
have a pot of seedlings of C. colchicum in the greenhouse.  I have more
hopes for these outdoors than I do the others.  The Cyclamen colchicum
seeds took exactly 1 year to germinate, as did a pot of seeds of C.
repandum.  C. purpurascens seeds germinated almost instantly when planted
and bloomed (out of season) slightly over 12 months later in the
greenhouse.  They still have a couple of blooms open.  Cyclamen graecum
seeds germinated as fast as the purpurascens, but are not blooming yet.

I think there may be a place for a hybrid hederifolium X purpurascens as an
outdoor plant here.  They should bloom earlier in autumn than hederifolium
does, and keep their leaves in summer and hence be better able to recover
from the winter stresses.  Does anyone know if such are available anywhere?

When you buy Cyclamen, Galanthus, Anemone, or Eranthis and the bulbs arrive
dry and shrivelled, try soaking them in luke warm water for 2 days.  This
tip is from Jason Delaney, bulb horticulturist at MoBot.  Watch that you
don't rot them, but this should give them a jump-start once you plant
them.  Any that rot while soaking were likely already dead when you bought
them.

Regards,
Jim Shields
in central Indiana

*************************************************
Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5             Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92              WWW:    http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA                   Tel. +1-317-896-3925
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