My favourite Cyclamen is the winter-blooming Cyclamen Coum.  Its bright flowers stand out in the drizzling winter gloom of southern Vancouver Island.

The decorative leaf appears in September once the summer temperatures begin to drop.  It’s a promise of blooms to come.  By late December, tiny buds show themselves.  When it’s even colder & I’m more desperate for flowers, c.coum begins to bloom.  By February & March its in full celebration in Victoria.

Hardy cyclamen are known to naturalize well where they’re native (Turkey).  Here, in the Pacific Northwest, they’re just as happy. The climate is similar enough.

I planted 3 C. coum around the base of our Gravenstein apple tree in 2009.  Ten years later, I’m rewarded with several naturalizing in the grass.  The furthest is about 6 feet away!

My fingers are crossed for blooms in the lawn this February!  I reckon they’ll be reasonably safe, as C is less likely to mow that early.  When he brings the lawnmower out in March, I’ll ask him to cut at its highest setting.

Cyclamen coum is a mild-mannered plant.  It can easily be out-competed by the autumn-blooming Cyclamen hederifolium.  I am careful to keep the dominating c.hederifolium far away from our treasured c. coum.

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