Several years ago a nearby discount store ran a special on primroses. They were little blooming beauties.
Knowing they wouldn’t last long, I splurged on four, placing them in a decorative square bowl to brighten our lives for a while.
Native to the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, the primrose is a plant for cool summer areas. North American natives thrive in the cool, damp northwest. They like rich, moist situations in part to deep shade.
Primula means first, as in one of the first spring flowers. In Northern Europe, the wild ones are white or yellow while in Turkey they are pink. By 1648, English hybridizers had produced purple and blue ones as well.
Cyclamen are members of the primula family of plants. These Mediterranean natives are botanically related to two North American wildflowers, shooting stars and cowslips. The family resemblance is found in the junction of the 5 petals at the base of the bloom.
At this time of year, the spectacular florist hybrids can be found in garden centers, where they are sold as winter flowering houseplants. Florist hybrids of C. persicum are not cold hardy, but other members of the clan are hardy to Zone 5.
I have successfully planted C. cilicium. The heart-shaped foliage is marbled with lighter shades of green with a reddish-purple underside. This autumn bloomer has small medium-pink flowers. I would try to place it where you can easily enjoy it along a path or from a window.
C. hederifollium is another with interesting foliage. The leaves have silver zones. This cyclamen blooms from late summer into fall. Pink or white flowers are held on stems an inch or two taller than the other cultivars.
C. coum is a very early bloomer. It may bloom from December to April, depending on the environment. The foliage is plain, and the magenta flowers look like miniatures of the florist’s flower.
Cyclamen want dry shade. You can purchase corms—compressed stem tissue functioning as underground storage organs—for fall planting. Cyclamen corms do not multiply but do grow larger year after year, producing larger plants.
Though the florist cyclamen may not produce as many flowers the second time around, you can keep it as a house plant. It will be dormant during summer when it needs to be in a cool, dry place. New leaves are produced in September, when you can resume watering. Avoid over watering by setting the pot in a pan of water for a few minutes, then removing the plant and draining the water.
As we weary of the dull winter landscape, it is easy to understand the centuries-old appeal of primula, a welcome first splash of color.