Guide to growing garden plants - Cyclamen (Sow bread)
Cyclamen is a genus of low growing plants that are hardy perennials.
Depending on the variety Cyclamen may flower anytime from late winter to the autumn.
They have beautiful butterfly like flowers and heart shaped leaves.
A common name for Cyclamen is sow bread.
How to grow Cyclamen
Cyclamen can be grown from tubers of from seeds. However, it is quite difficult to grow Cyclamen from seed. Germination of the seeds can take as little as three weeks to over a year! First you will need to soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours. The seeds should then be sown outside in flats that are north facing in the autumn, are the soil kept moist. As soon as spring comes bring the flats containing Cyclamen indoors and keep at a temperature of about 13 degrees Centigrade. Once seedlings emerge they should be transplanted outdoors at a spacing of 15cm (Only transplant the Cyclamen seedlings when you are sure that there will be no further frosts). They should be planted into a sunny or lightly shaded area of the garden that has good drainage. Ideally the soil that cyclamen grows in should be rich, cool and a little limy.
Caring for Cyclamen
When growing Cyclamen from tubers then the tubers should be planted at a depth of about 5cm. If you require more Cyclamen plants then the tubers can be divided at the end of summer.