Cyclamen persicum - Persian Cyclamen

The Persian cyclamen, in Latin Cyclamen persicum, is a botanical species that is not native to Iran, but is found from southwestern Turkey to Israel and Jordan, as well as North Africa, Crete, and certain Greek islands. It is recognisable by its leaves and flowers, large for a wild cyclamen. Its flowers are slender, fragrant, pale pink with a dark pink base and usually bloom in March-April. Being delicate to cultivate and requiring a dry summer rest, this rarely cultivated species should be grown in a cool greenhouse outside the Mediterranean region.

Cyclamen persicum belongs to the Primulaceae family. This species is the origin of many tall or dwarf hybrid cultivars found in horticultural trade and flower shops from winter to spring. In nature, it grows in the understory on soils with a tendency towards limestone. It flowers from late autumn to spring, during the wet and cool season, and then its underground tuber goes dormant during the hot and dry summer.

The Persian cyclamen is a perennial herbaceous plant whose foliage emerges in autumn, persists in winter, and dries up after flowering. The plant reaches about 30 cm (12in) in height when flowering. Its leaves are arranged in rosettes, emerging around the tuber. Their lamina is cordate, with finely dentate margins, fleshy and leathery, speckled with grey-green or jade green on a dark green background. The undersides of the leaves are purple, as are the petioles that bear them. The flowering period, between November and April, depends on the growing conditions, climate, and ecotypes. The flowers are borne on long, bent peduncles and face the ground. They consist of twisted petals ranging from light pink to dark pink at the base. The fruits are spherical capsules. In this species, the peduncles that bear the fruits do not coil like a corkscrew to reach the ground and deposit the seeds. Ants, which enjoy their sweet flesh, disperse the seeds.

In a favourable climate, plant Persian cyclamen with its mat-forming cousins pseudibericum, coum, or cilicicum. They will multiply on their own over the years, forming unforgettable carpets in shaded and dry areas of the garden which can sometimes be difficult to landscape. It is a perfect plant for enhancing the base of a deciduous tree in dry woodland soil. It is fairly sensitive and its tuber fears excessive moisture in winter. It does not tolerate it at all in summer. It will also find its place in a semi-shaded rockery, alongside e.g. anemone blanda and hepaticas. To enjoy a double flowering, mix it with botanical narcissus from the tazetta group, for example. In regions that are more humid and colder than the Mediterranean south, it is preferable to cultivate this cyclamen like florists' cyclamens.

Note: plant the tubers immediately upon receipt.