Eastern sowbread

Sun

Partial shade; winter sunshine beneath deciduous trees is ideal. Protect from strong afternoon sun.

Water

Keep moderately moist during autumn, winter and spring growth, but never waterlogged. Once dormant in summer, established plants usually need little supplementary water.

Soil

Humus-rich, well-drained soil, preferably neutral to alkaline. Good drainage is especially important during summer dormancy.

Height

0.25-0.5 ft (0.08-0.15 m)

Spread

0.5-0.75 ft (0.15-0.23 m) per plant; colonies spread farther through seedlings

Flowers

Winter to early spring, usually January-March in the Northern Hemisphere and June-August in the Southern Hemisphere. Flowers are pink, magenta or white, with swept-back petals and usually a darker mark at the base.

Foliage

Rounded to kidney-shaped leaves, plain green or patterned with silver; present from autumn through spring and usually absent in summer.

Growth

Slow; seedlings take several years to reach flowering size.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Deer resistant
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.4 ft (0.12 m)

   full size

About 2 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Growth rate

Slow

• Plant tubers with their tops about 1 in (2.5 cm) below the surface; keep potted plants at their existing depth.
• Water during prolonged dry spells while leaves and flowers are growing, allowing excess water to drain away.
• Avoid regular irrigation over dormant tubers in summer.
• Apply a thin layer of leaf mould in autumn without burying the growing points.
• Leave established clumps undisturbed; raise new plants from seed rather than cutting up tubers.

Pruning. No routine pruning is needed. Let leaves yellow and die naturally in late spring or early summer, then gently remove loose dead foliage.

Early autumn

Plant potted specimens or firm, healthy tubers in a sheltered, well-drained position.

Autumn

Apply a thin leaf-mould mulch and resume watering if conditions are dry as leaves emerge.

Winter

Check that fallen leaves are not smothering flowers and that the planting area drains freely.

Spring

Keep plants watered during dry spells while their leaves replenish the tubers.

Late spring

Leave seed capsules to ripen if you want natural seedlings, and allow foliage to die back.

Summer

Reduce watering during dormancy and avoid digging where the hidden tubers lie.

• Plant in loose drifts beneath deciduous trees for winter flowers before the canopy closes.
• Edge a shaded path where the small flowers and patterned leaves can be seen close up.
• Combine with snowdrops and hellebores for a low, winter-flowering woodland planting.
• Tuck into a sheltered rock garden or raised bed with shade and sharp drainage.

Garden styles it suits: Woodland, Winter interest, Cottage garden, English country, Low-maintenance and Small-space.

Plant it with: Snowdrops, Hellebores, Winter aconites, Primroses, Epimediums and Deciduous ferns.

Wildlife: Flowers can provide pollen for early-active bees during mild weather. Ants carry the seeds away, helping small colonies establish.

• Tuber rot in wet soil: improve drainage, move plants out of waterlogged ground and avoid watering dormant tubers routinely.
• Slugs and snails damaging flowers or leaves: inspect on damp evenings, remove by hand or use an approved iron-phosphate bait as directed.
• Grey mould on crowded, damp growth: remove affected material, clear smothering debris and improve airflow.
• Tubers failing after planting: buy firm tubers or actively growing potted plants; badly dried-out tubers may not recover.

Toxic to cats, dogs, horses and people if eaten. All parts contain toxic saponins, with the highest concentrations in the tubers; ingestion can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain, while large amounts may cause serious heart or nervous-system effects. Seek medical or veterinary advice promptly after ingestion.

• Ivy-leaved cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium)

  Usually flowers in late summer or autumn and has angular, ivy-shaped leaves; Eastern sowbread flowers in winter and has much rounder leaves.

• Florist's cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum)

  Usually has larger flowers with longer petals and larger, pointed, heart-shaped leaves. Common florist cultivars are much less frost-hardy than Eastern sowbread.

Cyclamen comes from the Greek kyklos, meaning circle, referring to the rounded tuber.

Propagation. Sow fresh, ripe seed promptly in a shaded pot of free-draining compost and keep it lightly moist. Germination can be slow and irregular, and seedlings commonly need two to four years to flower. Carefully move self-sown seedlings while young; do not divide or cut the tubers.

Accepted botanical name

Cyclamen coum

Native range

Bulgaria, Iran, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Palestine, South European Russi, Transcaucasus, Turkey and Turkey-in-Europe.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0) and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.