Pink-flowered Cyclamen coum with marbled foliage - Eastern sowbread

This variety of Cyclamen Coum displays an early flowering of light pink on delicately marbled foliage in shades of green. Originating from the Cyclamen of the island of Cos, this small tuberous plant survives our normal winters and dry summers. Its small round foliage, dark green-grey, more or less marbled with lighter green, appears in autumn and persists until late spring. It is absent in summer, when the tuber is dormant. Plant it in partial shade or dappled shade under trees, along pathways, in shaded rockeries, where it will slowly spread to form a charming carpet.

Cyclamen Coum is a small perennial plant with tuberous roots belonging to the Primulaceae family. It is not native to the island of Cos, Greece, but rather to the mountains of Bulgaria, Turkey, and Lebanon, corresponding to the region of Eastern Cilicia, where it is usually found in shaded areas. This small species measures approximately 10 cm in height.

Cyclamen Coum has given rise to numerous forms, with varied flowers and foliage, including this lovely light pink variety with marbled foliage in shades of grey-green. Some producers have made it their specialty, notably Kwekerij Koen, who works on an artisanal scale. Their nursery is located in Westland, Netherlands, an area of high horticultural production. Kwekerij is passionate about hybridising botanical cyclamens: Cyclamen Coum, C. hederifolium, and C. purpurascens. They perform pollination on the parent lines with a brush, then collect the seeds, sow them, and then transplant them into pots for us.

The tubers of Cyclamen Coum are rounded and compressed, measuring up to 6.5 cm (2 in) in diameter and covered with a smooth and velvety "skin," with roots originating from their centre and base. The foliage generally develops in autumn, after a dry summer. In cool and humid climates, it may sometimes only appear at the same time as the flowers, in January-February. The rounded leaves measure 4 to 5 cm in diameter. In the variety presented here, they are a dark greyish-green with a central blotch in the shape of a maple leaf bordered by light grey-green. Their undersides are coloured purple-pink. As soon as the soil dries out a bit, in June, the foliage disappears and the plant enters a period of rest. This variety resists our normal winters, but a layer of dead leaves will be beneficial in case of prolonged frost.

The flowering of this light pink Cyclamen Coum with marbled foliage generally begins in early February, a bit earlier than the varieties with green foliage. The pointed flower buds, initially lying on the ground, straighten up on reddish peduncles. Each flower, quite stout, measuring 1 to 2 cm (<1 in) in length, is composed of 5 pastel pink petals with rounded edges, curved backward, adorned with a purplish-violet spot at the base. After pollination, the flower gives way to a small round fruit, with the floral stem spiraling to allow the fruit to come into contact with the ground. Ants, which delight in their sweet flesh, disperse the seeds.

Plant Cyclamen Coum by mixing the varieties, in a carpet-like arrangement. They will multiply on their own over the years, creating unforgettable scenes in the somewhat shaded and dry areas of the garden, which are difficult to design. The cyclamen is a perfect plant for enhancing the base of a deciduous tree in an understory soil, with Hellebores for example. It is resistant to cold, but its tuber fears excessive moisture, both in winter and summer, and does not tolerate complete drying out in summer. It will find its place in a partially shaded rockery, not too dry, in the company of Anemone blanda 'Blue Shades' and hepaticas for example. To have two flowering periods, plant Cyclamen cilicicum and Cyclamen 'de Naples', which flower in autumn.