Common Name: Persian violet
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Primulaceae
Native Range: Western Asia, southern Europe
Zone: 5 to 9
Height: 0.25 to 0.50 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: September to October
Bloom Description: Pink to white tinged with pink
Sun: Part shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Colorful
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Dry Soil
Culture
Grow in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soil in part shade. Prefers moist, humusy soils with protection from hot afternoon sun. Plant corms just below the surface in spring. Plants are dormant in summer (see Problems section below). Mulch corms in winter. May self-seed in the garden.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Cyclamen hederifolium is a hardy cyclamen that typically grows 4-6" tall and features pink or white tinged with pink flowers (2" long) with a darker eye and with reflexed petals. Blooms somewhat profusely in late summer into fall, one flower per stem. Extremely attractive, ivy-shaped, mottled leaves are variably colored, but usually gray-green with silver and white marbling. The flower stalks typically rise up late summer to early fall and are followed by the foliage which persists through winter and goes dormant in late spring. Sometimes sold as C. neapolitanum.
Genus name comes from the Greek word presumably from kylos meaning circle and referring to the rounded tubers.
Specific epithet means with leaves like ivy.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Mice and squirrels may pursue the corms. Corms are subject to rot if they receive too much water (particularly in summer dormant period) or are located in poorly drained soils.
Uses
A small, fall bloomer which fits well in a partially shaded area of the rock garden. Also effective massed in front of shrubs or around trees or in woodland gardens. May be overplanted in summer with annuals.