Cyclamen coum, Caucasian cyclamen
Cyclamen coum
- Exposures
- Half-shade, Shade
- Hardiness (USDA)
- 7b (-15°C ≤ T° < -12.2°C)
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Family
- Primulaceae
- Genus
- Cyclamen
- Species
- Caucasian Cyclamen Cyclamen coum
Other name:Cyclaminus coum
Cyclamen coum is known to some as the "island cyclamen of Cos". However, this small flowering plant of the Primulaceae family has nothing to do with the Greek island. It's native to Eastern Europe, and grows wild from Bulgaria to Turkey.
How to recognize Cyclamen coum?
Cyclamen coum is a flowering perennial. It grows to a height of ten centimetres and adopts an upright habit. It multiplies rapidly and is generally used as ground cover.
Cyclamen are plants with a corm, an underground reserve organ that functions like a bulb or tuber.
The round or kidney-shaped leaves grow in a rosette. Their dark-green upper surface is plain or decorated with silver patterns. The blade has a purplish underside. Cyclamen coum leaves are deciduous and disappear in summer. If you want a cyclamen that stays green all year round, opt for cyclamen purpurascens.
The first flowers appear at the end of December. Flowering lasts until mid-April. The round flowers measure barely two centimetres. They appear at the top of a reddish stalk. With their five upright tepals inclined backwards, they resemble helices. Color depends on cultivar and hybrid. But whether white, pink or violet, all have a magenta spot at the base.
Cyclamen coum is toxic to humans and animals. The plant, particularly the tuberous root, contains cyclamine, a substance that can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, respiratory problems and muscular paralysis.
Our care tips
Avoid wetting the foliage when watering your Caucasian Cyclamen. Use a long-spout sprinkler and water around the edge of the pot. You can also water by capillary action.
Watering
Adjust watering when the plant is flowering or producing flower buds.
Cyclamen coum appreciate constant but moderate humidity. Before watering your plant, make sure it needs it by touching the surface of the potting soil. If two or three centimetres of the surface is dry, you can water.
If you can, use non-calcareous water such as rainwater or filtered water.
Make sure the water doesn't stagnate in the saucer or planter.
If you can, use non-calcareous water such as rainwater or filtered water.
Make sure the water doesn't stagnate in the saucer or planter.
Your Caucasian Cyclamen supports mains water. You can water it with reclaimed rainwater or tap water.
Before watering, make sure the surface of the soil is at least five centimetres dry.
Don't forget to drain any stagnant water in the saucer or planter.
Adjust watering during summer.
Avoid watering during this period.
Repotting
Get a perforated pot. You can line the bottom with clay balls or gravel to optimize drainage.
Fill your pot with a mixture of houseplant potting soil (75%) and heather soil (25%). Plant your tuber. The rounded side should be at the bottom. Cover with three to four centimetres of soil.
The soil is already moist, so you don't need to water.
Fertilization
Feed your Caucasian Cyclamen with a fertilizer for green or flowering plants.
Prune
Remove the flowers when they have wilted to encourage the plant to bloom again.
Planting
Dig a hole about 15 centimetres deep. Plant your bulb. The rounded side is the underside and should face the ground. The hollow side is the top and should face upwards. Cover your bulb with garden soil to reach ground level.
Sowing
Your seedlings need warmth. Summer is the best time to get started.
Soak seeds for 48 hours in lukewarm water.
Pour seedling soil into pots. Plant two to three seeds per pot.
Keep the substrate moist by spraying regularly.
Diseases / Threats
Information
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Exposures
- Half-shadeShade
- Substrate
- Humus soil
- Planting methods
- Open groundIn potsIn tubsPlanter
- Categories
- BulbFlowery
- Tags
- BeginnerFlowery
- Origin
- Western Asia
- Hardiness (USDA)
- 7b (-15°C ≤ T° < -12.2°C)
- Leaf colors
- Dark greenSilver
- Flower colors
- WhiteViolet
Discover plants from the same family
Naples Cyclamen
Cyclamen hederifolium
White Naples Cyclamen
Cyclamen hederifolium 'Album'
Persian Cyclamen
Cyclamen persicum
Find out more
Find all our tips in the Monstera application
