Cyclamen coum - again

I know I posted this last month, but then it was pretending to be Spring. Last week it was pretending to be Winter and we had a light dusting of snow. But of course that doesn't stop these little beauties. They've been blooming for over a month now.

It was sunny and beautiful today and a full moon tonight. We got six shipments of plants posted today and we have about 3 or 4 more still to go. Then - perhaps - some R & R.

Cyclamen coum

I know the photo's a little out of focus but it shows some plants in our Alpine box, mostly sempervivums. But along the back are the Cyclamen coum, a very hardy little bulb from the mountains of Bulgaria, Turkey and Lebanon. During the summer they go dormant but can be made into a lovely little centerpiece by raising the bulb and placing it in a small bonsai pot. And at this time of year, they provide a real "pick me up" of winter flowers.

Cyclamen coum

OK, so it's not something we would usually include as a succulent, or even a caudiciform plant. But the corm is succulent and it likes it dry during the Summer. So, we figured, why not? So we potted one up in a nice pot and - wowza! - a rather interesting "succulent" "bonsai".

Cyclamen coum is easy to grow and is hardy...and best of all provides winter flower cover.