Cyclamen coum, a beautiful shade bloomer in the heart of Winter

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Deep green leaves mottled with silver-white push up through cold soil, then small pink flowers open in pillows beneath bare trees: the Cos Island cyclamen (Cyclamen coum) is one of the rare plants that flower in the depths of winter. Give it shade and light, well-drained soil, for it fears standing water far more than frost.

• Read also: Here is how to care for and grow indoor cyclamen, the florist’s cyclamen.

Planting Cyclamen coum

The Coum cyclamen loves cool soil, shade and part shade. It’s a plant that resists freezing and snow very well.

Planting cyclamen coum bulbs

It is recommended to plant the cyclamen bulbs in spring, at the end of summer or at the beginning of fall.

• Cyclamen likes light and well drained soil.
• This particular cyclamen species is more vulnerable to excess water than it is to freezing.
• Space bulbs more or less 8 to 10 inches (10-15 cm) apart, and nature will do its part in multiplying the plant on its own.

Cyclamen coum in pots:

Cyclamen coum is suited for planting both in a pot and a garden box.

• For planting this coum cyclamen in pots, garden boxes or containers, use a special bulb plant soil mix, and make doubly sure that the container has a hole at the bottom.

You can also pair cyclamen with other early Spring bulbs such as snowdrop. If you’d rather have a cyclamen that blooms in Autumn, choose the ivy-leaved Cyclamen instead.

Cyclamen coum, ivy-leaved cyclamen or snowdrop?

All three are small bulbs for the same cool, shaded corners, but they take their turn at different moments of the year. Choose according to the season you want to fill.

Plant two or three of them together and the same shaded patch stays in flower from autumn through to spring.

Cyclamen coum care

No care is needed apart from planting, since the cyclamen coum can take care of itself.

• Never remove any leafage before it has completely wilted away, or you might not have any flowers on your cyclamen coum anymore.
• Avoid mowing over it if leaves are still present.
• In pots, you can feed it with bulb flower fertilizer. Do this once a year in Fall.

Watering Cyclamen coum:

Rainfall is usually perfectly enough: cyclamen coum is dormant during Summer droughts, which it can resist very well. If, however, the summer was quite dry and you feel that your cyclamen are having trouble sprouting, simply help them along by watering a bit.

Learn more about Cyclamen coum

This is a plant we particularly appreciate since it is among the rare plants that bloom in Winter, whatever the climate and region.

Also called the Cos Island cyclamen, it’s a flower that surges from the shade to display a beautiful mat of color. Cyclamen coum is favored for its cute pink flowers, of course, but its leaves are also very interesting: deep green with a few spots of silver. Blooming is abundant, forming pillows of flowers under trees and in shaded spots of the lawn. Mottled green and silver-white leaves make this one particularly appealing.

Problems when growing Cyclamen coum

Cyclamen coup loves shade and doesn’t like it when the air is too dry.

In addition, it’s used to growing in rich forest soil, so it’s at risk of lacking nutrients in pots.

• Cyclamen leaves dry up:

It’s a bit as if they were burnt. This means there was too much sun. Protect your plants from the sun’s rays.

• Leaves wither:

If your plant looks sad, it is often due to excess watering: reduce the amount of water you’re giving it.

• Cyclamen leaves turn yellow prematurely:

Provide it with fertilizer, it’s possibly connected to a lack of nutrients, especially for potted Cyclamen coum.

Read also:

• Planting bulb plants
• Read all our pages related to cyclamen