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Cyclamen bed under tree.

PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
in Problem solving
As you can see this is a newly opened up area of our garden. There is a huge Beech tree (with TPO) and the soil is full of rocks and stones (and other things too!). Our idea is to fill it full of Cyclamen hederifolium and C. coum. Question is, do I skim the moss and weed grass off and then sow the seed? Or do I sow the seed on top? Or do I attempt to dig the moss and grass and leaves into the 'soil' before sowing the seeds?
It has to be seed as the number of plants need to fill it would be horrendously expensive to buy and I can get seed by the pound.
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Posts

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    I have some that self seed from a shady bed into the nearby lawn, which would suggest that no particular preparation was necessary.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited November 2019
    Same here.  They've naturalised in an area of grass which is in full sun, except the bit along the hedge, and seem to be spreading happily. 

    OH moans tho as he likes to mow the gtrass and I won't let him while they're in flower  so I lift some after they've flowered and put them in the bed, also in full sun and they don't seem to mind being baked here.   I also put some in a bed under one of the wisterias - shaded but also very dry ins summer and still happy to flower in autumn. 

    Very unfussy plants.  If the seed is cheap, why not give it ago the easy way and, if that doesn't work, you can do it the long way round or sow some in trays as backup.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    I started with a small packet of C. hederifolium seeds and sowed them into a seed tray then planted out when the corms were about 1.5cm across.  Only about a couple of dozen seeds germinated but in only a few years after planting they seeded themselves everywhere (with the aid of ants) and there are now hundreds if not thousands of them around my garden.  I would do both - buy a few plants and grow some from seed which should help them spread as quickly as possible.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    edited November 2019
    In our last garden they had spread on to the road side verge outside the garden, even crossing the road.
    Never bothered about not cutting the grass where they grew in the 'lawn' They did not seem to mind being mown, except that they did not set seed when they lost their flowers, obviously. Not a bad thing when there were so many of them.
    Wish I could have brought a few thousand with me when we moved.
    I was just wondering if there was a quicker way than just waiting a few years for them to spread. I am getting a bit long in the toof!
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Yes, well, OH sets the blades too low and scalps the leaves too given half a chance.  That kind of does for them completely.  

    I know the GCs are probably all full of Xmas tat but maybe you'll find little trays of 6 or 8 in teeny 2" pots going for not a lot money and that will get you a couple of steps ahead while the seedlings catch up.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    Lovely view you've got there, @Palustris!
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    edited November 2019
    I’ve also been trying to establish carpets of cyclamen in a large woodland border with a combination of bought / donated plants and grown-from-seed plants. Self seeding is now happening. It’s getting there but it’s still rather sparse.

     A very large pack of cyclamen seed (especially coum) would be very useful... Have you found a bulk supplier @Palustris ? Would you mind sharing their details?
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    edited November 2019
    Sorry Topbird, but no. We have lots of Cyclamen already producing seeds which we can use and no doubt I can scrounge a lot from various friends. May also be able to buy some from the Alpine Garden Soc. seed list later on in January.
    The ones we have are show plants so I do not want to plant them out in the garden.
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    Ok - thanks @Palustris 🙂 - guess I'm stuck with gathering the seed from my own plants and hoping the ants etc continue to help out as well....

    Try to treat myself to half a dozen nice plants each year - but seed is definitely the only economic option for the carpet effect I'm looking for.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    I'd raise some small plants from seed sown in trays as backup, and plant them out when they're large enough. If I was doing this I'd probably plant out some corms at a wide spacing and let them self seed by themselves.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
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