I have an abundance of wild cyclamens in my garden, they are beautiful in the fall but they are taking over. i have given literally hundreds away but they still keep coming, how can I control them.
Hmmm, what a problem, guessing they are C. hederifolium seeding around, that's how they multiply. Maybe you could have somebody else , through local garden clubs, dig up some of the tubers in August or September for their own garden. You might be able to pot some up and sell them to a retail outlet. Would be quite a job to remove all the seed capsules otherwise.
Kind of a small, shy plant to be "taking over". To be crowded out by one of these another kind of plant would have to be pretty tiny. Maybe it would be easier to just decide you don't have to confine them to a small area or a small quantity.
Thanks for your reply. They are certainly not confined to a small area, they are all over. I have a natural garden, Douglas Fir trees etc and they just seem to like the soil which is I presume acid.
Cyclamens are endangered in the wild through over-harvesting . . . maybe you could sell them for a premium price as sustainably grown without damaging the species' native environment?
I would love to do that as I saw in the local garden place they were asking $5.00 for three little bulbs. i must have enough in my garden to retire to the French Riviera. I love them and in the fall I have folk taking pictures of them as they border my entire front garden and are so pretty, but enough is enough and they are as I said literally taking over. How would I go about selling them - any ideas? Thanks for your reply and suggestion.
Not the prettiest thought, but you could always mow them down once flowers come up. If you added a sprinkler at night you might rot away the plant through all the cut stems. It should get the job done. /Hides under cover/
I bought hardy cyclamen bulbs late in the season and planted them right away. They haven't done anything for weeks. I lifted one from the #1 size pot that I have them in and the bulb (complete with nubs and remnent stems) is imitating a rock.
Sounds normal, wonder which species, sometimes they will stay dormant for 2-3 years. Leaves, other than C. purpurascens, usually start appearing in the cooler fall weather.
