Cyclamen to brighten up winter

Cyclamen is popular in pots

One of the most prolific flowering plants is the bold, bright, colourful cyclamen.
A very popular colour plant to grow during the winter months, they start throwing flower buds as the weather cools in March and continue in mass profusion through into September.

As a result of selective breeding a range of different cyclamen are available. In addition to the bold bright single colours of red, violet, white and many shades of pink there are some with frilled flowers, butterfly double type flowers as well as variation in leaf marbling (colour).

Cyclamen can be generalised into two main sizes: miniature or larger flowered and leafed type.

Cyclamen are a bulb although they are most commonly available as a potted plant. They die down and go dormant during the hot summer months, emerging into growth as the cooler, damper autumn weather arrives. As a winter dweller they do not need a lot of sun and are very happy in shady positions with little or no direct sunlight.
They are versatile for use in the home garden. Cyclamen do best in a well drained situation. If the soil becomes saturated the bulb can be prone to rot. Wet soil combined with lack of air movement can also cause botrytis.

In Whanganui cyclamen will grow outdoors in the garden or in pots. They are also regularly used indoors as flowering houseplants and then planted outside in the garden when the flowers die off. When kept inside the flowering season is usually shortened by indoor heat.

Growing in pots is probably the most popular use for cyclamen, where they can provide bright, cheerful and happy colour throughout the cold, dark winter months. Over the winter they will grow successfully pretty much anywhere in pots from a sun drenched north facing patio to the south facing front door which doesn't even get a ray of sun.

Cyclamen can be grown in hanging baskets where they make an excellent centre piece surrounded by pansies or other winter flowering annuals.

To get maximum flowering from cyclamen they should be fertilised with dried blood (sold as Tui Flower Booster). Yep it is what it sounds, the dried blood from the meat works. This product is extremely high in nitrogen which these plants love, not to be mixed up with blood and bone which is not as suitable. For the best results flower booster should be applied at the time of planting and every few weeks subsequent. It is also the preferred fertiliser for pansies and polyanthus.

Shrubs
In the shrub garden we have a number of plants which present stunning flowers or foliage in these cold and darker months.
Coprosma and Nandina are two with foliage deepening to some spectacular colours as the cold sets in. Coprosma have had much breeding and selection with a number of new varieties being released in the past few years. A popular variety released in 2010 is Coprosma Inferno. The rich deep orange, red and pink hues of summer change to deep reds for the winter. It grows in most soil types and almost any position from shade to full sun. Like all coprosmas it needs protection from harsh frost so not so good in colder climates like the central plateau, but grows great throughout Whanganui.

Nandinas are one of the most popular shrubs. They have a tidy compact growth habit that makes them good for small and narrow gardens. They grow well in full sun or shady, windy conditions and pretty much all soil types. They don't need trimming or pruning and look good all year round. Nandinas are probably the closest thing to a no-maintenance plant you can have.
The two most used cultivars are Nandina Pygmy and Nandina Gulfstream.
Nandina Pygmy forms a rounded shrub with a tidy compact habit. Its leaves are initially green and yellow tones, but darken to a dramatic red as the weather cools through autumn and into winter. It can be used in gardens, borders, patio pots, and containers. The leaf colour is more intense if the plants are kept a little hungry.
Nandina Gulfstream; This Nandina has more finely divided and pointed leaves than Nandina pygmy. It is highly decorative also valued for the wonderful autumn colour which intensifies to a brilliant red in winter. Easy care and tolerant, gulfstream makes the ultimate minimal care garden. It looks wonderful planted in a group.
A new variety that is starting to be noticed is Nandina Blush. It is similar to Nandina Pygmy except that it carries a soft blush red through the summer months to a greater degree than other varieties.

One of my favourite winter flowering plants is Camellia Yuletide which is flowering now. Camellias on the whole are experiencing a resurgence of popularity. They offer year-round structure in a garden as well as a long flowering period, lending themselves to be used in many types and styles of garden. To grow camellias well they are best provided an abundance of summer moisture, relatively cool summers and soils that are rich in organic matter.

They can be grown successfully all over New Zealand and perform well in Whanganui. If you take care to provide suitable soil conditions, shelter from strong winds and provide some light shade they will thrive. Soil conditioning with the addition of peat moss will improve the texture of the soil and increase the acidity. Always use acid fertiliser to feed these plants and NEVER use garden lime.

Other plants that grow well with Camellias are Daphne, Lily of the Valley and other acid-loving plants such as azaleas and rhododendrons.
Camellia Yuletide is an early flowering sasanqua type variety. It's in flower and bud now which provides good colour and interest in the garden through the winter. Yuletide makes an ideal specimen for a garden, or as a patio specimen in pots and containers. Its makes a beautiful flowering hedge with blooms lasting from April through June.

For spectacular fragrant look no further than Luculia. Luculia gratissima "Fragrant Cloud" can be summed up as a pink fragrant beauty, the name gratissima in fact is latin for "most pleasing". When in flower you can spot one from some 20 metres away and the fragrance can be smelt from around 10 metres. It is a plant that flowers when little else is flowering. There is something peaceful and relaxing about catching the sweet scent of a flower as you wander through a garden. It offers scent in the garden from late May and through June. It is very complementary when planted with Daphne which offers scent from late July through August, and the highly fragrant gardenia which flowers December through April.

The Luculia is very easy care, with the most important cultural care that a Luculia requires is harsh pruning in the early spring (approximately September). This ensures the plant rejuvenates bushy and fresh. If this is not done annually then within a few years the plant quickly becomes leggy and unattractive.
Luculia are evergreen with lovely large hand sized leaves all year round. Like all evergreens they shed leaves all year round, each leaf turns an attractive orange red before falling.

The plant is happy in a sun or part shade position and tolerates a wide range of soil types as long as they are free draining. Luculia performs best in a frost free position or where young plants can be protected from harsh frosts. Watering during dry summer months will ensure a strong fresh plant which will flower well in the autumn and early winter.
So if your garden is looking dull check out some of these plants. There is a good range of plants to offer colour through the winter months. I haven't got space to also mention ericas, grevilleas, camellias, leucadendrons, proteas, leptospermums and hellebores as well, which all offer vibrant colour through the winter.

Have a good week.
Gareth Carter is General Manager of Springvale Garden Centre.