Hello again,

This thread has been quiet for a while, but the comments were
appreciated. Thanks, paghat, for your advice about outdoor growing
conditions for cyclamens. Mine are still happy, though it looks like
they're finally dropping their flowers.

Cyclamens are summer-dormant in their native environment (Eastern
Mediterranean) and also in California -- unless they are watered, which
I do not intend to do. Therefore, I also asked about companion plants
which would provide year-round interest in this spot. Paghat's
suggestions we

Purple Meadow Crane's-bill (Geranium pratense)

Shade annuals that are nearly spent by September & even if they
wanted to last until november can be cut to the ground a little
prematurely just as the cyclamens are beginning to bloom.

Muscari latifolium

Alpine Water Fern (Blechnum penna-marina alpina)

These all sound like good suggestions. I haven't planted anything yet.
Let me throw two other suggestions into the mix, and see whether
anyone has any opinions.

The _Sunset_Western_Garden_Book_ has this to say about C.persicum:
"Good choice for color in place to be occupied by tuberous begonias in
summer." That's an interesting suggestion, but tuberous begonias
require a fair amount of summer water, which I'm trying to avoid. Is
there a risk of rotting a dormant cyclamen tuber with summer water?

I'm inclined towards Western American native plants, and have in fact
landscaped the area surrounding the cyclamens with many such plants
(that's why I'm aiming to use little supplemental water -- some of my
plants *need* the summer dryness). So, when I read the Sunset entry
for Vancouveria hexandra, it sounded promising. A maximum of 1 foot
high, little summer water, dies back in winter. What do you think?

Thanks, as always!

--
Rainforest laid low.
"Wake up and smell the ozone,"
Says man with chainsaw.
John J. Ladasky Jr., Ph.D.