Winter cyclamen

[Slimthistime]

Does anyone know when these are likely to be in the shops as bedding plants? I remember having them on the balcony one year and they did really well. I thought they did August to late November but perhaps I'm misremembering and I bought them a bit later?

Thanks.

If you have any neighbours that grow cyclamen, they should be able to let you have 'babies' or seed over the next few months, as they are very easy to grow.

What happened to the ones you previously had? Did they not set seed or produce 'babies'?

This article should help with what you need to know:

www.hardycyclamens.com/grow-hardy-cyclamen-outdoors.html

That link I gave is American, and if you look at various items in it it may give more useful ideas.

These are UK links:

www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=589

www.sarahraven.com/articles/growing_cyclamen.htm

www.ashwoodnurseries.com/shop/plants/cyclamen.html

I think they'll start hitting the shops properly in September. I saw a 4-pack in Morrisons the other day.

They're my favourite autumn/spring plant so I'm going to check out Fergusons links!

Thanks
I have a tiny balcony space so each season I just pick something and it has to be cheap as it just gets chucked. No other way to do it I'm afraid. So when the cyclamen is done, I'll pot some winter iris bulbs and that's the next thing. I've tried various things over the years and that seems to be the best way, usually means that only December and January have no flowers and it's dark most of the time I'm at home in those months, so it doesn't matter!

In winter if you can get some snowdrops in a pot, their white will reflect light and show up as it gets dark.

Have you got any friends with gardens, maybe they could foster your plant pots when their not in their flowering season. Then you wouldn't have to throw them away.

Ooh now I'm wondering if mine will come back from last year.

I bought some from a garden centre last week.

JT it's dark when I'm still at work anyway.

I haven't got any nearby friends with gardens or they are in flats with communal gardens etc. Doesn't matter, as long as I can spend a little amount then if it gets chucked after two months, then it's still lasted much longer than a £5 bunch of flowers.

I have a feeling I bought them in August....I will keep popping in homebase, it's en route home anyway, on the walk back from the Tube.