Cyclamen

So pretty!

Thanks Ams ... they are delicate little things.

I found quite a few in my rockery, very pretty pink flowers against the gravel.

That's lovely, hopefully they will increase over time too.

They are very pretty flowers! Just this afternoon I was looking at small Cyclamen at B&M. They look lovely & I was tempted to get a few but I'm not sure if these are hardy enough to spend the winter on the balcony railings.

Most years I buy Pansies or Violas but for some years now very few of them ever make it through to flower in the spring. Even though I plant them in fresh compost every year the end up succumbing to some virus that causes the plants to just collapse, turn brown & dry up!

I thought some Cyclamen would look nice in their place.

David, I just found that Cyclamen coum, in shades of deep and light pink, also white, will flower outdoors from December to March so long as they don't get too wet.

Thanks, Shirley, for that info on Cyclamen coum. I suspect those sold in Sainsburys would be the more tender Cyclamens. They are small plants, though they may flower this winter but if you don't buy plants there within a few days of them arriving in store they very quickly deteriorate as nobody looks after them. I don't know if there is a store near where you live or even if they look after their plants more than here. I only very occasionally buy plants there & then it's more on a whim than thought about. Which isn't much like me really! 😆 Which also explains the very few times I buy plants there!

David, I despair of the plants section in our Sainsburys store as they are neglected so much. I have spoken with the manager about them in the past, but she says "We are allocated them and do the best we can"!

They clearly never water them, just so wasteful.

You are so right, Shirley!

David, guess what were on show at the supermarket this morning? Racks and racks of Cyclamen plants and Heathers!

The same here! But I still haven't bought any. I can't be sure they are hardy & spending £15 for plants that will die with a frost or two I just can't afford!

The Pansies & Violas I used to buy are just a waste of money as well - though less. They rarely survive any longer to flower in the spring. Some sort of virus that now appears every year is what kills them off. It makes no difference whether I put then in new compost or not. So I had thought of not buying any more this year.

Last year I bought several boxes & planted one in the church gardens, in raised triangular bed. I filled the bed with used compost from the balcony & planted Daffodils & Dahlias plus the Pansies. The Pansies flowered all winter & with the Daffs in the spring - in fact they were still growing & flowering when the Dahlias crowded them out! So it's obviously some virus that affects the Viola family.

The plantings in the church gardens must have looked lovely.

I bought 3 plants in Sainsburys today. I may get some more in the future. I'll upload a picture later.