Is this really autumn?

 Those of us lucky enough to live in Sydney have just experienced our 25th day of blue skies and sunshine. It's been 25 days since we last had rain. If you find yourself a nice spot to sit in the sun, out of the cool breeze, you could be forgiven for thinking that we were experiencing a late summer!!! 


But alas, it is autumn and winter is fast approaching. Deciduous trees are loosing their leaves and most plants are going into a dormant state of no growth. It's at this time of year that gardens can look a little bare and colourless. Most gardeners will choose some bright and colourful annuals to spruce up the garden, and it's at this time of year that pansies and violas pop up; massed together in a riot of colour in garden beds and pots.


But what about bringing some of that colour inside? I have the perfect plant:

                                            Cyclamen  sp.


Cyclamen are a genus of plants containing 20 species that belong to the Primulaceae family. In the wild they are native to parts of Europe, western Asia and North Africa.


Cyclamens are the ideal indoor winter-flowering plant. In areas that experience a cold winter but where temperatures remain above freezing they can be used as a bedding plant in the same way we use petunias in summer. There are many hybrids of the principal species Cyclamen persicum and they grow from a fleshy tuber.

       

    

Ranging in colour from the purest white through pale pink, mauve and reds, cyclamens will last the entire winter if given a little tender loving care. And little care it what they like; don't overwater your cyclamen or they will rot away.....instead lightly mist the plant every few days and water with a light fertiliser solution once every 2 weeks. 

One thing cyclamen don't like is heat....so if you do have the air-conditioning or gas heating on make sure you pop you plant outside on the porch or balcony at night. The cool night air will keep your plant looking fresh and upright.

The petals of the Cyclamen are known as 'reflexed petals' because of the way they whorl away from the centre....almost as though they are caught in a fierce wind. 

     
If you've managed to keep your Cyclamen alive through the winter ...well done! Most people tend to over or under water and they only last a month or so. Never-the-less they are worth the effort. And unless you have a dry, cool place to leave them through the summer it's best to say goodbye...and pop them in the compost!


So forget about a buying bunch of expensive cut flowers that will only last a week and make the water in your vase go green, smelly and slimy. Go out and get a couple of lovely Cyclamen and be creative in the way you display them: wrap the plastic pots in coconut fibre and place them in clear glass vessels, or get a large bowl and put 3 small plants together in their pots for a mass display; fill in between the pots with sphagnum moss or small coloured stones. Or maybe just a single, regal plant in a plain white pot! Cyclamen will bring a burst of summer colour to brighten your winter days.