Upside-down flower

Early this spring, I bought a small cyclamen plant for my front window. I had never grown cyclamen before, but the flowers were pretty, and red, and nothing else in the store was in bloom yet.

Silky, flowing, backwards petals.

It bloomed all spring, then produced a good crop of round seed pods, and shut down. But it likes my window, and a month later, up came the flowers again, for the rest of the summer.

Luscious colours

More seed pods followed. As soon as they were ripe, more flower buds appeared in the centre of the plant.

While flowering, florists' cyclamens should be kept below 20 °C (68 °F), with the night time temperatures preferably between 6.5 °C to 15 °C (44 °F to 59 °F). Temperatures above 20 °C (68 °F) may induce the plant to go dormant. (Wikipedia)

So we share a fondness for cool weather; I keep my windows open until it snows.

The latest bud, and interesting leaves.

The flower opens downward, and may be self-pollinating.

Some species are frost-hardy. I'll have to try growing some outside for the grey months.