The best winter flower for Phoenix - cyclamen

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Even though I've lived in Phoenix for a long time (longer than I care to admit!) I'm still amazed that you can grow flowers there all winter. I'm from Minnesota, and to me it just seems a crime to let the beautiful weather go by without planting an annual flower or two. And one of my favorites is cyclamen.

I got the one in the pic up there at my local Home Depot a few weeks ago. I get the smaller size, because compared to most flowers they're a little expensive. Normally I plant it in the ground, but I have a puppy around here, and anything freshly planted is just too much of a temptation for her to dig up and chew, so I have this one in a pot.

I like the white flowers, but you can also get reddish and purple. And I especially like the tropical look of the leaves! I put a little Dollar Store decorative moss there along the edges, but the plant is growing well, and soon that won't show at all.

I don't have a regular watering schedule, but they're flowers, and they like water, and I keep an eye on them. When the flower stems wilt a bit I know that I should have watered it sooner, but I water it then. As you can see, the pot drains off of the edge of the patio. Good drainage is always important in pots!

Right now it's still in the original pot that it came in (inside of the bigger pot, surrounded by more potting soil), and it's doing fine, but in the next day or so I'll remove the plastic pot, and tuck it back in so that it can spread its roots and grow more.

This plant will bloom and grow all winter, and will die in spring when the heat comes on. It's an annual, and here in Phoenix the annual season is the opposite of what it is in Minnesota, and the beauty is fleeting, but wonderful. Highly recommended!

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