Cylcamen: The Second-Most Planted Winter Flower in North Texas

Believe it or not, Cyclamen is the second most popular planted flower for winter in most of North Texas. This unusual looking flower is probably mostly grown for its luscious greenery over its flowers. The dark green, ivy looking leaves with their variegated patterns are more prominent over their uppity somewhat closed petal flowers sharing their own separate color with their own individual stems.

Ranking behind pansies on the top ten list of most planted flowers in North Texas, cyclamen has earned it place well. The affordability of these may be part of that appeal. Although they are not all that cheap depending upon where you shop for them, they are a must for any North Texas winter garden. You can grow these indoors without too many hiccups. They can grow in almost complete shade, but do better with partial sun.

Cyclamen is an evergreen perennial that will grow year after year if they are planted in a well-drained area. Too much water can kill them all too easily. Watering not so frequently will promote more flowers on these garden jewels. To some, the leaves appear to be marbled, which is why they are so popular among so many homeowners.

This colorful plant comes in three popular shades of colors. Red, pink and white are the most sought after colors in cyclamen. They can also be found in pinkish purple and lavender colors, too. Fuchsia -pink is another color that seems to be rising in popularity as the other top three.

Growing cyclamen can be a bit of a chore as they are temperamental in their ways. They like rich soil, but they can also be picky about how much water they want. Sometimes they want a lot of water while other times they would rather do without it. It is pretty much like growing African violets. Once you learn how to take care of them you will have a bountiful garden full of cyclamen.

The plus side to growing cyclamen is growing them in containers. They will do well indoors or out. Growing them indoors will add spectacular color to almost any room. North Texans know this all too well. You can even find cyclamen look-alikes in many retail shops that have silk or plastic flowers.

Two of the most familiar ways of displaying cyclamen in landscaping are as border plants and ground cover under trees and around bushes. During the rainy seasons in North Texas, you can find cyclamen thriving under trees more so than you will in gardens. September and October are the months to start planting your cyclamen either by seed or potted plants. This is also a good time to plant your spring bulbs and bluebonnet seeds, too.