Cyclamen

I think the small-flowered indoor cyclamen are as pretty as anything you'll find in a pot at this time of year and they're cheap! At £2.50 each, they come in an intense range of colours from white, rose-pink, to wine-crimson and a bright, rich red.

Don't just buy and plonk your indoor cyclamen - they're worth the effort of a bit of doctoring. The plastic pots they come in don't do these winter-flowering tubers justice, so plant them up in a brightly coloured bowl or something sparkly and shiny.

Try not to disturb the roots - you're doing this for aesthetic reasons only - planting them into a loam-based compost with added grit and a handful of peat.

You can use a soil-less compost, but it makes watering more difficult, especially at the end of the dormant period when you want it to take up moisture again.

Gently firm the roots into the new pot or bowl and cover the compost with dried leaves or an emerald-green cushion of bun moss.

That's how they'd look in the wild and it's always a good aim with houseplants to recreate this as closely as possible.

One of the great things about indoor cyclamen is if (like me), you are a bit hit and miss with your house plant care, they are pretty easy and reliable – they look good for six to eight weeks in our cold house.
They're happy at a cool room temperature (about 55F/13C), and shouldn't get too hot. Find them a light position, without too much direct sunlight.

In the wild, Cyclamen persicum grows in deciduous woods, or you might find it more out in the open, with its tuber hidden under rocks and just the leaves and flowers poking into the light.

Too much heat in a sunny window will encourage early dormancy, while growing in light, but cool conditions may see them continue to flower into the New Year.

If you heat your house to above 15C its an idea to place the plants on east and north-facing window ledges, bringing them out more prominently into your main dining table as and when you want them, but putting them back in between times.

Cyclamen don't like freezing temperatures (don't let them fall below 50F/10C), so on frosty nights try to remember to bring them into the room.

As far as watering goes, they don't like much - the worst thing is a constant dribble of water. Keep them moist, but not dripping wet.

Once a week, I sit the pots in a tray of water about half an inch deep and leave them overnight. Then the whole root ball gets a good drink and the compost rehydrates. I then drain them and leave them for another week or so without water.

If water collects in the base of the saucer or pot-holder, tip it out and don't water again until the compost feels fairly dry. Dead head and remove any dead or dying leaves with a sharp tug to the stem.

Plants can be dried out after flowering with a view to getting them to re-bloom next winter, but it’s a long journey and they will be unlikely to flower with the same vigour so I would suggest you plan to buy new ones again next year- houseplants should be a pleasure not hard work!