Poinsettias get a lot of attention this time of year. Walk into a flower shop, or pretty much any grocery store or “box store,” and you’ll see rows of them in their foil-wrapped pots waiting to adorn someone’s house for the holidays. Sometimes they show up on coffee tables or in doctors’ offices coated with glitter (ugh, the indignity!).
This year, you might want to mix it up with Cyclamen persicum, another winter-blooming house plant that’s popular during the holidays.
Cyclamen persicum is a native of the Mediterranean and North Africa. Also known as florist’s cyclamen, it comes in a variety of shades of pink, lavender and red, as well as white, which goes really well with red poinsettia.
The flowers grow on long straight stems and have inch-long petals that curve back from the center, creating a bell shape. Cyclamen flowers remind me of a flock of birds in downward flight.
The flowers have a mild, sweet scent. An added bonus of cyclamen is its eye-catching foliage, dark-green, heart-shaped leaves etched with silver markings.
The plants are 8- to 10-inches tall, and look good standing alone or massed with other plants and holiday greenery.
Cyclamen are easy to care for, but they do like high humidity. If the air in your house is dry (and whose isn’t?) keep the plant on a tray of water sitting on a layer of pebbles so that the plant itself doesn’t sit in the water. Water the plant when the top inch of soil is dry, but avoid watering the plant’s crown to avoid rot. Trim spent flowers and more will appear.
If you are planning to keep the plant through its dormant period in the summer, feed it with a low-nitrogen fertilizer every two weeks when it’s in full leaf.
Cyclamen prefer bright, indirect light and moderate temperatures. They don’t like excessive heat but don’t expose them to temperatures below 50 degrees. Avoid drafts, hot or cold.
Cyclamen are tubers. If you plan to keep the plant for rebloom next year, let it dry out for two or three months after it finishes flowering and the leaves turn yellow. Keep it in a cool spot indoors through the summer, or in a shady spot outside. Some rain won’t hurt it but don’t let the plant stay wet or the tuber will get soggy and rot.
When new growth appears in the early fall, bring the plant back inside and start watering and fertilizing it again. OK, I know it might be too early to be thinking about next spring, summer and fall, but they’ll be here sooner than you think. In the meantime, enjoy the seasonal blossoms of cyclamen.
Amherst and
Northampton winter
farmers markets
Has everyone finished holiday shopping? I doubt it.
The perfect places for last-minute shopping are the Amherst and Northampton winter farmers markets. Not only can you buy gifts, but there are countless options for stocking your holiday dining tables, including locally raised meats, vegetables and fruits, locally made cheeses, bread and pastries, jams, honey, maple syrup and more.
Both markets have moved to new locations this year and are better than ever. The Amherst Market runs on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. inside the Target entrance to the Hadley Mall; Northampton’s is also on Saturdays in the Senior Center at 67 Conz St., 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Indulge!
“Winter Reimagined,” Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s wonderful winter garden tour, continues through Jan. 7.
The evening session is spectacular, with glittering lights displayed throughout acres of formal gardens, illuminating the prized collection of trees and shrubs, as well as sculptures and fountains.
Inside, guests will see handmade and nature-inspired ornaments, a wishing tree forest, an up-cycled igloo, and two towering conservatories brimming with subtropical plants and seasonal music.
The daytime display is lovely, too.
For more information, go to towerhillbg.org.
Catch the holiday spirit by visiting one of our local historical sites that gussy up for Christmas.
The William Cullen Bryant Homestead, 207 Bryant Road in Cummington presents “An Old-Fashioned Christmas” Friday and Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m.
Visitors may tour the house’s festively decorated historic rooms, enjoy delicious holiday treats, and peruse the holiday gift shop featuring items produced locally by artists in the Hilltowns, Berkshires and Pioneer Valley.
For more information, call 413-200-7262 or email acaluori@thetrustees.org. $5 members, $10 nonmembers.
Old Sturbridge Village, Route 20 in Sturbridge, hosts “Christmas by Candlelight,” Friday and Saturday from 3 to 8 p.m.
To entertain the kids, Santa Claus and Tinsel the Talking Christmas Tree will be at the North Pole Village. Admission: Adults: $28, ages 4 to 12: $14, kids 3 and under: free.
Mickey Rathbun can be reached at foxglover8@gmail.com.