POTTED perfection

Get a floral fix with indoor-flowering plants

Cool customers

While plants in the garden lie dormant, garden centres are packed with a selection of tender flowering plants.

Some, like azaleas, naturally bloom in spring but are forced into an early show for the festive season. For others cyclamen and jasmine midwinter is their usual time to shine.

Whatever you choose, extend their flowering life by keeping them at an even temperature, away from cold draughts and hot radiators.

Scented cyclamen

Indoor cyclamen, also called florist's cyclamen, is a delicate plant with showy, often fragrant flowers that last for up to two months. Blooms are carried on slender stems that are held above heart-shaped, marbled leaves. Give cyclamen a cool, airy, bright spot (try a northor east-facing window) with a temperature of 10-15C. Water from the base and only when the compost feels dry.