K wrote:
Bazza writes
Every winter my other half buys a cyclamen for the house, when the
flowers have died back I usually find it deposited on the greenhouse
bench then I consign it to the compost heap.
In late winter while preparing the greenhouse for the coming season I
popped it outside the greenhouse ready for the trip to the heap in the
sky but forgot about it.
Last week I noticed in the undergrowth (must get on with the weeding)
some pretty pink flowers sticking out of the weeds.
Rescued it and put it on the kitchen window sill where it has burst
into a mass of flowers.
Now this is the height of summer? :-)) I thought that cyclamens
flowered in the cooler months, Ok it has been wet of late but not
really cold.

Cyclamen (the ones you grow in the house) are from the Middle East,
where they flower in the cooler months because that is when there is
moisture around. Summer in that area is equivalent in flower terms to
our winter, ie it's the dormant period.

You've taken a cyclamen from a warm house, given it a dry period in a
greenhouse, followed by a wet period outside - that's probably what has
triggered it.

And remember our height of summer temperatures would not be unusual for
the cooler months in the middle east.

Ah... that explains it, I have worked in the middle east in their winter
and the climate is warmer than our summer.
Nice bonus, like value for money.
I find it amazing that a lot of the plants we grow come from other
climes and we can still grow them successfully, I just love nature.