Q: Cyclamen are winter bloomers, so the best time to plant the corm or young plant in the ground is early fall. Don’t plant them too early, since they may react badly to the late summer heat. They love light but not direct sunlight, so choose a shady area of your garden that gets partial sun.  In their natural habitat, cyclamen bloom under large deciduous trees and along rocky, shaded ridges. If any area of your garden is similar to this, your cyclamen will love to be planted there. Avoid planting cyclamen seed directly in the ground. Start the seed indoors. Once it sprouts, the corm develops and the plant grows out of the corm. Cyclamen do well in a wide range of soil types, although they tend to like sandy or clay soil the most. To check drainage, dig a 1 ft (30 cm) by 1 ft (30 cm) hole and fill it with water. If the water soaks into the ground in 10 minutes or less, it drains well. If it hasn't absorbed into the ground after an hour, it has poor drainage.  To improve drainage, add organic matter like compost, manure, or peat moss. Cyclamen will rot in soggy soil that doesn’t drain well. Cyclamen like slightly acidic soil. To test your soil, buy a kit from a home improvement store or nursery and follow the instructions. Anything under a pH level of 6 is too acidic. Anything above 7 is too alkaline.  If you need to reduce your soil's acidity, add garden limestone to it. To raise the acidity, add sulfur, gypsum, or sphagnum peat moss. Cyclamen are small plants, usually only reaching about 8 in (20 cm) tall and 6 in (15 cm) in diameter. Cyclamen don’t need tons of room, and they aren’t competitive with other plants for root space, either. You can plant them among trees and shrubs.  A small amount of the corm should be above ground when you plant it. Cyclamen need water during their blooming season, which runs from fall until late spring. Check the soil daily and if it feels dry, give them water. Try to keep the soil moist at all times. Water cyclamen at their bases, not over their crowns, or you may encourage rot. Cyclamen go into dormancy in early summer. Do not water them during this time. Although they love cool conditions, cyclamens aren’t fans of frost. Whenever a frost is in the forecast, cover them with a lightweight plastic sheet, or even loose leaves or evergreen boughs. That’s all the protection they need. Remove the covering as soon as you’re able to after the threat of frost has passed. Pests aren’t a big problem for cyclamen. However, aphid infestations are known to happen. Luckily, they tend to overrun a plant when the leaves are in decline and the cyclamen is headed for dormancy. These infestations are usually very light and the aphids tend to die off pretty quickly, so in most cases you won’t even need to do anything. If the infestation looks severe, cut back the foliage all the way down to the tuber. When blooms stop forming and start to fade away, stop watering the cyclamen. During the summer, cyclamen go into dormancy and do not need water. Their leaves turn yellow and they look nearly dead. They aren’t, though! Once the soil gets dry, leave it that way for the rest of the summer.  If the soil stays moist while the plants are dormant, the tuber will rot. If you get a lot of rainfall during the summer, dig up the corm and store it indoors until fall. Keep the corm in a box of dry peat moss. Start watering the corms again in the fall, and your cyclamen will spring back to life.
A: Plant the corm or young plant in a shady area in early fall. Plant them in rich soil that drains well. Check the soil pH for a slightly acidic range of 6-7. Plant them 2 in (5.1 cm) deep and 6 in (15 cm) apart. Water cyclamen frequently from fall until spring. Cover the plants during freezing temperatures. Check the foliage regularly for aphids. Stop watering when the blooms fade in late spring or early summer.

Q: You might want to ask the seller or salesperson questions like, “Does this car have any issues you know about?”  If you’re dealing with a private seller, you might ask, “Why are you selling the car?”  The answers may help you learn more about the car and what you can expect if you buy it. Sites like Carfax and AutoCheck are useful for searching vehicle history reports.  Just enter the vehicle identification number to find information regarding a specific car.  This information can help you piece together a more comprehensive picture of the car’s history, including who the previous owners were and whether the vehicle has any liens against it. Check the car’s odometer, too.  Vehicle history reports should show an odometer reading that is less than its current reading. There are a number of elements that you should check before buying a used car with cash.  For instance, pop the hood and look for leaky or oil-splattered engine parts.  Check the tires.  If they’re bald, express your concern and ask the seller if they would consider fitting the car with new tires before you purchase it. If the seller disallows such an inspection, it is likely because the car has some hidden problem.  If your independent mechanic finds a problem with the vehicle, bring it to the attention of the seller.  If they say they didn’t know about it (and if the issue is not a deal breaker for you), use the issue in your negotiations later to obtain a lower price for the vehicle. If the car is a certified pre-owned vehicle, it has already been inspected and has a warranty, so there is no reason to take it to a mechanic. Giving the used car a test drive is the best way to determine if it really is the car for you.  During your test drive, evaluate the car’s performance.  Ensure that the seats are comfortable and easily adjustable. Test the heat, air conditioning, headlights, and blinkers. Determine the ease of driving.  The brakes and steering wheel should be responsive. Look for warning lights on the dash panel. Check for blind spots by adjusting the rear-view mirror and side mirrors appropriately. If your test drive doesn’t go well, consider refocusing your energies on buying a different car on your list. Vehicle service records will show when the car was last serviced, and when it ought to be serviced again.  If the car has missed a tire rotation or oil change, insist on that the seller provide one before you purchase the vehicle. Private sellers probably won’t have vehicle service records on hand.  Get the car looked over by a mechanic to ensure that it is in good condition.
A:
Ask the seller questions about the car’s performance and history. Check vehicle history reports to learn more about the car. Look the car over. Have the vehicle inspected by an independent mechanic. Test-drive the car. Ask to see service records.