Primula April 2009

[Giles]

Very nice, Wim. Your P.hirsuta valcuvianensis is a bit different to mine! I'll wait 'til its out a bit more before posting.
Some others:
P.rosea (cheap and cheerful, the sort of pink that glows in the dark).
P. gracilipes (just starting)
P. magasaefolia (Ian Christie dug it up from his garden for me last June, and it has been in flower continuously since)
In one of the cold frames.

[Ragged Robin]

This is Primula 'Johanna' in a large trough.

Anne, is Primula 'Johanna' hardy - would it survive alpine winters?  It looks so relaxed and pretty against the rock in your trough

Robin, Primula 'Johanna' is named for the daughter of Henrik Zetterlund of Gothenburg Botanic Garden who made the hybrid. It is a cross between P. warshenewskiana and P. clarkei.  These species come from the north west Himalayas and so are pretty hardy!
The plant is not so easy to find these days  .....it has always been said by Henrik that the plant does best out of doors and split regularly to keep it robust and flowering well.

Thanks for all the info Maggi - I think it's a beauty to be sought after and I have taken note of Anne's comments too. 

[David Nicholson]

Lovely sight in your frame Giles.

Wim, did you expect your Primula hirsuta ssp. valcuvianensis to be that colour, or was it a surprise?

[WimB]

David,

I expected it to look like that although I find it having a bit more blue in it's colour then the ones I see photographed on the net.

[Giles]

This is what mine looks like at the moment....
also P. warshenewskiana - as it is SO pink.

[johanneshoeller]

These are my P. hirsuta ssp. v. (Mte. Nudo, Italy) - older pics. Nearly all flowers have the same colour.
They seem to be a little difficult to grow for a long time. So you must grow them from seeds or repot often.

[johanneshoeller]

Primula marginata (Italy)

[Armin]

Hans,
your P. marginata is suberb

[David Nicholson]

Lovely P. marginata Hans.

[David Nicholson]

A few more Primulas from the greenhouse today.

The first couple are of Primula auricula. Last year Hans Hoeller in Austria sent me a batch of cuttings from the wild Primulas he grows, (thank you Hans), and these are the first two to flower. I always think that the colour of Primula auricula takes a lot of beating in the plant world.

Next is a primula allionii hybrid 'Wharfedale Crusader'

Primula marginata 'White Linda Pope' nowadays seems to be called 'White Lady'. This one I originally bought as the proper 'Linda Pope'!

This one is the real Primula marginata 'Linda Pope' which some would say is a hybrid.

To finish Primula allionii x 'Aire Mist'. I'm fairly certain there is a botanical name for this particular plant but I can't find it.

As a grower of lots of Primula cultivars it is becoming more and more difficult to keep track of whether plants are, for example, marginata selections or marginata hybrids and it is just the same in the case of Primula allionii. Room for a new book here someone.



 

[Armin]

David,
nice primulas!
I'm sad I lost my auricula after 5 years. Finally, did not like my heavy, loamy soil of my garden:'(

[ChrisB]

Lovely shots, David.  I really like that auricula, and White Linda Pope is very nice too!

[tonyg]

Primula farinosa (or is it frondosa?) and Primula auricula.  Both raised from seed sent here by Franz Hadacek.  Thanks Franz!

[Giles]

Wow, there seems a real momentum building up on this thread now.
Tony, your P. auricula is particularly juicy - the rounded petal margins, and lack of paste around the corolla tube, being particularly classy.
I posted a pic of P.scapigera (a plant supposedly not in cultivation) with a single flower on, which I got from Cluny last year, and can now post
a much improved pic - it turned out quite a decent species.
Also a minute 'P.aureata fimbriata' (about 2cm diameter) picked up at Kevock a while back - again a supposedly impossible species down here which grows easily in my primula alley.
The 3rd one is P. sessilis, not much at the moment, but may get better later I guess. (from Lamberton, again supposedly not in cultivation).
4 thly a little collection of petiolarids, just to show what's out now.
(PP's bracteosa, scapigera, sonchifolia,sessilis, gracilipes,sinuata)

Tony I have no idea what your mystery primula is, I've pots full of little mauve jobs like that, all incorrectly labelled!

I've just realised I've been given a 'label' (!!)   You flatter me enormously, Maggi, and I love it!

[Pete Clarke]

Primula petiolaris. (Nice species from Ian McEnery.)