From The Gardens

My favorite Spring perennials are members of the Primula family, or Primroses.  This family consists of many hybrids and cultivars, some hardy in Central New York.  All require shade and a relatively moist location.  They may be divided at any time, even when in full flower.  Some species readily seed themselves around, and increase rapidly in gardens that they find to their liking.

Usually in early May, but this year in mid April,  the colorful  primroses begin blooming.  The familiar Primula veris and Primula vulgaris, both yellow, are delightful little plants that are perfectly hardy here in Central New York. Their cheerful little faces are just the thing to push away the winter blahs and make gardeners eager to get back outside rummaging in the dirt.

Most gardeners are  also familiar with Polyanthus primroses.  These are the colorful hybrids found in  garden centers and even grocery stores in March and April.  They come in many colors, including a true blue, but are not as reliably hardy as some other varieties. This past winter was kind to the Polyanthus because there was enough snow cover at the right times.  Some years the little, shallow rooted Polyanthus are completely heaved out of the ground by alternate freezing and thawing.  Some of the strains of  Polyanthus such as the Pacific Giants and the mixture named Crescendo are easy to grow from purchased seed.

Another Spring bloomer is P. denticulata, the drumstick primrose.  These are found in shades of lavender and white and are somewhat, but not completely hardy.  Instead of loose umbrellas of flowers like other primroses, the flowers are arranged to form a round ball on top of the stem.

The next group of Primula to flower here in Onondaga County are the Primula sieboldi. They are less well known, but are the hardiest of all.  Occurring only in white and shades of pink, these primroses survive the hot summer by going completely dormant several weeks after flowering in June.  These primroses increase by a spreading rootstock and can be divided after 2 or 3 years.  Be sure to mark their location so that you don’t disturb them while they are dormant.

The last of the hardy primroses to flower are the candelabra types, so named because several whorls of flowers are produced on each stem. There are many species in this group, but for me the only hardy one has been P. japonica. This strong grower demands rich, moist soil and if it is happy will reseed it self prolifically.  The flowers are either deep crimson or white and well grown plants in moist soil  will be nearly 3 feet tall.

Another early summer primrose that is sometimes sold locally is P. vialli which tends to be monocarpic (that is, it dies after flowering) which is obviously not desirable.  This primrose looks more like a miniature red hot poker than a primrose and desires a boggy growing situation.

By growing a variety of primroses you could have primroses blooming in the garden from late April , through June.  There are Primula Societies both in the USA and Great Britain for individuals that become “hooked”.