Passion for Primroses

In spite of my screen name, I'm pretty much at peace with the fact that a lot of the plants I'd like to grow are only happy in balmier climes than Iowa (much balmier). I will admit that this acceptance came only after a lot of plants ended up in the compost pile. I can tell you now that fuschia magellanica, crape myrtles, and Gresham magnolias don't like it here. I in fact am a regular treasure trove of information about plants that will turn up their toes here. But I am at peace with it now. However I still get techy when I contemplate that a lot of the OTHER plants I'd like to grow are only happy in cooler climates (and yes I've killed a couple of meconopsis). My latest passion (possession?) though has to do with primroses. They are such precious little plants that it is an unending delight to me to brush back the pine needles on the just-thawed earth and see the bright green leaves of the primroses peeking up. However, while I am slowly (painfully) accumulating a variety of them in the garden, a lot of the real jewels don't like our hot, muggy summers, and aren't real crazy about the rest of the year. My question (and I'm trying not to be peevish about it) is that I want to know if people in the North can really grow all kinds of primroses without winter protection, or is that just something you make up to irritate people like me? Does it have to do with snow cover ? Our snow cover is a sometimes thing. I just find it hard to believe that primroses thrive in Alberta. While we're at it, some of the primroses seem to "stem up" out of the ground, looking rather like a parsnip; pubescens is a prime culprit. gives the plant a really ugly appearance. Is this normal or culture-related. I've been digging them up and planting them deeper, but am I doomed to have these primroses planted a couple of feet deep?

Don

Primroses and cyclamen wondering how they ended up in zone 5:

Ahh can't beat Prims and cyclamen (and Viola) for a good show.

Not sure what you mean about stem up? Do you mean they seem to have closed up their leaves tightly and look like a cultivated sugar loaf chicory (only smaller), if so, these are deciduous Primula species, P. denticulata does just that. It may be that the deciduous species will be those tht survive your winters better than the evergreens as they cover their crowns (and are much easier to mulch without rotting).

There are species that will survive your climate quite well, it's finding them on sale that's the problem! Most of the time it's easier to locate the seed and grow them that way.

Baa,
This is what I mean by "stemming up". Probably not that big a deal, but somehow it bothers me; sort of like seeing that little blonde bank teller with the face of an angel in a miniskirt and finding out she has really bad legs! Oh well, bark mulch can hide a lot of things.
Don

Ahh I see now (although I really can't say about pretty bank tellers legs LOL).

This is typical of Auricula Group Prims like pubescens, mine do the same. It's a fleshy neck that leads down to the tap root and makes them more difficult to propagate than other groups by division as you need to let the plant form a large clump to be sure of getting the root whole.

Thanks; I feel better knowing your auricula-types do the same in the U.K. Here in Iowa you can't exactly wander over to City Park and browse the primrose garden for comparison. If you like red geraniums and yellow marigolds you're all set, but growing primroses here is a lonely calling.
Don

Hi zonedenial,
I, too, love primroses! I have 6 of the double ones ordered from the sunfarm coop and am worrying that I may lose them eventually, but "nothing ventured, nothing gained". One thing I have discovered is placement for summer. I have a bed that gets full sun all winter and spring, then the trees leaf out and then ferns and hostas come up and the primulas are in full shade for the summer and fall. These are the ones that seem to survive the best. I mulch them loosely with pine straw for the winter, since we can't count on snow cover here. Here is one that is particularly hardy, and I divided it early this spring into 4 clumps. It did not miss a beat, and is flowering away.

Thanks for sharing your picture Toxi; the primroses are poppin' now, with the warm sunshine.

The primulas are like bright jewels in the landscape...so colorful right now. Thanks for sharing yours.

Primula grow quite well in my zone 3 climate. They like our mild climate and moisture. Florindaes might be worth a try. They grow easily from seed. They are well-suited to moist areas. The flowers form an umbrell at the end of a tall stem, and they smell like nutmeg. The most common color is yellow, but I believe you can also find them in an orangish red. http://plantsdatabase.com/go/53117/index.html

Hi Zonedenial
I have overwintered Primulas in my garden both in North Battleford, Sask. and Moose Jaw, Sask. Our winters, unlike Weezingreens', get extremely cold and they do very well here. We do tend to get pretty good snow cover ... the years we don't they don't come back. :(
BTW one of my email addresses is zonaldenial...I'm going to try some of the plants you have listed above this year. Like yours many prob. won't make it but I will get a chance to see their leaves and maybe a bloom. ;)

edited to say I will be growing the crape myrtle in a pot and overwintering it in a just above freezing area *inside*. ;)

This message was edited Apr 8, 2004 12:23 AM

Lilypon I have seeds for the florindaes. Let me know if you'd like some. They're very hardy. Actually, I've found most of the primula germinate indoors quite well. I've got P. florindae, P. veris, P. vulgaris, P. denticulata, P. vialli, Pacific Bicolors, Pacific Giants popping out of the ground. We've had more than enough snow cover this year, so I'm hoping all my pots of last years plants will come back as well. The florindaes have an amazing root system, as well.

Thanks for your posts from the North. I've had better luck with overwintering primroses now that I've started covering the evergreen ones with pine needles. I think they can still suffer here in winter from dryness under the pine needles though, with no snow cover.
Don

What a sweet little Primula denticulata (Drumstick Primula). They are quite hardy here, as well. Yes, snow is a great mulch, isn't it! Too much winter moisture is usually our problem when we don't get adequate snow cover. Here's one of my favorite Primula polyantha from my south bed. The flowers hold up well.

zonedenial...did you bring the primula kisoana to the Iowa RU? If so..what is the best site to plant it in...I've put it in partial shade.

Bev,
Yes I brought those; for a primrose, it's a tough little plant. I pulled those plants out of the bark chip path, which they were trying to take over. I think it likes a little more sun than most primroses, as it was crawling out of the shady bed into the path, which has about 1/3rd sun, but it's very accomodating. It does like very loose soil as it's shallow rooted. Bright pink flowers in Spring.
don

Another view, with trilliums:

well I'm so glad you brought them to the RU! I took a bee line straight to that little beauty when my table number was called (Table #4) I was so afraid they would all be gone by the time #4 got to go and pick one! : ) It was a like finding a treasure. Thanks so much for sharing your treasure with us! : )