Precious pretty Primulas for spring time colour.

Primula chionantha

Primula vulgaris, wild form

Primula is a large genus of herbaceous flowering plants that come in a wide variety of colours, almost every colour imaginable. They have been cultivated for hundreds of years and there are over 400 species, encompassing huge variations in colour and form. The flower stems rise from a basal rosette of leaves. The plants bloom from early spring (the name primula comes from a Latin word meaning first) to summer. Growing a variety of different primulas means primroses bringing colour to your garden for about six months of the year. The range of size, shape and colour is staggering. Colours can range from white, yellow, orange, pink, purple, red to almost black even. Best planted in spring, they come back year after year.

Primula japonica ‘Apple Blossom’

Primulas are versatile and easy to grow. They suit many garden types such as woodland gardens, cottage gardens, urban gardens (even containers on balconies), around a pond or a bog garden. Some varieties are perfect for a wild flower garden, particularly Primula vulgaris because it is one of our much loved native Irish wildflowers. Primula vulgaris, the primrose, is a protected native species here in Ireland. That means it cannot be picked from the wild, but luckily you can buy your own organically grown plants here at our nursery and so still have a jar of primrose flowers in the house in early spring. This plant has received the RHS award of garden merit. Another native Irish wildflower that we have in the nursery is primula veris- the cowslip.

Primula beesiana

Most primulas do best in partial shade with humus rich, moisture retentive soil. The candelabra primulas especially do well around ponds or at the edge of streams. Primula beesiana is one in particular that looks beautiful at the edge of a pond and is deservedly a very popular variety. Candelabra primulas look stunning in drifts in woodland gardens or simply on areas of lawn. For a drift we would recommend Primula japonica ‘Alba’ or ‘Apple Blossom’. For a spectacular display in a bed or container you can’t go wrong with Primula vialii, another winner of an RHS garden merit award. We call them ‘Gnome Heads’ and they like damp shady environments. If your soil is poor, add some humus rich compost before planting.

Primula florindae

We are very fond of scented primulas,  P. alpicola violacea is a beautiful scented clump forming example. P. florindae, or the giant Tibetan cowslip also has an attractive scent. This is the largest species of cowslip and in Ireland it grows to about a metre in height. Wonderful in drifts (it grows in drifts along river banks in its native Tibet). Lastly, P. chionantha with its vibrant yellow dust (farina) on its young pale green leaves, this primula gives us something to look at as soon as the shoots emerge in early spring. It is, as are all of the primulas we grow, frost hardy.

Primula alpicola violacea