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Primroses are naturals for our gardens

Posted by talkdirt

Posted: April 12, 2008 - 12:28 am

Primula auricula: Joshua Borough of the Anchorage Daily News took this photo of a garden primrose, or Primula auricula, a couple of years ago. Primula auricula: Joshua Borough of the Anchorage Daily News took this photo of a garden primrose, or Primula auricula, a couple of years ago.

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Cheryl writes: Moose don’t eat primroses.

There are plenty of other reasons to add them to a Southcentral garden, of course – beauty, ease of cultivation, hardiness, fragrance, zinger bright or pastel colors, self-propagating (many), hundreds of species, all-season bloom – but “no moose” were the words that will have me loading the wagon at the nursery this spring.

Area primrose experts Mary Jo Burns and Deb Cologgi’s talk Thursday at the monthly meeting of the Wildflower Garden Club, “ Down the Primrose Path, or Easy Primroses for Your Garden,” covered easy-care, hardy primulas suited to our climate and soils.

Primulas are in the Primuacae family, along with cyclamen and Dodecatheon (shooting star). Of the 430 species, says Mary Jo, about 300 are from the Sino-Himalayas and grow high, cool and usually moist. From Nepal, primulas spread north and west to Europe, and eastward to our Pacific Northwest and up the Aleutian chain to Alaska.

Primula auricula (“auricula” means “bear’s ear” and refers to the shape of the leaves) is an alpine from Europe, mounding and with rainbow colors. It does well in either sun or shade as long as there’s plenty of water, and it likes a touch of lime. It’s a friendly plant and likes it if its roots nudge up against other auriculas, or the side of a pot. You can make more auriculas by dividing, cuttings off the offsets or saving the seeds.

Among the auriculas are the marginatas, tough as boots and small, with frosty, gray-toothed leaves. They’re good for rock gardens but need lots of water.

The Primula sieboldii, which Sunshine Farm of Renick, W. Va., calls “idiot proof,” came from woodland Japan by way of 19th century botanist Philipp Franz von Siebold. There it’s called “sakurasoh,” the “cherry blossom primrose,” but von Siebold officially named it after himself, says Mary Jo. It grows by rhizomes in neat clumps for drifts of pink, white and lavender, and the starlike blossoms give it another name, the “snowflake primose.” If this one gets too hot it will dive underground to wait out the swelter, so it’s a good idea to mark where they are.

Primula cortusoides has lavender or white flowers that dance on thin stems above a leafy rosette, and has the reputation of being a long-bloomer. It’s also called Primula saxitilles, but that’s the same plant, Mary Jo says.

The flower form of the denticulatas looks like a bulgy drumstick of lavender or white when it emerges in early spring. For winter, it subsides into a resting bud that frost heaves can spit out of the ground, so this is a good one to mulch and keep an eye on.

Sikkemensis (Primula florindae, Primula alpicola, Primula wilsonii) bloom later in the season, are taller and have a captivating scent. If they like where you’ve put them, they’ll reseed themselves.

The Primula juliae hybrids “Snow Cushion,” “Wanda” and “Kinlough Beauty” are easy to grow, say Mary Jo and Deb, and others worth trying are the double P. vulgaris, and “jack-in-the-green,” an intriguing name and intriguing shape.

P. polyanthus is the variety we had in Texas, and I planted them in preference to pansies. Nothing ate them; they toughed out hotter weather; and they’d come back every year when it got cold. I’ll be planting some of those, with their velvet flowers, for old time’s sake.

Mary Jo and Deb also suggest giving a try to the gold and orange Primula elatior and Primula veris, as well as P. japonica, p. cockburiana, P. rosea (neon pink! Big clump in perennial garden at Alaska Botanic Garden!) and P. vialii.

Primulas are hearty trenchermen; they’ll want regular meals. They’ll also sulk if they get too dry, though good drainage matters. Drip watering is better for their appearance than an overhead hosing. In England, primula fans have been known to build roofs over their plants to keep rain off their faces.

One thing: Most sorts of primulas produce a white or yellow powdery substance called “meal” or “farina” if it’s on the stem or leaves, or “paste” if it’s on the flower. It gives the plants an attractive silvered look. Nobody is quite sure what it does, but there was speculation at the meeting that as an alkoid, it might be a poison, and that’s why the smart moose leave primulas alone. It also may be why some people develop allergies and break out in itchy red wheals and welts on their arms and hands where they’ve touched their primulas.

Many of the nurseries will have primulas in the spring. Lori Abel at In the Garden and Doug Tryck at Tryck Nursery usually have some of the rarer ones, but a wonderful source is the Wildflower Garden Club’s plant sale, where you can part members from choice specimens in May.

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Primroses are naturals for our gardens