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Primrose

My local garden centre is selling them now. Are they a winter flowering plant? 

I'm thinking of planting some on the ground and am wondering would they withstand the colder weather. I just took up gardening and so far, everything was planted in the pot. Also, any suggestion what woud go well with primrose on the flowerbed?

 

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  • WelshonionWelshonion Posts: 3,114

    Are they native primroses or primulas?  Both are hardy in the ground; just different from each other.

  • kate1123kate1123 Posts: 2,815

    @Kitty I would be tempted to under plant it with spring bulbs. Ajuga may be an option as ground cover.

  • Weshonian, they were labelled primrose but comes in an array of colours. They might be primulas. I know real primrose are suppose to be white but these were colourful.

     

    Thanks Kate1123, I haven't plant bulbs before and I might try them out this year. I just started gardening this year and am a bit excited to try out anything. image

  • I have primroses and hardy primula and they both flower in the sping, but the primroses or polyanthus out in the garden centres now usually keep flowering through the winter but in a sheltered spot. I have muscari, which adds a lovely splash of blue to the spring colour.  Also, you may find of interest, the hardy varieties of primula which have tall stems and pom pom flower heads, they look really good in spring and early summer.

  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,105
    Kitty Jingga wrote (see)

    . I know real primrose are suppose to be white but these were colourful.

     



    Just a quick point our native Primroses are yellow. Unless they are the much rarer P. scotica which are pink

  • Thanks Berghill for the clarification. I still have so much to learn about them.

    Welsh Daffodil, I goggled muscari. They are indeed wonderful. It looks like a blue lavender.

  • Jean GenieJean Genie Posts: 1,724

    Yes , Berghill's correct - they are a pale yellow. I have also got some of the pink variety which have cross- pollinated with the yellow ones. Now I have some yellow with a pink centre. They have to be one of my favourite spring flowers. I much prefer them to some of the gaudy primulas. I didn't know the pink are are a rarity - I've got a lot of them. Sometimes you can have a strange one which I refer to as Jack- in -the Green It's got a little ruff and is also known as hose - in - hose. Last year I had 3 of those.

  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,105

    The horrible mucky pink Primrose is just a cross between the ones sold as Primulas and our native Primula. P. scotica is very difficult to grow. It is thought to be semi-parasitic on dwarf grasses which it grows amongst in its native Scotland.

    As with Spanish Bluebells and the native English Bluebells, our native Primula vulgaris is in danger of losing its purity by crossing with the garden varieties. Even Primula veris has been know to cross with these, so you get pink flowers on a tall stem.

  • Jean GenieJean Genie Posts: 1,724

    Didn't know that Berghill , these came from my Mum-in - Laws garden in Devon but they looked very much like primroses .

  • my native yellow british primroses have started flower in teh last few weeks.. think the wet and cold then warm weather of the last month has confused them..

     

    i am sat here still praying for some rain for my garden as hard as concrete and my lawn is near on brown all over form lack of water.. water butts are nearly empty and desperately need some.. have not hda any for weeks and weeks..last lot was on a monday night start of schools hols.. and that only just filled the butts up..

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