| Where the garden meets the wild | ||||
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PRIMULA PRIMULA Primulaceae (Primula family) |
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There are more than 500 species of Primula, about 300 of them in China alone. The plants are variable. The taxonomy is under constant revision. Ignore all that. We offer some charmers from North America and Asia. Plant them in swathes, as they grow in nature. Above: a wet subalpine meadow in Yunnan. The primulas we offer thrive in moist but not soggy peat or humus and light shade to full sun. |
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Primula cuneifolia Ledebour. Pixie-eye primrose. | |||
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| Primula japonica Asa Gray. Cherry-red form. | ||||
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Photograph © Pat Woodward |
Primula parryi Asa
Gray. Parry's primrose.
Pot 10 cm / 4". In Canada C$4.50; elsewhere US$3.60. |
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Photograph from Wild Flowers from Yunnan, China. |
Primula poissonii Franchet. Section
Proliferae. Hai xian hua (Chinese). Whorls of hot-pink
to purple flowers with a golden eye bloom in June-July on stems that are
25-45 cm (10-18") tall, elongating to 60 cm (24") as the seed
capsules form. The finely toothed leaves are evergreen. Carpets high
mountain seeps and wet meadows in China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.
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Photograph from Rare Flowers and Unusual Trees. |
Primula sikkimensis J.D. Hooker. Section Sikkimensis. Zhong hua bao chun (Chinese). A single whorl of drooping, chalk-yellow flowers blooms in May-June on stems that are 20-30 cm (8-12") tall. Carpets wet places ~ forest edges, ditch margins, meadows and swamps ~ in the high mountains of Sichuan, Yunnan and Xizang (Tibet). In gardens, it welcomes rich, moist but not soggy humus and light shade to full sun. | |||
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| Primula wilsonii Dunn. Section Proliferae. Xiang hai xian hua (Chinese). | ||||
