Common Primrose (Primula vulgaris)

The common primrose (Primula vulgaris) has a special place in my heart because they are the last flower I see before everything gets buried in snow, and they’re the first flower I see when the snow starts to melt in the spring. It’s always a surprise to see these beautiful flowers blooming through the snow, especially on those days when the temperature outside is considerably below zero. This variety is also called the English primrose, and they like partial shade and moist, fertile soil with lots of organic material, but if the soil is too moist during the winter, the plant will die. The yellow variety is especially fast-growing and quickly spreads to make a huge mound if the growing conditions are favorable. My primroses are growing under the outside edges of several snowball bushes and they seem to like the protection. If you don’t want to let your primroses go to seed, be sure to remove the flower heads as soon as the flowers start to wither. I always let the flowers die away naturally and sometimes collect the seed pods to start new plants. This is an easy thing to do with primroses, and although not all seedlings will look exactly the same as the parent plant, they will always be beautiful! The seeds grow best when they are sown as soon as the seed pods have ripened. If the seeds are stored, the germination rate goes way down.

 

Written by Shirley | Filed Under Plants in my Gardens

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