In springtime a walk in the
countryside never seems complete for me without a glimpse of a
bank of rich, creamy primroses, or the subtle haze of yellow
cowslips on a roadside verge. The wild Primulas are amongst
many people’s favourite wildflowers and certainly feature in
my top ten. They are cheerful early blooms and when seen
en masse evoke an era when the countryside was a gentler,
more wildlife-friendly place. For those of us
who miss them on our country walks it is good to know that they are amongst
some of the easiest wildflowers to grow in the garden. We only
have 5 species of wild Primula in this country but each one is
a gem. Most of us are familiar with two of them – the
primrose and cowslip - but the others are equally beautiful.
All are wonderful garden plants, but only the cowslip and
primrose are easily obtainable from wildflower nurseries or
garden centres. The Primulas are adaptable in terms of
the conditions in which they will grow, making them valuable
and versatile garden plants. An added bonus is their ability
to thrive in grass, which means they are perfect for many
different situations - meadow areas, in light shade under
trees or on grassy banks. More good news is that the
seeds of these plants should be sown now in the coldest
weather for good germination.
Primrose – herald of spring
We tend to think of the primrose (Primula vulgaris) as a
woodland or hedgerow plant and although it does prefer a shady
position it will cope in the garden in either sun or shade as
long as the soil retains some moisture. In hot dry
conditions it will wilt and sometimes lose its leaves, but has
the ability to revive itself once soil moisture has been
restored as, like the cowslip, it dies down to a resting bud
in mid summer. Although the primrose blooms in spring, the
odd flower can sometimes be seen as early as January.
Folklore however tells us that a primrose in flower in the
winter can foretell ill health or even a death in the family.
In fact, all members of the Primula family have a wealth of
ancient folklore surrounding them, much of it amusing and even
bizarre! Country folk believed that the number of primrose
flowers taken into a house in the spring would determine the
number of chicks that hatched from under their broody hens.
It was also thought that primroses planted upside-down would
bear pink flowers! Folklore aside, in the garden this is an
invaluable plant, able to thrive in places where other plants
may not and its subtle yellow flowers cheer us as spring
approaches.
Cowslip – a perfect
plant? Cowslips (Primula veris) flower from
April into May and for me are the most versatile and
attractive of the group. The fact that they have a
wonderfully sweet, subtle scent makes them even more valuable
in a garden situation and they are perfect for containers.
Any fledgling wildflower gardener could do no better than add
a few cowslips to their garden. This versatile species will
grow in sun or light shade, any soil type and will hang on in
the driest soils. In a bog garden however, they will reach a
height of 30cms or more and produce large fragrant blooms to
rival any more exotic bog garden Primula. They look at
their best in grass and will survive even the dreaded rye
grass lawn, where many wildflowers will flounder and disappear
over time. The cowslip will exhibit no such fleeting
behaviour but will seed and increase in number until a cowslip
meadow is produced. A lawn area like this can be left to
its own devices through spring and early summer. After
the cowslips have flowered, the whole area can be cut and
raked, and then mown in the summer months, as the dormant
cowslips will happily cope
with this rather savage management. You can even spread
your cowslips by taking dried cuttings – grass and flower
stalks – and leaving them on another area of short grass,
where the seeds will fall and germinate in the following
spring.
Scottish Primrose,
Birdseye Primrose and Oxlip The remaining three native
species are less well known but all very attractive. The rare
Scottish primrose (Primula scotica) has a cluster of dark
purple flowers with a yellow eye. It can only be found along
the north coast of Scotland and Orkney on sandy soils where
the drainage is poor. It thrives in a container if these
exacting soil conditions can be maintained, and is sometimes
found in the alpine section of garden centres. Birdseye
primrose (Primula farinosa) is another northern plant, this
time having soft pale pink flowers. It too prefers a soil
that remains moist. The true oxlip (Primula elatior) only
survives in the wild in a few habitats in East Anglia. It
naturally grows in damp situations on clay soils and can be
found in woodlands, ditches and sometimes in moist grassy
meadows. The key to this species establishing successfully in
the garden is a clay soil. In spite of its preferences it is
well worth growing, as the elegant pale yellow flowers are
large, clustering on top of a branched stalk. In fact it
looks rather like a collection of primrose flowers on top of a
cowslip stalk. This appearance gives rise to confusion as the
‘false oxlip’ is indeed a hybrid between cowslip and primrose.
Although there are only 5
species of Primula in Great Britain, there are plenty of
naturally occurring hybrids between the species, the false
oxlip being the most common. This is a very promiscuous group
of plants! If you grow Primulas in your garden the odd hybrid
is inevitable. There is a great deal of variation amongst
these hybrids but most are worth keeping, and be prepared for a
selection of strange colours if you also grow polyanthus!
These were originally derived from false oxlips plus later
hybridisation with a few other species, to create the amazing
selection of colours we see today. The polyanthus varieties
really do show us just what versatile plants the Primulas are.
In terms of their wildlife
attracting abilities, sadly the Primulas are not amongst the
best wildflowers. They are visited by a few early bumblebees
and the occasional butterfly, but do not attract the swarms of
insects that other groups do. In the wild in a few woodland
habitats the gorgeous Duke of Burgundy fritillary butterfly
uses cowslip and primrose leaves as its caterpillar food
plant, but sadly this is a very rare butterfly that very few
would see in their gardens. Perhaps we have to be content
with growing these wildflowers for their beauty alone. I, for
one, am perfectly happy with that.
Growing Primulas from
seed All Primulas need a
period of cold, frosty conditions and temperature fluctuations
before the seeds will germinate. Let nature do this for you
and sow the seed in autumn or winter. Use a small seed tray
or pot with a peat-free loam based compost, firmed gently.
Sow the seed evenly and cover with a little horticultural
grit. Leave the tray outside through the cold winter weather,
checking from time to time to ensure that the compost has not
dried out. In early spring germination will occur, but the
seeds should be left for some time to develop a few crinkly
leaves before they are potted up. Allow them to grow on a
little and develop a good root system before they are placed
in their final positions in border, meadow or lawn. Once
established they will seed and spread with profusion. |
