Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Specific Families and Genera => Primula => Topic started by: David Nicholson on January 14, 2008, 07:18:32 PM
-
A few pictures from the greenhouse today.
The first is Primula x juliana Bergfruhling Red which was originally a strain developed from Jellito seed. My plant is now two years old and was grown from seed purchased from Fiedlhouse Alpines. It was the only seedling left worth saving from a batch the window cleaner managed to knock over and then walked over them with his size 12's. I notice that I posted a picture of the same plant on 22 February last year.
The second is a blue Cowichan Polyanthus I grew from Barnhaven seed sown on 19 February last year, and the third is a red Cowichan from the same source. Although I have grown better plants these are significantly better than the ones I have in the garden which are looking very weather beaten.
-
That red cowichan looks like silk !
Nice batch David
-
A few pictures from the greenhouse today.
The first is Primula x juliana Bergfruhling Red which was originally a strain developed from Jellito seed. My plant is now two years old and was grown from seed purchased from Fiedlhouse Alpines. It was the only seedling left worth saving from a batch the window cleaner managed to knock over and then walked over them with his size 12's. I notice that I posted a picture of the same plant on 22 February last year.
David, that's a nice type of the juliae hybrids. But I think once planted out in the garden after a few years you will have a different plant through self-seeding. The only remedy will be at least every two years to divide them and shake the seedlings out.
-
David, that's a nice type of the juliae hybrids. But I think once planted out in the garden after a few years you will have a different plant through self-seeding. The only remedy will be at least every two years to divide them and shake the seedlings out.
Luit, I don't think it is worth the hassle really. The self sown seedlings might be interesting in any case, but the original seed is cheap enough for me to grow a new stock every year.
-
Sorry David, I was speaking as a perennial plantsman ;)
-
I was speaking as a perennial plantsman
As I hope you ARE indeed, Luit! :-*
-
Here is Primula megaseifolia from the Pontus range, Turkey. This species has a very long flowering periode, sometimes beginning at the end of October and ending in March.
Gerd
-
Sorry David, I was speaking as a perennial plantsman ;)
Hi Luit, I appreciate that. My problem is always keeping garden Primulas healthy through the Summer months (when we get a Summer!!). They all, apart from P.vulgaris, suffer very badly.
Nice P. megaseifolia Gerd.
-
:-* Oh Maggi mmm.
That'a nice Prim. Gerd, I never tried it because it would not like our soil.
-
That'a nice Prim. Gerd, I never tried it because it would not like our soil.
Luit,
This species is not difficult when protected from severe frost. It loves a peaty soil, is this a problem in your part of the Netherlands?
Gerd
-
Gerd is nice to find you on the forum which I have just joined. We visited you in 1986 just after Chernobyl on our way to see Dieter Zschummel. You had some really good plants then. Your primula is very interesting.I have looked for it in the Pontus but not been able to find it
-
Luit,
This species is not difficult when protected from severe frost. It loves a peaty soil, is this a problem in your part of the Netherlands? Gerd
Gerd,
Our soil is very useful for Hyacinths, and they don't like peat for growing longer than a few months.
-
Gerd is nice to find you on the forum which I have just joined. We visited you in 1986 just after Chernobyl on our way to see Dieter Zschummel. You had some really good plants then. Your primula is very interesting.I have looked for it in the Pontus but not been able to find it
Tony,
Nice to meet you here.
Yes, I remember now. Sometimes the world is very small. I am a little bit surprised because of your special liking for crocus - so I wasn't sure about your identity.
I did not find Primula megaseifolia in the Pontus range too. Unfortunately my plant is
thrum.....? (missed the word), which means stamens shorter than style and so there is no seedset until I have the pin....? form.
Gerd
-
thrum.....? (missed the word),
No, Gerd, you have missed no word 8)... it is correct to say "thrum" and "pin"... sometimes it is written for pin .. "pin-eyed" for thrum .. "thrum-eyed" but this is not neccessary.
-
Sorry, I must ask this, only for my learning:
until now I knew conversely: thrum-flowered means stamens longer than style, and pin-flowered means stamens shorter then style. Which is the truth, please? ::) ???
-
From http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/p/primro69.html
In the centre of the pin-eyed flowers there is only the green knob of the stigma, looking like a pin's head, whereas in the centre of the thrum-eyed flowers there are five anthers, in a ring round the tube, but no central knob. Farther down the tube, there are in the pin-eyed flowers five anthers hanging on to the wall of the corolla tube, while in the thrum-eyed, at this same spot, is the stigma knob.
Hope that helps Kathrine
-
Yes, Brian, thanks a lot. That's exactly what I said, and it's clear for me now (should have thought of "pin's head" ::))
-
Gerd not a special liking for crocus its just that they are flowering now and so I can post the pictures.Its a special liking for anything that grows!
-
Yes, Brian, thanks a lot. That's exactly what I said, and it's clear for me now (should have thought of "pin's head" ::))
Sorry Kathrine,
I am the source for the confusion and mixed the terms. My plant has pin-eyed flowers (see picture) and it needs the thrum-eyed equivalent.
Gerd
-
Gerd,
I really didn' want to pick at you ;D it was for my lighting up. ;D ;D
-
Gerd,
I really didn' want to pick at you ;D it was for my lighting up. ;D ;D
Absolutely no reason to apologize, on the contrary I am glad to see my mistake :)
Gerd
-
Here is one I have that will be planted out in a new "Himalayan bed" that I am making. Its cold doesn't get much sun and I've got my fingers crossed. Primula nana alba
-
That's a really nice little primula Ian. Rather like P. edgeworthii alba but presumably smaller.
-
Here is one I have that will be planted out in a new "Himalayan bed" that I am making. Its cold doesn't get much sun and I've got my fingers crossed. Primula nana alba
Ian, could you say a little more please about the soil mix you are using in your new bed?
-
Lesley you right it is a little smaller than edgworthii alba and probably tricky outside- this is in a cold frame at present with a collection of plants going into my new bed
David I have always wanted to grow asiatic primulas and some other high alpine dwellers but have had only limited success here in the midlands where summers can be hot and winters cold. I have only had real success with P. petiolaris which I find easy if divided each year however many of my petiolarid primulas have clung onto life only because they have mostly been in intensive care. This means that I should really consider whether these are suitable plants for my situation. The new bed sounds very grand but isn't it is an old plunge bed used for bringing on stock plants which had not been particularly successful. Until I had been to Bhutan last year I had always considered this space at the side of my house to have a cold and windy aspect and having too little sun. What I found when at altitude in the mountains trhat the conditions seemed to approximate those of this place so here goes. What I am doing is an experiment and this may not work. The soil mix I am trying is based on a tip I got from Rachel Lever of Aberconwy Nursery and she recomended rotted turf for asiatic primulas. If I had not seen many of the plants we all covet growing in turf I might have thought this strange but it makes sense now. So I bought some turf and have mixed this with my own compost (from the heap) plus some Cambark fine. The mix isn't scientific I like to feel that the stuff is right. Also Ron McBeath suggested that some asiatics like their root run restricted so I might add some slate to do this.
Like all gardening we travel in hope (and as the cynic would say die of despair). If anyone is interested I will post progress of this bed (a big word for a small square of compost surrounded by concrete blocks. If it works then I will make it prettier.
-
Ian,
I'd love to hear about the continued evolution (and success, for sure) of your new bed. Please keep us posted....
-
I just had a note from John Lonsdale saying that P. edgeworthii alba is the OLD name for P. nana alba.
-
Ian,
I'd love to hear about the continued evolution (and success, for sure) of your new bed. Please keep us posted....
I would like it too, Ian.
Sorry, what is the "Cambark" (I know bark, but what is Cam? ??? ???)
-
Kathrine, 'Cambark' is the trade name of a commercially available composted bark. Many of us have forgone the use of peat, for conservationist reasons, and buy ground (fine) composted bark as a replacement humus element for our composts.
I use leaf mould as first choice but when I run out I buy composted bark. Many growers swear by Cambark but, personally, have found it no better or worse than many others on the market.
Ian, your Himalayan bed sounds very interesting. Good luck with it and please keep us updated on its progress.
-
Thank you, David.
Many of us have forgone the use of peat, for conservationist reasons, and buy ground (fine) composted bark as a replacement humus element for our composts.
I know that, and I agree with that. What do you think about coconut fibers?
-
"The Beechgrove Garden" is a local television gardening show and has garden premises just outside Aberdeen... they have done various trials with coconut fibers over the last few years but i think the general opinion was that it was quite good, but not very "green" because of the high fuel costs to ship this to Europe.
We have not used this ourselves to any great extent.
-
Coconut fibre, same as Maggie. It has to be shipped over from the other side of the Atlantic so the 'food miles' rule it out. I have never used it and I don't think that it is readily available now. The bark is a home grown waste product.
-
Lesley just caught up with your posting re Primula nana being the new name for edgworthii and have checked this with Richards. The bXXXXy botanists have been at it again confusing us old gardeners. I wonder what they will be compelled to change next week just to confuse me and to justify their existence. Don't they know I'm already confused enough ?
-
They know it Ian, but do they care? I don't think so! We all know that botanical name changes are only a ruse to keep more botanists in full-time employment. ::)
-
David I have always wanted to grow asiatic primulas and some other high alpine dwellers but have had only limited success here in the midlands where summers can be hot and winters cold. I have only had real success with P. petiolaris which I find easy if divided each year however many of my petiolarid primulas have clung onto life only because they have mostly been in intensive care. This means that I should really consider whether these are suitable plants for my situation. The new bed sounds very grand but isn't it is an old plunge bed used for bringing on stock plants which had not been particularly successful. Until I had been to Bhutan last year I had always considered this space at the side of my house to have a cold and windy aspect and having too little sun. What I found when at altitude in the mountains trhat the conditions seemed to approximate those of this place so here goes. What I am doing is an experiment and this may not work. The soil mix I am trying is based on a tip I got from Rachel Lever of Aberconwy Nursery and she recomended rotted turf for asiatic primulas. If I had not seen many of the plants we all covet growing in turf I might have thought this strange but it makes sense now. So I bought some turf and have mixed this with my own compost (from the heap) plus some Cambark fine. The mix isn't scientific I like to feel that the stuff is right. Also Ron McBeath suggested that some asiatics like their root run restricted so I might add some slate to do this.
Like all gardening we travel in hope (and as the cynic would say die of despair). If anyone is interested I will post progress of this bed (a big word for a small square of compost surrounded by concrete blocks. If it works then I will make it prettier.
Hi Ian, sorry I didn't reply earlier but your post got caught up in my computer problems as a result of a power cut. If you can keep us posted on how your new bed works out I would certainly be interested. A member of the Auricula and Primula Society who lives in the Midlands, Viv Pugh, is an expert on petiolarids but I can never get her to put some thoughts and practices, in writing. Having said that, I think our own Sue Gill won a prize at one of the SRGC Shows last year with a petiolarid. Sue, are you reading??
-
David I may be experimenting with the new bed but I am always doing different things to try to beat the odds but these ploys don't always work. But hey ho I just keep trying and I can do with all the advice I can get with these plants - I just love them.
One of the worst problems I have had with growing these outside has been that frost has lifted them out of the soil. Maybe to succeed I will have to simulate snow cover in some way. The interesting thing is that these grow in turf and seem to compete rteally well in nature. In fact I found P calderiana on several occasions but only in high Yak pastures. Interestingly the yaks eat the grass but not the primula. Whether this particular one contains something that they don't like I don't know.
The following shows the habitat of calderiana and another petiolarid I now believe this to be bracteosa (apparently identified by the man)
-
Frost wont have been a problem so far this year Ian!