Primula (November)

[Giles]

I was so excited today to find the tight apical buds of my petiolarids had opened up to reveal some nice flower buds.
The P.verticillata I posted a month ago is still going strong.
1. P.'Tantallon'
2. P. nana
3. P. moupinensis
4. P. verticillata

[Lesley Cox]

What scrumptious rosettes. 'Tantallon' as I had it years ago (imported from the Sutherlands at Ardfearn) had no meal at all! I visited and was helped to select by the younger Sutherland, Jim off to China the day before.

[David Nicholson]

Very well grown Giles.

[Tony Willis]

That moupinensis is wonderful. I got a few seedlings from my trip to Germany which I understand came from John Richards. They are half an inch across at the moment and if they grow to look like that I will be delighted.

[Giles]

They may be having their first snow in Aberdeen, but it's Spring down here in the 'banana belt'.........
(Primula petiolaris)

[David Nicholson]

OK, I know it's not November but there didn't seem any point in opening a new topic for December at this stage, and too close to 2009 anyway.

Here is a pic of one of my many self seeded Primula vulgaris hybrids from the garden today.

[David Pilling]

David, that's a nice looking primrose.

When I last looked, my primroses had plenty of buds but were looking a bit sad under a layer of frost.

I've tried clicking and dragging on the bittercress in the top right hand corner 

[Maggi Young]

I've tried clicking and dragging on the bittercress in the top right hand corner

Let me know if that works, David,  then I can nip out and photograph some of ours for you! 

[David Nicholson]

Ah! so you spotted it; and I had cropped my original picture to avoid showing very much of it   Don't bother with the picture Maggi I've got loads of it.

[Lesley Cox]

If only there were a click and drag function in the garden - or better still, a "Delete" button.

[Michael J Campbell]

Lesley, we have a kind of a delete button, called Round-up

[David Nicholson]

Lesley, we have a kind of a delete button, called Round-up

We have 'Round-up' for the moment Michael but isn't it on the new list of garden chemicals the EC is preparing to stop us using?

[Michael J Campbell]

I hope not David, how  are we going to kill weeds then, hit them with a hammer. Would that be environmentally friendly enough for the EEC?

[Lesley Cox]

It's a button I use frequently Michael, especially in our large gravel driveway and some other places, but not in the middle of a cushion plant when that beastly little native cress with a taproot embeds itself.

Fortunately, although many chemicals are banned here (I still regret the disappearance of Benlate) we can still get Roundup or various cheaper "generic" types similar to it. Some that are banned to the general public (me), are available to certificated agricultural contractors and others who've sat an exam and are qualified (in the bureaucracy's eyes) to use them safely. Roger is one of these so I (he) can still get suSCon Green, as an example.

[mark smyth]

That Primula moupinensis is very nice.

One of my Primulas, growing in a full shade, winter only, in a trough, has buds ready to open. I dont know what species it is but it has blue nd white flowers.