Primula ID and propogation

[mark smyth]

Can someone ID this Primula please.

I know it's one of two - fasciculata and ? Last winter vine weevils nearly wiped it out and left me with two little pieces that have done really well this year. Is it too late to propogate it?

[Lesley Cox]

Primula warshenewskiana, from Afghanistan. Mine's start starting to flower now. Is this last year's pic?

OK to take small rooted runners off now, or any time really except perhaps mid winter or mid summer.

[mark smyth]

That's the other! Is mine P. warshenewskiana? It's just started flowering again maybe a month or siz  weeks

[Lesley Cox]

Well mark, I don't know the other name (fasciculata) at all. Or any Primula of that name, so I'll stick with warshenewskiana. It does do the occasional out-of-season flowering if there's a cool, damp period in the autumn.

[David Nicholson]

Could it be  Primula rosea?

Our weather, this year, seems to have confused some of the more common outdoor Primulas, I have Cowslips still flowering as they have been since March and Devon Primroses in full flower. No pictures as it's chucking it down at the moment.

[Paul T]

David,

I have Primroses here in flower at the moment as well.  Primula vulgaris (not sure whether Devon Primrose are something different).  Buds on my Primula veris so I'll have cowslips out shortly too!!

[David Nicholson]

Paul, wild Primroses are widely found throughout the Devon (and Cornwall) counryside, in hedgerows, grass verges and banks, motorway embankments etc. More often than not they are a creamy white/yellow with sometimes a quite bright red variety, and if you are very lucky an occasional double. In Spring much of my back garden is covered with them from one plant I was given by a local farmer years ago. They have hybridized quite nicely over the years with garden centre bought primroses and polyanthus. This year I am giving them a treat by introducing some Barnhaven seed grown Cowichans, Julianas and Victorians. Should look nice!

The thing is you should have Primroses in Springtime, but I'm coming up (and very quickly if today is anything to go by!) to Autumn!

[Lesley Cox]

Could it be  Primula rosea?

No. I'm sticking with my first choice.

[Maggi Young]

I'm with Lesley: Primula warshenewskiana

[mark smyth]

OK thanks. I'll label it the noo. Will I wait until it is dormant to pull off some rosettes?

[Maggi Young]

You could tease some rosettes off now, Mark, so they still have some warmer days to make new roots in before winter. Watch that birds don't pull them up, though, because they won't have much anchorage... also frost heave can lift little plants out of the ground.

[Diane Clement]

Well mark, I don't know the other name (fasciculata) at all. Or any Primula of that name, so I'll stick with warshenewskiana. It does do the occasional out-of-season flowering if there's a cool, damp period in the autumn.

Primula fasciculata is a superb (although short lived) little Chinese primula.  It has similar flowers to warshenewskiana but doesn't have the toothed leaves.  Take a look here for comparison (click on species name on the left):

http://www.primulaworld.com/PWweb/photogallery.htm

[Maggi Young]

yes, Diane, I meant to add that... I feel that P. fasciculata is altogether a smaller plant, as we have grown it, not that P. warshenewskiana is exactly huge!

[mark smyth]

huge compared to what? The rosettes of my plants are large. Taking these photos today I see vine weevils have been nibbling. Time to get the chemicals out!

[Lesley Cox]

In comparison with almost any other Primula Mark (except the tinies like PP. scotica, clarkei, reidii etc). But P. warshenewskiana is a flat mat, creeping by short stolons, quite quickly in a moist, leafy place so it can grow wide, but never more than 2 or 3 cms high. Your pics show it well, both size of the plant and habit. I like the redness of the young foliage and though the flowers are very small, they are such an intense, rich colour.

You'll find later in the autumn that those long, strappy leaves will die away leaving just the centres of the rosettes for over-wintering.