Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Specific Families and Genera => Primula => Topic started by: Giles on July 07, 2008, 04:37:07 PM
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Primula walshii
Bought from Aberconwy Nursery earlier this year.
The Lever's can claim 99% of the credit
-but the slug pellets are all my own work(!)
It's tiny. In a 2 1/2 inch pot.
Giles
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That's a little beauty.
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My P.poissonii has opened a bit more while I've been away....
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There follows some of the things I've just brought back from Scotland.
A case of photograph them quick before they die.
1. P.obtusifolia
2. P.capitata
3. P.sikkimensis
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P.florindae 'Ray's Ruby'
P.gemmifera
Giles
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Don't be overpessimistic Giles ! ;)
Some are bound to survive ;D
They look very good - good choices you made too !
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Of course they won't die! And at least some will set seed in the meantime.
The first is a little honey. I don't know that name at all. Can you say something about it please?
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You do ask such difficult questions!!
John Richards in his book seems quite uncertain as to where this plant sits in the Primula genus, but settles for the section Minutissimae, as does Halda.
So it belongs with P.annulata,P.candicans,P.flagellaris,P.glandulifera,P.minutissima,P.muscoides,P.praetermissa,P.reptans,P.rimicola,P.rubicunda,P.spathulifolia,P.stirtoniana,
P.subularia,P.tenella,P.tenuiloba and P.waddellii.
There isn't a picture of it in Richards's book, but there is at:
http://www.primulaworld.com/
Distribution:Sikkim,Bhutan,South Tibet
High dry passes,dry sparsely vegetated slopes, 4000-5000m
I didn't ask Dr Lever (at Aberconwy Nursery) where he got his seed from, but its not available from anyone else as far as I know .
Although I joke re slug pellets, it remains intact. The P.amethystina I also got from him is being shredded by slugs, despite the plant being at risk of being subjected to slug pellet poisoning. The plant only cost 3 or 4 pounds, and I feel even if it dropped dead now I would have got value for money out of it - yet it remains a picture of health!!!
re. 'heaven' , I think that's a one way trip.
Unfortunately I came back again!
Giles
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I did wonder about whether to include this, as it shows the extent of my profligacy.....
A spot of watering in the hotel carpark at Thurso!
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I did wonder about whether to include this, as it shows the extent of my profligacy.....
A spot of watering in the hotel carpark at Thurso!
Well done Giles. VERY well done. :)
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P.annulata,P.candicans,P.flagellaris,P.glandulifera,P.minutissima,P.muscoides,P.praetermissa,P.reptans,P.rimicola,P.rubicunda,P.spathulifolia,P.stirtoniana, P.subularia,P.tenella,P.tenuiloba and P.waddellii.
Oh, one of those. All seeding madly around my perfect patch. ;D ;D ;D
I'm well aware that hell can be on earth, so why not heaven?
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Great primulas everyone. I just love that capitata (amongst others). So perfect!! 8)
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Is anyone still growing that most beautiful of primulas; P. reptans?
I once grew a 30 ctms potful that managed about eight purple blooms nestling down in the miniscule dryas-like foliage. I would LOVE to try this gem again if only I could source a plant!
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Dear Cliff,
I would certainly telephone the nurseries:
Christie's 01575 572977
Edrom 01890 771386
Kevock 0131 454 0660
Lamberton 01289 308515
Cluny House 01887 820795
I found they had allsorts of stuff not neccessarily on their websites,lists or even on display in the main nursery.
They were happy to come up with all manner of lovely stuff, such as P.tangutica,P.deuteronana,P.nipponica,P.obtusifolia -
in some cases digging up plants on the spot to offer divisions (our President !)
There's far more in the way of primulas out there than it is possible to afford or have room to bring back.
I'm sure they will be helpful .
The nurseries' kindness and generosity was very much part of the happiness of my trip.
Giles
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"Most beautiful????" Wow. That would be a tough thing to decide. If I had to list one that I'd love to try growing...right now...it would be Primula aureata.
I'll have to go look up reptans now...
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Hi Carlo,
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ... though sometimes in the grey matter of the exaggerator! ;)
So many of these Sinohimalayan primulas are extremely difficult to keep in cultivation and when one is fortunate enough to succeed (however fleetingly) with a reputedly 'impossible' plant then the beauty of that species leaps far (in this grower's mind especially) beyond mere visual impression.
Primula reptans is a tiny creeping gem that rivals moss for stature, but, when content, produces brilliant violet-purple to midnight blue corollas that are relatively huge (to 15mm in diameter), in comparison to the minuteness of the foliage.
...And, I think I might be right in saying, that here in the U.K. we can sometimes be heard to say; 'most beautiful' when we actually mean 'truly beautiful'? :) :) :)
I hope you found an image of P.reptans that really did it justice?
Kind regards from the 'most beautiful' part of Lancashire.
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Well Cliff, you're not alone. Many's the time I've waxed poetically about this or that and had the receiver of the information crinkle up their nose and say..."That...what is that?" or "That's an orchid!?" "What are you growing THAT for?"
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Cliff,
Here is a link to P. reptans photo.
http://www.primulaworld.com/PWweb/gallery/reptans/index.html (http://www.primulaworld.com/PWweb/gallery/reptans/index.html)
Cheers
Mick
edit to correct broken link
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Many thanks Mick ... exactly as I remember it ... but now with a sense of longing. Aaaaah!
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Well, it (P. reptans) certainly is a stunner!
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Can't remember now where I bought it but I brought P. reptans home from the UK in 1981 when such activities were still possible. It spent 12 months in coolish, shady quarantine and grew nicely. Then when released, I put it outside in its pot - really stupid of me as it was a hot day with our killing nor'west wind. By evening it was quite dead. No amount of cooling, shading, watering brought any sign of life to light. Lesson learned the hard way but no further chance to repair the damage.
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My apologies Giles ... I forgot to thank you for your very useful information.
Kind regards,
Cliff
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A mere momentary lapse whilst dreaming of a fine primula.......
(entirely understandable)
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Can't remember now where I bought it but I brought P. reptans home from the UK in 1981 when such activities were still possible. It spent 12 months in coolish, shady quarantine and grew nicely. Then when released, I put it outside in its pot - really stupid of me as it was a hot day with our killing nor'west wind. By evening it was quite dead. No amount of cooling, shading, watering brought any sign of life to light. Lesson learned the hard way but no further chance to repair the damage.
Why do we do these things? Don't feel bad, reminds me I had some fine tiny seedlings of the rare Rhododendron fragrans in the garden under a water garden mesh pot for shade. Someone on the internet asked me about them and I went out to check their size. Left the pot off, the sun came out while replying and they were fried by the time I discovered them as perfect herbarium specimens. I didn't have age to blame back then.
johnw
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Primula sieboldii, Japanese style:
http://homepage3.nifty.com/plantsandjapan/page048.html
http://www.sakurasou.jp/English2.htm
Try:
http://barnhavenprimroses.com/
http://farmyardnurseries.co.uk/sieboldii.htm
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Great links thanks Giles. I don't always like what the Japanese do with their plant breeding programmes but one must admit they are masters at displaying their end products. Some of the blues and whites particularly are very tempting. Looks like more seed from Barnhaven very soon.
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http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/plants_and_algae/Primula_vulgaris/Primula_vulgaris_04.html?offset=0px
http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/plants_and_algae/Primula_vulgaris/Primula_vulgaris_11a.html?offset=0px
http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/plants_and_algae/Primula_vulgaris/Primula_vulgaris_11b.html?offset=0px
Go on,you know you want to!
http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/plants_and_algae/Primula_veris/Primula_veris_04.html?offset=0px
(I might grow up one day)
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Primula sieboldii, Japanese style:
These first two links are great!
What a wealth of information of one specific member of the Primula!
Just learned a lot about plants I never grew, but now probably I am tempted to do so? :-\ :-\
Thank you Giles.
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Do you have a job to go to Giles?
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Giles, thanks for these arkive.org links.... really enjoy the time-lapse pix, though I'm less sure about watching bank voles devouring flowers!! :P
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I bought this plant today at the AGS Pershore show, as P.dickieana (not really knowing what I was buying).
I've looked it up, now that I'm back, and am not convinced that it what its meant to be, or that I have any realistic hope of keeping it alive even if it was.
Does it look familiar to anyone?
Any first hand experience at growing it?
-the books suggest it lives in an area of permanent rain
Giles
PS.I've heared back from the experts: it's definitely not P.dickieana, may be P.jaffreyana or P.sharmae.
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Primula nipponica
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-the books suggest it lives in an area of permanent rain
Giles
Send it to David in Devon. ;D
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Who would undoubtedly kill it! :P
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Here's one I bought today which I'm told is not that difficult to grow.
Primula boothii repens.
I got it from: http:/ www.norwellnurseries.co.uk/Default.aspx
It's got an interesting habit, and has the added advantage you get about 8 plants-worth per pot bought.
The proprietor came out with a cup of tea for me whilst I wandered around, which makes it a 5-star nursery by my standards!!!
The other picture is of P.integrifolia.
If any of you have any cultural tips/advice for P.reidii I would be grateful, as everytime it warms up down here
or the wind blows the thing collapses. It's living in a pot in a sealed plastic bag at the moment - its the only way I
can stop the poor plant from wilting. I wondered whether a root rot might be the explanation - or is it always this
temperamental?
Best wishes,
Giles
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Giles, Primula are notorious for collapsing in hot weather, but I would be inclined to tip yours out of its pot to inspect for root aphids or vine weevil grubs. P. reidii, like so many others, enjoys a cool moist home. Here in Aberdeen, even big strapping plants of Primula florindae are drooping when the temperature rises. .......not that this is a problem today... it is perishing.... but the tallest are being blown over by the strong winds, instead!
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They had insecticide about a week ago.
I don't understand what they are upto.
P.flaccida went through a droopy phase a month ago, but then sorted itself out.
P.ioessa also tends to be temperamental with me.
Petiolarids - no problems (and I thought they were meant to be the difficult ones).
(I know - move to Scotland - I'll get round to it one day!)
PS. I live on the top of a limestone hill!!
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Did you repot them when you got them? Even if you have doused them with insecticde, which should have "done" for any bugs, it may be that the compost they are in, from the nurseries, is not a good mix for your conditions. Moving plants around the country is more than enough to upset them if the mix is not right for your climate and it is true that many potting mixes used by growers for the purpose of obtaining a good size of plant to sell on is not always a good compost for a plant to live in long term ::) ;)
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Maggi, I think that's going to be the answer.
I had a dodgy P.gemmifera, I pulled it all apart and washed under the tap (!) and put it in fresh peat-based (oops) compost and it's been a picture of health since. The benefit was evident within a week.
It's not very scientific but if it works, who cares!
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Careful with too much peat, though, Giles... once it dries out it is so hard to wet again.... that sort od mix is one we would want to be changing plants OUT of!!
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Everything that Maggi has said, I'd be saying if she hadn't already said it, especially about the vine weevils etc. Tip it out, rinse it off then repot it in a suitable compost. My P. reidii live their entire lives in a shade house as my garden is, in general like the Sahara desert. They flourish in there and make quite good clumps but even so they will sometimes lose all their leaves in summer, then make more, and flower again in the autumn. But they shouldn't be wilting if they're adequately watered. I expected seed off mine this last autumn but didn't get any. You know that when and if, you're welcome to it.
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Incidentally, of the Asiatics which grow in the garden, the bigger and more strapping they are, like P. florindae, the much more likely they are to flop over on a warm day but if the roots are OK they will sit up again in the evening or at the first watering. But you already know this. :)
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I teased the P.reidii apart, and managed to get some nice small healthy plantlets with white stubby roots,
washed them under the tap, then submerged them in fungicide for 1/2 hour, before potting them up in fresh
compost. They look ok to me (if a bit small!).
Also a P.aureata which had similar treatment 4 months ago- and look at it now!
ummmm.......only 400+ species to master.
Thankyou for giving me the confidence,
Giles
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Some Primulas still flowering here
Primula viallii
(http://magnar.aspaker.no/Primula%20viallii%2008.jpg)
Primula flaccida
(http://magnar.aspaker.no/Primula%20flaccida%2008.jpg)
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Two of my favourites!
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I agree, Lesley.... I especially love P. flaccida... though why such a stunning flower should have to suffer under this name is a source of distress to me. :(
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Well it used to be P. nutans of course but was changed. Maybe flaccida because the foliage is always soft and inclined to lie down, never erect or crisp. I love the downy feel of it, almost velvet.
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It still IS P. nutans in my head, Lesley ....as you say, all that soft furriness and sweet scent.... what a smasher!
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In mine too Maggi (recalcitrant old cows, aren't we?) but unfortunately I understand there is a TRUE P. nutans, which, though it seems not common - I've never seen it - serves to confuse the issue, if we don't fall into line. But what's a little confusion after all. Look at what Gote and David are saying about Primula/Dodecatheon. Giles Reed should be deeply apologetic for introducing such a subject.
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What, ...me?
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Yes.... You!( :))
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Where is Primula August? It appeared as a new topic in my Inbox but when I clicked on the link, I had a rude message it being missing or off limits to me. Well, really!! >:(
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Lesley, Giles had opened the page then removed it for some reason... he has re-opened it now.... rootle about, you'll find it!!