Primula-February to April 2008

[Paul T]

Lovely pics Ruweiss.

David,

That purple "show reject" is gorgeous.  Glad YOU aren't rejecting it as well.  You might not be able to show it, but you can enjoy it every day anyway!! 

[Lesley Cox]

I've never seen the white `Linda Pope' except for my own plant which I know is true. Yours looks pretty right to me Rudi, judging from the leaf shape and habit as well as from the flower; others might add something. The colour of `Amethyst' is superb.

[Martin Baxendale]

Talking of old Prim. marginata forms and hybrids, has anyone seen P. marginata (hybrid?) 'Hyacintha' for sale recently? I used to grow it for many years, and my parents for many years before that, but it vanished in a scorching summer when I was too busy to keep my troughs watered enough and I haven't seen it in any catalogues since. It'd be a shame if it's vanished forever. It was (is?) a beauty.

[Tony Willis]

Martin your question rang a bell in my tired brain.I have had this primula growing in the sand in one of my crocus greenhouses for the past 13 years.They will not grow outside with me and I put it there as a holding operation when we moved house and have never done anything with it. It is labelled 'hyacintha' and I think we originally got it from Joe Elliott 20 years ago. It is certainly the same plant but I cannot vouch for its name as I know nothing about them. A picture is below. You are welcome to a lump of it if you want it.

[Martin Baxendale]

Thanks Tony, but what I used to grow as 'Hyacintha' didn't have that kind of very toothed, mealed typical marginata foliage - it had less toothed leaves of a paler, greener colour than usual in marginata; which makes me think it might have been a hybrid - it had very rounded flowers of a light china-blue sort of shade with a white eye, again quite unlike most marginatas.

I've just looked it up in Mary Robinson's book, Primulas, and it seems it should be called 'Hyacinthia', a marginata bred from marginata 'Beamish'. It's not listed any more in the RHS Plant Finder (only P. auricula 'Hyacinthia', which I don't think can be the same thing unless it's been reclassified as an auricula, which I doubt).

[Michael J Campbell]

Martin, John Richards says that Hyacinthia is a hyb of unknown parentage probably with another hyb ,got an AM in 1945. I had it growing for years in a raised bed and it might still be there but I have lost the labels. Will have a poke around tomorrow and see what I can find, much too cold today for old bones.

[Martin Baxendale]

Thanks, Michael. I meant to say that in the Mary Robinson book 'Hyacinthia' is listed under marginata hybrids rather than pure marginata. She mentions it being bred from 'Beamish' by G.H. Berry in 1943 (presumably the seed parent) but doesn't say what the other parent was. From the look of the leaves and flowers (from memory) I'd say the other parent almost certainly wasn't another marginata. It certainly looks nothing like 'Beamish'. Probably crossed with a pubescens hybrid.

[Lvandelft]

Talking of old Prim. marginata forms and hybrids, has anyone seen P. marginata (hybrid?) 'Hyacintha' for sale recently? I used to grow it for many years, and my parents for many years before that, but it vanished in a scorching summer when I was too busy to keep my troughs watered enough and I haven't seen it in any catalogues since. It'd be a shame if it's vanished forever. It was (is?) a beauty.

Martin, I believe that this is the plant you mean.
We used to grow it in our nursery by the hundreds in pots, but maybe at the wrong time,
because we could not sell them here then.
I only have this little plant left, but it does'n't like our sandy soil, pH 6.5 , will need more acid soil, I think.
Other marginata like  Pr. marg. Crenata and Pt. Linda Pope do like it seemingly here.

[johanneshoeller]

Some own hybrids in my garden (seed of wild collected plants - in my garden, most from auricula).

[Martin Baxendale]

Yes that's the one, Luit. Apparently it was micro-propagated at some point in the past but I don't think I ever saw it offered for sale here. Mine came from my parents who had been growing it for many years.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Hi Martin,
This is what I've been growing for over a decade as Primula 'Hyacinth'.
It might be the one you're looking for.
If we can solve the logistics you're very welcome for a piece of it.

[Lvandelft]

Yes that's the one, Luit. Apparently it was micro-propagated at some point in the past but I don't think I ever saw it offered for sale here. Mine came from my parents who had been growing it for many years.

Yes Martin, done by an British nursery, which no longer excists, I believe.
It is still grown and sold in Belgium by the nursery of Luc's and my friends Cathy Portier who got it from me years ago.
They have a website. You'll find it by googling.

[ruweiss]

Lesley,
many thanks for the confirmation of Primula White Linda Pope,I got this beauty about 15 years
ago(also Pr.marginata Amethyst)and do always some propagation to keep them in culture.
For some plants it would be a pity to be lost forever.

[Martin Baxendale]

Hi Luc. Yes, that's marginata 'Hyacinthia'. Thank you very much; if I can't find a source for the plant in the UK then I'll send you a personal message to see if you can send me a rosette for me to root.

[Casalima]

Hi Luc. Yes, that's marginata 'Hyacinthia'. Thank you very much; if I can't find a source for the plant in the UK then I'll send you a personal message to see if you can send me a rosette for me to root.

According to my "nursery catalogues" folder (i.e. catalogues randomly saved onto my computer and indexed with my magical indexing software  ), Lamberton offered it in 2003.

HTH

Chloë