Primula scotica

[iann]

Has anyone grown this from seed?  The only reference I could find just said to sow at 70F and that would be it.  Not!

Well after half a winter outside, some minuscule sprouts have appeared that all look the same and not like any common weeds.  Does that sound about right?

[Lesley Cox]

Probably not far off. They would be very tiny - even when fully grown it is a tiny plant - and as they grow even a little, they will be quite pale green as the leaves are farinose and so whitish-green rather than bright green. Be sure they stay damp. I plan to sow my next small batch of seed thinly over the whole surface of a 15cm pot, with grit and add a little chopped living sphagnum as they grow on, and let them stay there without disturbance. They are really very small to handle easily.

[David Pilling]

Hi,

I got some of this from the SRGC surplus SeedEx, sown 23/1/2008, indoors for a couple of weeks then outside. In 2008 one or two germinated and then fizzled out. In 2009 (i.e. having gone through a Summer and Winter) loads germinated. It takes a while for them to attain a distinctive shape. They are tiny plants. Some are coming up to flower now. I'll post a picture later (and Lesley can tell me it is a different primula entirely...).

[David Pilling]

Below is the picture - last year they were probably a quarter the size, white powder in evidence - farina. The plants in the photo are in 1" square plugs.

[TC]

I have been growing them reasonably successfully for years.  The seed is sown on a peaty but well drained compost and then lightly covered with soil.  It is then watered and put on an outside bench and left alone.  The seed takes up to 2 years to germinate.  All the attention I give it is to make sure it does not dry out.  When the leaves reach thumbnail size, I pot them on individually or plant them in a trough.  They are as hard as nails, but do not like high temperatures.  I do not even bother to remove moss from the pot as they seem quite happy in this environment.
In the area where I have watched them growing for the past 40 years - Cape Wrath in NW Sutherland -, the plants mostly grow on short grass exposed to gales and downpours of rain.
My plants last about 3 years before they succumb to the more gentle southern climate.  They do not stay in character for long but get larger and flower earlier than the wild plants farther North

[Anthony Darby]

I can't imagine they would require a germination 70^oF in nature, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't help. I have tried it an lost it several times, but usually buy the plants from nurseries.

[Lesley Cox]

I think yours look pretty much spot on David, and in excellent health too. I think quite a lot of the seed in the SRGC seed list comes from John Hawgood in the Orkneys and I imagine its habitat there would be much like in the far NW of the mainland. It is a delightful little plant and although I sometimes lose it I would always want to have another go with it.

[David Pilling]

Lesley - thanks.

I surface sowed my seed on B&Q (a large DIY chain) "cut n sow" peat based seedling compost, tied in a plastic bag for 12 months, then when they were big enough pricked out to the 1" plugs, I kept them through Summer 2009 in a propagator outside and out of the sun - with no air vents open, so they were cool, wet and in shade. Many things rot under those conditions but these did not.

[Lesley Cox]

This seems to be one of those "reminds me of home" plants. I was begged for some by an immigrant Scottish minister at one of the local Presbytarian churches. For some time he had lived in the Orkney Islands and when someone told him I had P. scotica, he came knocking at our door. I did give him a little potful but he said he was no gardener, so I don't know how they fared.

[iann]

Now you're all scaring me!  At least if this spring's spouts don't make it I'll keep the pot and see if more come up next year.

I can grow Meconopsis from seed so there's hope for me yet.

[iann]

The tiny leaves are now developing little white flecks.  Three more have decided to sprout this week.  They must like the warm weather

[Maggi Young]

Good to hear progress is being made, Ian. Mind out that they don't overheat though.

[iann]

I'm bringing it indoors during the days of this little heatwave, but ultimately it will have to survive or not outside.

[iann]

They seem to be doing OK.  Later germinations were weeds, although maybe some more Primulas will germinate next spring.  They don't seem to mind the heat, although they are shaded in the afternoon and never dry out.

[iann]

Sweet