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Primroses/Primulas in borders
Lyn Plant-Wells
Posts: 338
My Primroses and Primulas in the garden border have lots of leaves but hardly a flower. Ones in the local churchyard all have flowers! My Violas in a small window box (in open porch) also have no flowers. Is this normal for Dec/Jan? I live near the south coast so quite sheltered. This was the window box in the summer
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Are the ones in the churchyard in a sunnier spot?
Or maybe your primroses have been in situ for several years and are a little congested? If this could be the case I'd split them in the late spring/early summer - primulas really respond well to division
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
No flowers on my native primroses yet. They must love the spot they are in because lots of new plants have sprung up. I'm hoping for a good show this year.
I've seen flowering primulas in GCs but nothing in gardens yet. Mostly native primrose here and they've got a long way to go before flowering
In the sticks near Peterborough
We had some natives flowering in November, but none at the moment although the little clump of Wanda-type is full of buds.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hi Dove, some of mine flowered just before Christmas but I think the cold snap has pulled them back into line.
Thanks guys. They have all flowered before. They are mainly on the shadier side of the garden, (bed L of photo) but it doesn't really get much sun this time of year anyway. The violas in the porch get the most sun as its south facing. They flowered well in the early summer (see pic)
I then went on holiday and neighbour didn't dead head so hardly a flower since. The back garden (very tiny) doesn't get birds - I feed them at the front. They don't go on the windowsill where the violas are. Some of the aforementioned primroses were moved to the shadier side in the summer as I was led to believe they prefer shade. The churchyard is an open space so I suppose it gets sun when there is any.
Pretty garden Lyn
Yes primulas like slightly damp and semi-shady positions - think of them growing wild on hedgebanks and the sides of ditches etc.
The ones in the churchyard are probably damper than yours (churchyards are usually a bit damp for some reason) but in a little more sunshine so they're flowering early. I'm sure yours will flower in due course - I don't really expect primroses until March although of course they delight in proving us wrong
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks for all the advice. While on subject of advice, what should I do with Tete a Tete after flowering indoors? I don't have a greenhouse (have small shed)