Double Flowered Primrose 'Miss Indigo'

Blooming in March 2003.

OH! MY! GOODNESS!!! that is sooooo pretty

Ditto, I just love the color. I think this one would look berry, berry nice in my garden.

I have a double lavendar primrose that thrives here for me. Baa, does this one have a particular name? I also have a single dark purple one that is an acaulis, it is one that my mother had and will sometimes seed itself, does it have a name? I will try to get pictures.

How long have double primroses been about? I have never seen them........... very nice! thanks

Thanks all

Kell

A potted history of the doubles.

Double Primroses were mentioned by Gerard in the 1500's as being common garden plants in England, these prims were natural sports and results of natural hybridisation in gardens where prims grew. Their demise was due to a number of factors including lack of interest in native plants during the Victorian era who preferred the then 'exotic' bedding schemes and the Industrial Age where there was a radical change of lifestyle and housing. Gardens had less humus rich composts and more of the industrial dusts belching out from the factroy chimneys.

Breeders were still attempting to find new colours for the doubles and the introduction of P. juliae helped somewhat but by the post war era, the doubles were all but extinct. There were a few survivors in rural gardens that were not subjected to the modern housing and factory dusts. These Primulas were found and interest renewed in creating more of these hybrid doubles, without wishing to do down the late 40's/50's breeders, these doubles fetched a pretty price and that was, no doubt, part of the reason we now have a number of modern named doubles.

Today, most of the cultivars avaliable are due to the efforts of those post war breeders with new doubles cropping up from year to year. When these become unfashionable, no doubt some of these cultivars will disappear too.

The doubles need a bit more care than the singles, they need a humus rich soil in light shade but will cope with sun, they also need feeding more, hence the lack of leaf on the Miss Indigo *G* ... note to Baa ... must feed them better.

Lenjo

There are named double Lavender flowered prims, but I always think these sorts of colours are 'in the eye of the beholder' some look downright pink or purple to me. It's possible you have a named cultivar but which one ... I couldn't honestly say.

P. acaulis is no longer, it's considered to be P. vulgaris these days although I still see some are sold as acaulis. Again I can't put hand on heart and say whether it has a name or not. There are so many cultivars of Primrose and Polyanthus group Primulas it takes a real expert to tell what it is.

Well thank you very much Baa for taking the time to educate me. I wonder why I have never seen them here in nurseries and believe me I hang out in lot sof nurseries LOL. I will be on the look out now for sure. That was so interesting.

Don't you all wish Dave's had a spell checker on here? LOL

This message was edited Wednesday, Apr 2nd 1:12 PM

Kell

They're available in the US (maybe just the bigger nurseries), they seem to me to be expensive there.

In this little town you see in my address, Mt. Angel, the garden club used to sponsor a primrose show every April. It was really a neat thing, but alas it is no more as many of these ladies have grown old and passed on. It was incredible the variety and color these came in, I especially liked the auriculas. I had at one time many different kinds but primroses need well drained soil and I think that is where I lost many. Baa, the lavendar one I have is truly lavendar and not pink, it is one of the few survivors of my early years with these plants. I am beginning to see more and more varieties shown in the garden centers and not just the spring ones. Those remind me of the polyanthas of old.

Baa, this primrose is the older one I mentioned that I got from my mom, after reading my AHS book today, I think it might be the one referred to as Wanda. It almost finished blooming and pretty hard to see here.

Baa, another primrose, one is the candelbra and the other is Wanda again.

Baa, this is my last pix and it is the little double lavendar one which is about done, I had to hold onto a blossom so you could get a glimpse.

here they are winter blooming ones Lenjo. When you say they have others bedsides spring blooming which must be our winter blooming ones........... what other season? Summer?

I guess what I mean by spring ones are the greenhouse varieties that really don't survive the winters here. They do start coming out with them at like the grocery stores in actually winter as you say. These particular ones that are so common are not a garden variety, they are just early color in the garden. I have had some them last more than a season but usually they are not hardy.And the hardier ones definitely are more spring and they are coming in to bloom now. Here is a red hardy one that I have.

Kell, Mark has some pictures of the primula auricula in photos, they are all in the primrose family. The primrose family is huge.

evidently, and I am very ignorant though cute.......I will do a search and look at them......thanks

Lenjo

The Wanda Series have reddish bronze leaves (the red and yellow Prims in the photo below are Wanda Series), I really couldn't say what your purple Prim is. The Candalabra is P. denticulata and a fine plant! The double Prim looks similar to P. 'Lilacina Plena', which used to be called 'Quaker Bonnet', again something I won't commit to :) Annoyingly most of the web photos of Lilacina Plena look pink.

Kell

Modern Primrose and Polyanthus Group cultivars tend to be repeat bloomers, we have a smaller show from the cultivars in the Autumn, although I understand that they do this less often in the US.

There are various sections of Primulas, Vernales are spring flowered types, Nivales Winter flowered (among other catagories that I'm not likely to understand enough to write about). The Auriculas are beauties, I prefer the border Auriculas for growing as they are hardy little things, the show Auriculas are spectacular but can be a bit of a pain to look after.

Ah Baa, Quaker Bonnet, that is it.As soon as you said it I recognized the name. Thanks. Yes, I have seen some of the Wanda series as you mentioned with the reddish cast to the leaves. This little purple one is an older variety, maybe in the parentage of the Wanda series. I have an older dainty little yellow one too.But somehow the bloom doesn't seem quite same as the purple, maybe I will get a pix. I used to have a pretty white one that was edged in lavendar, a larger bloom and long stalk, but the foliage would completely disappear for the winter, I would have to mark that plant, I think it was the sieboldii.