Primula - a flower from the family of primroses. This is a perennial plant, blooming in early spring. More than 500 species of primroses are known that are common in various areas: forests, on plains, in mountainous terrain, the main condition for distribution is wet soil rich in humus.
Popular varieties of primrose perennial
In gardens, hybrid varieties are more often grown, sometimes wild growing. The most common of these are the following types:
Primula ordinary - grows in the Crimea and the Caucasus. The flowers are yellow with a purple center, the leaves are large, light green, short trunk. Blooms in late April.
Spring primula - flowers are bright, with an orange center in the center, umbrella inflorescence. Blossoms within a month, from the end of April. The most common hybrids with large, double flowers of different shades.
Primula auricular - like penumbra. Grow varieties and its hybrids, mostly two-colored. Umbrella inflorescence, blooms in May-June, blooms less than a month.
Primula pubescent - auricular hybrid. The flowers are large, beautiful, milky to dark brown in color.
Primula is finely toothed - the inflorescence is like a ball, the flowers are purple, pink, purple, dark purple, less often pure white. Blossoms within a month in April. In the summer after flowering, resembles a fern.
Primula high - flowers pale yellow, with a dark middle. Blossoms in April-May, blooms more than a month. The high primrose has many hybrids of different colors.
Primula Kortuzovidnaya - flowers pink, light purple, are collected in an umbrella inflorescence. The leaves are ovate, serrated, with a nap. Blossoms twice - in May and in August - September.
Yulia's primula is a miniature species only 10 cm high. In April, pink-purple flowers bloom until mid-May. This is one of the species growing in open spaces.
Planting and care for primrose
A perennial primrose when planting requires adherence to several rules, the same applies to the care of flowers.
Choosing a place for landing
The right place for planting - the key to successful flowering and longevity of primroses. This plant prefers slightly shaded places, well ventilated at the same time. You can plant them under a fruit tree or shrub, on which late foliage blooms.
In open areas of the sun, the primrose in the garden feels uncomfortable. It blooms as usual, but by the middle of summer its leaves dry up, and by the autumn the plant becomes much weaker and may not bloom next year.
Did you know? There is a legend about the origin of the primrose. Apostle Peter, having learned that the spirits who were excommunicated from paradise forged the keys to the gates of paradise, dropped his keychain. At the place of their fall flowers grew. For a long time, primrose are called Petrov keys.
Watering and feeding the soil
Before planting, it is necessary to add humus or compost to the soil, mineral fertilizer and dig up the soil to a depth of at least 30 cm. If you have loamy soil on the plot, add sand to it.
It is important to know how to plant a primrose. Species of medium size should be planted at a distance of 30 cm, larger ones - 40-50 cm. Watering is carried out regularly, so that the soil is always hydrated. After watering the soil need to loosen and mulch.
During development, the primrose responds well to the introduction of bird droppings. During flowering, fertilizers for primrose are desirable from potash, phosphorus and nitrogen compounds. It is necessary to feed three times: in spring, at the beginning of summer and at the end.
Preparing plants for winter
Most garden primroses do not need to be transplanted for the winter, but hybrid varieties are less frost resistant. It is advisable to dig and remove them for winter storage in the room.
Frost-resistant plants are prepared as follows: at the end of autumn, add humus under the bushes. This will protect the root system of plants from frost. If there is not enough snowfall in your region, primula should be covered with spruce branches.
Important! It is impossible to prune the leaves of a plant in the fall: leaves are the natural protection of a primrose from wind and frost. Pruning is recommended in early spring.
Primrose breeding options
Before breeding primrose, consider a couple of nuances. When propagated by seeds, wild-growing flowers retain all their characteristics, and garden hybrids with this method do not pass on properties. Therefore, hybrid plant species are best propagated vegetatively.
Seeds
Planting primrose seeds happens in late autumn. Seeds are sown to a depth of half a centimeter in boxes or immediately into the soil. On the open ground can be sown in spring.
Shoots with two or three leaves are planted at a distance of 15 cm. After some time, the grown plants are planted in a shady place for a permanent period.
Shoots need regular watering.
Attention! Primrose grown from seed, grow much slower and require more care. This should be considered when starting seed propagation of primroses.
Cuttings
Let's figure out how to grow a primrose grafting. Separate the part of the shoot from the stem of the root neck with a scape, a leaf and a bud. The lamina is cut by half. The stalk is planted in the prepared composition consisting of sheet soil and sand in equal parts.
Optimal conditions for rooting: + 17 ° C temperature, good lighting, but without direct sunlight, moderately wet soil. As soon as three leaves appear, primula is transplanted into a pot with a diameter of 10 cm.
If you do not know how to grow a primrose at home, as a pot, use this method. The plant is planted in the garden with warming and the onset of conditions comfortable for the primrose in open areas.
Dividing bush
For division take a plant at the age of three years, no less. A well-grown shrub gives up to six divisions, they should have well-developed roots and a couple of sheets. Separated sprouts are planted in early autumn before the first frosts. In the intense heat, delenki requires additional daily watering.
The use of primrose in landscape design
In each garden there is a free place which can be decorated with a colored carpet of primroses. For decorating flowerbeds, hybrid species of primroses are used: primrose, spring, abalone and finely toothed. These varieties are distinguished by a variety of shapes and colors, besides bloom twice: in spring and summer.
To create beautiful and lush borders suitable primrose polyantovaya and high. These plants have large, beautiful inflorescences, but they should be planted in a place protected from the direct rays of the sun, preferably from the north side of the garden. Otherwise, the flowering period will be reduced, and the flowers will quickly lose their appearance.
If your site has a reservoir, around it you can plant a fence of primroses. You need to choose varieties that love high humidity, for example, a Sikkim primula.
The healing properties of primrose
Primula contains a large amount of ascorbic acid and carotene, which makes it valuable in the period of beriberi. The leaves of primrose, raw, crumbled into a salad, in the dry - added to soups and main dishes as seasoning. Just a couple of leaves can provide the daily intake of vitamin C for a person.
The plant is used in folk medicine as an analgesic, diuretic, healing and anti-inflammatory agent. Primula is used in the treatment of many diseases, such as:
- Colds (rhinitis, tonsillitis, bronchitis, laryngitis, pneumonia);
- Rheumatism and gout;
- Headaches, migraines, neurosis and insomnia;
- Kidney disease, liver obesity.
The use of primrose as a medicine prevents strokes and heart attacks. Helps restore hormones, strengthens the walls of blood vessels, helps with eczema, with disorders of the nervous system and many other problems. In the 70s, the antitumor effect of primrose oil was discovered.
Interesting! In ancient Greece, primrose was called the flower of the twelve gods. According to legend, the gods wanted to help the young man who broke paralysis. Not knowing how to help him, the gods turned the youth into a beautiful flower. Since then, primrose is used for medicinal purposes.
Possible cultivation difficulties
The biggest difficulty is that varieties sometimes differ in care requirements. It is necessary to learn how to plant different varieties of primroses, in what place, on what soil, and what species need more frequent watering and fertilizing.
Incorrect care of the plant will lead to the following problems: root decay - overflow in cold weather; leaves fall - insufficient watering.
Primroses have enemies - slugs and snails. These pests need to be collected manually and set traps on them. But at the same time remember, these traps are dangerous for pets.
Do not plant primroses close to grapes: weevils and their larvae, the main pests of the vine, do not disdain the rich greens of primroses. The larvae parasitize on the roots, so it is hard to get rid of them. Only chemical treatment of the plant will help.
Despite the difficulties, primrose is one of the most favorite plants of gardeners. Therefore, they come up with various gentle names for them - keys, happiness talismans, Easter flowers and others.
