Primrose or Polyanthus?

LadyDee

Which will be best for winter colour, and flower longest?

Or is there not much difference?

My summer pots will soon be fading and I'm keen to replace them with something that will flower for the longest period in winter. I already have winter pansies planned for some spaces but need additional colour.

TIA

heydean

Both Primroses and Polyanthus can be grown easily from seed.

Primroses, normally have one flower per stem, the stem is very, very small, they are totally hardy.

Polyanthus have 2-3 flowers on a longer stems, like Primroses totally hardy.

After several years both Primrose or Polyanthus "grow into clumps"
and need splitting like many herbaceous plants.

Hope this helps.

LadyDee

heydean wrote: »

Both Primroses and Polyanthus can be grown easily from seed.

Primroses, normally have one flower per stem, the stem is very, very small, they are totally hardy.

Polyanthus have 2-3 flowers on a longer stems, like Primroses totally hardy.

After several years both Primrose or Polyanthus "grow into clumps"
and need splitting like many herbaceous plants.

Hope this helps.

Yes, it does. Thank you. I'll go with the Polyanthus I think. I shall have to buy the plants though as I believe it's a bit late now for seeds.

peter_the_piper

If you do use seeds in the future, bear in mind you need the freshest seed possible and to germinate at a low temperature, no more than 15deg if possible. High heat slows down germination.

LadyDee

Thank you. Not like summer plants then, which need warmth. It makes perfect sense they being winter plants, but I doubt I would have thought of that!

Orange_King

I have loads of these in the garden and regularly split them - so easy. Also have primulas which are even more productive it seems. These get split almost every year and am able to pass on and sell quite a few also.

Where do primulas fit in in this - are they part of the same family?

cazziebo

I've just bought some lovely primroses from our farmers' market and immediately brightened up the garden. I've put them in planters and pots as I didn't want to disturb the bulbs poking through the ground.

Can someone tell me what to do when they finish flowering? Can I leave them i.e. are they perennial?

(I see Lidl have some - tempted to get even more! It's been such a dull and wet winter and they are such cheerful plants)

JulieM

They are perennial but I never find them good enough to pot up in planters in subsequent years so I just plant them in the garden when they've finished flowering. They'll flower again next spring but over time, they'll grow into bigger clumps so will need dividing. The blue plants and the yellow plants seem to do best in the garden, I've never had any luck with pink plants. I wouldn't leave them in pots when they've finished flowering - won't you need the pots for a summer display?

Blackjack_Davy

Orange_King wrote: »

Where do primulas fit in in this - are they part of the same family?

They're all Primulas - that being the botanical name for the family. Primroses strictly speaking are the native primula Primula vulgaris. Polyanthas are hybrids between primula vulgaris and the other native primulas Primula veris the Cowslip and also the Oxslip and possibly others.

Primula is also generically applied to non native primulas such as Primula denticulata but botanically speaking they're all Primula.

cazziebo

So I've planted out the primroses and gave in to temptation and also bought some gorgeous yellow ones. Th white, yellow and pink are all looking fabulous - beautiful bursts of colour. However, something seems to be eating the petals of the purple ones. Bizarre, as these aren't in the ground or in planters - they are in hanging baskets!

Any ideas?

Mojisola

cazziebo wrote: »

So I've planted out the primroses and gave in to temptation and also bought some gorgeous yellow ones. Th white, yellow and pink are all looking fabulous - beautiful bursts of colour. However, something seems to be eating the petals of the purple ones. Bizarre, as these aren't in the ground or in planters - they are in hanging baskets!

Any ideas?

Have you seen sparrows on the baskets?