Plant ID please

Tea_Pea_Dee

I have googled endlessly to no avail.  I think it is a variety of geranium.  I really want to know if it is a perennial or not.  I got it for free at the start of lockdown from a florist who had left their unwanted plants outside as a free for all.  Many thanks.

Davesnave

Flowers aren't right for geraniums or pelargoniums, but as to what they are.....well, I'm beaten. They aren't something I've ever grown. It could well be perennial, but tender, or it could be something raised in a heated greenhouse and disposed-of after flowering.

Good one. Someone will be along eventually who'll know.

Justagardener

That's a difficult one. Does the flower come straight out of the leaf like a claytonia? Seems to have mixed characteristics malva, Umbilicus, Centella, very confusing

Tea_Pea_Dee

Hopefully this is a bit clearer.  The stem has the same growing habit as a geranium.  When I first got it was a lot smaller and the flowers were deep purple with a yellow rim.  The flowers have faded and dropped off to be replaced by the green button shape things which are actually hiding new flowers.  I don't know how to deadhead it because of the new growth.  No wonder it was left for free.  It is a mutant, and one day it will eat me as I attempt to water it 😀

in_my_wellies

Could it be a stunted Primula Obconica?

Davesnave

I think you have cracked it, wellies. Not stunted, but just long gone-over. The large colour range would help it to fit too.

I was thinking of the flowering time and the primula family, but I've never been aware of this one. Apart from primroses and cowslips, primula family members just laugh at me and die!

Tea_Pea_Dee

in_my_wellies said:

Could it be a stunted Primula Obconica?

Thank you so much.  It is basically a house plant, doh.  I will bring it in to overwinter, but am not enamoured to it's common name.   The Poison Primrose.  Leaves are toxic to people with sensitive skin.  Not the best freebie I have ever had. 

Justagardener

Could it be a stunted Primula Obconica?

Good call. Are there two plants there or is that my poor eyesight?

Tea_Pea_Dee

Justagardener said:

Could it be a stunted Primula Obconica?

Good call. Are there two plants there or is that my poor eyesight?

In the whole picture, or the pot?  One plant in the pot that I was questioning.  There are actually two other plants in view, albeit only two strands of sedge   The other is a hebe (2nd year) which I took a cutting from a magnificent specimen in the Town Centre.    Thanks again to all who offered their opinions, but special thanks go to in-my-wellies (great name) who wins star prize.  The prize?  A cutting from the poison primrose, of course

in_my_wellies

Tea_Pea_Dee said:

in_my_wellies said:

Could it be a stunted Primula Obconica?

Thank you so much.  It is basically a house plant, doh.  I will bring it in to overwinter, but am not enamoured to it's common name.   The Poison Primrose.  Leaves are toxic to people with sensitive skin.  Not the best freebie I have ever had. 

Indeed. I'm severely allergic to them and can spot them a mile away. 
I began a horticultural apprenticeship and one of my first tasks was to 'tidy up the primulas'. After cleaning up around 200 ready to be sent out my hands itched a little like nettle stings. By the time I got home I could hardly hold the handle bars of my bike.  By next morning mum took me to A&E where they diagnosed a bad case of contact dermatitis. My hands ballooned so much I was off work for nearly 3 weeks.