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Despite its external fragility, stemless primrose is able to withstand temperature changes and slight frosts, which are possible in early spring. What is attractive about this unusual plant is not only its presentable appearance, but also its relative ease of cultivation.
Description of stemless primrose
Under natural conditions, the flower grows in the shady forests of Eurasia and North America. It is also found on the slopes of the Alps and the Mediterranean coast. The plant prefers to be in moist and shady areas. The flowering phase of stemless primrose occurs at the beginning of spring and lasts until mid-summer. Petal renewal is observed every 3-8 weeks.
Primroses are distinguished by the color and structure of the inflorescences
The primrose reaches only 30-50 cm in height. A dense umbrella is formed on the peduncle, surrounded by corollas of bright petals, their number is from 5 pieces. The color can be very diverse, the tips are either sharp or rounded. They are 6-8 cm in diameter. The color of the core is mainly yellow.Stemless primrose is decorated with green leaf blades with pronounced veins.
Hybrids and varieties of stemless primrose
The following are very popular among plant growers:
- Virginia. Its distinctive feature is white flowers with a light yellow throat. The photo of stemless primrose well conveys all its beauty.
- Celerua. It has a very attractive appearance; it has blue flowers with a yellow throat.
- Giga White. The snow-white flowers of stemless primrose will not leave anyone indifferent.
- Primrose stemless Potsdam giant. The flowers of this perennial are large in size and have high decorative qualities. The colors come in a variety of colors, the middle being yellow. The leaves of the plant are located below the inflorescences.
- Terry primrose series Rosanna. The plant is distinguished by the presence of petals with wavy edges. Due to this, the terry nature of the primrose is formed; the middle is practically invisible. These varieties lack both pistil and stamens. The flower can be propagated exclusively by vegetative means.
- Two-color variety of the Pioneer series. The color of the flowers is pink, there are different shades, the center is bright yellow, the border is purple. But there are purple and orange options. Without transplants, primrose can grow for 5-6 years.
- Alaska. The variety comes in two types: with a red or blue border, and also yellow with the same throat.
- Primera F. This hybrid has 14 shades. The biennial flower can be used both as a potted plant and as a plant for early spring forcing.
- Series "Palazzo". The terry variety of primrose is available in pink, red-yellow and burgundy-yellow.
- Dawn Ansell. The flowers are distinguished by their green-yellow color and dense terry.
- Captain Blood. Steadily blooming stemless primrose produces blue double flowers.
- Meteor, Danova Bicolor. These varieties surprise with their large size; their second name is “pluck your eyes out.”
Application in landscape design
Stemless primrose, which has over 400 varieties, creates serious competition for many bulbous plants. It is actively used by landscape designers. With a successful combination, the flowerbed with it will delight you with its appearance for 4 months. The main advantage of this plant is its undemanding nature in terms of growing conditions and care.
Primrose goes well with daffodils, irises, bulbous
These amazing flowers look especially impressive in areas with fountains, a river and a lake. They are planted along the edge of the reservoir, where, reflected in the water, a picturesque picture is created. It is worth combining primrose with water lilies; they harmonize very well with their purple leaves. Can also be planted next to bulbous plants, cereals, irises and ferns.
Features of reproduction
Primrose can be successfully propagated by seed and vegetative methods. If the conditions in the garden for growing flowers are favorable, then self-sowing is possible. The simplest propagation method is to divide the plant into rosettes with roots. The optimal time for this procedure is early spring, when the snow has melted. But they can also be bred during the flowering period, before the arrival of the summer heat.
In the fall, it is undesirable to divide the plant; in a snowless winter, there is a high risk of the divisions dying.
In order for a flower bed with stemless primrose to have a luxurious appearance, once every 3-4 years they either divide it and transplant it to a new place, or change the soil.
Planting and caring for stemless primrose
Even a novice gardener can grow stemless primrose “Potsdam giants” or any other variety from seeds. The seed material has good germination, but its quality varietal characteristics may be lost if the seeds are collected from their own flowers. But even in this case, the flowers come out with new interesting shades.
Growing stemless primrose from seeds at home
To obtain high-quality stemless primrose seedlings, you must adhere to the following recommendations regarding sowing seeds and caring for them:
- Priming. For sowing stemless primrose seeds, a ready-made soil substrate from a flower shop is suitable. Forest soil can also be used, but from the garden - you can’t, it’s heavy and lacks nutrients.
- Capacity. There is no need for a large container, the main thing is that there is a lid. The height of the container should be 5-7 cm. If it is missing, then you can use glass and film.
- Filling the container. First, pebbles, gravel, small stones, broken bricks should be laid on the bottom, and only then light and nutritious soil. After which the container is taken outside or placed in the refrigerator for a couple of hours so that the substrate cools. If there is snow, then it is laid on the ground in a container, and then sprinkled with another layer of soil, the thickness is no more than 2 cm. Thanks to such manipulations, the soil does not heat up quickly, sowing occurs much more evenly.You should not compact the soil, otherwise there will be no seedlings.
- Stratification. The container with the seeds is covered with a lid and placed in the refrigerator for 2-4 weeks, temperature -10 °C. After which they are left in a cool, dark place.
- Caring for seedlings. If there are two leaves on a plant, plant them, trying not to damage their root system. Divided small seedlings are planted in a seedling box, making holes in the soil with a toothpick. The distance between the sprouts is from 5 cm. Primrose is watered with slightly cooled water, in a thin stream from a watering can. It is not worth feeding the flower often with nitrogen fertilizers; it is better to use more potassium and phosphorus compounds. The temperature in the room must be at least +17 °C.
Sowing work can be carried out from February to October, depending on the region, the timing varies:
- In the Moscow region - early March.
- In the Urals - mid-March.
- In Siberia – late March-early April.
- In the southern regions it is the end of winter.
Transplantation into the ground
It is recommended to plant primroses either in illuminated areas of the garden or in partial shade. If the place is in direct sunlight, the leaves of the plant will dry out and the flowers will wither. It is advisable to choose dark places for growing primroses.
To prevent the bush from getting sick, the soil must be fertile and sufficiently loosened. Overmoistening should be avoided; water should not stagnate in the place where the flower grows, otherwise it will rot.
Algorithm for transplanting primrose into soil:
- Make holes in the prepared area.
- Place drainage in the form of bricks at the bottom.
- Sprinkle with soil.
- Place a stemless primrose seedling in the center and dig in.
- Moisten the soil.
Aftercare
In order for a flowerbed with primrose to please you for as long as possible, the planting site must always be clean and free of weeds. The soil under the stemless flower should be loosened after each irrigation, so the roots will not experience oxygen starvation.
It is enough to carry out the feeding procedure once every 10 days, starting from the moment the leaves appear on the primrose and until the end of the flowering phase. Mineral compositions are added diluted with water, using a double dosage.
Wintering
To cover primrose bushes, use pre-dried straw, foliage or spruce branches. The thickness of the layer should be 7-10 cm. If the weather permits and the winter is expected to be warm, then shelter for stemless primrose need not be used. When the snow melts, you need to make sure that an ice crust does not appear on the plant, otherwise the primrose will freeze.
In spring, additional shelter should be removed as soon as the threat of return frosts has passed.
Transfer
To maintain a stemless variety in a healthy and beautiful form, a transplant is done every 3-4 years. At this time, it is good to divide the primrose to obtain new specimens.
Pests and diseases
Most often, primrose bushes are subject to the following diseases:
- powdery mildew - due to high humidity;
- gray rot - due to excessive moisture/nitrogen in the soil;
- ramulariasis - due to waterlogging;
- vascular or tracheomycosis wilt (fungus of the genus Fusarium, Verticillium);
- anthracnose;
- ascochyta blight;
- septoria.
Of the harmful insects, primrose can be damaged by:
- caterpillar;
- aphid;
- mite;
- whitefly;
- slugs
To prevent the appearance of parasites, flowers should be regularly inspected, fed and eliminated from nocturnal seed lovers - pests.Antitlin, Actellik and tobacco dust help well against aphids on primrose.
Conclusion
Stemless primrose does not require special growing conditions; it is unpretentious and beautiful. Her flowers instantly attract attention. Due to its high decorative value, it can be safely combined with other plants in the garden. The main thing is not to over-moisten the soil and not to overfeed the plantings.
