PRIMULA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. PRIMULA. 



649 



flowers in whorls. Admirable for the 

 conservatory or greenhouse, but of no 

 value for the open-air garden. 



P. LATIFOLIA. A handsome Primrose, 

 with from two to twenty violet flowers in 

 a head. It is less viscid, but larger and 

 more robust than its alpine congener, the 

 better-known P. viscosa. Its leaves some- 

 times attain a height of 4 inches and a 

 breadth of nearly 2 inches, and it grows to 

 a height of 4 to 8 inches. Its fragrant 

 flowers appear in early summer, and in 

 pure air it thrives on sunny slopes of the 

 rock garden, if it has sandy peat, plenty 

 of moisture during the dry season, and 

 perfect drainage in the winter months. 

 Like P. viscosa. it will bear frequent divi- 

 sion, and may be easily grown in cold 

 frames or pits. Alps. 



P. LITTONIANA. In a genus rich in 

 beauty and variety no species is more 

 remarkable than this. It is, indeed, 

 unique. Bright red calyces and rich 

 purple flowers are in sharp contrast, and 

 these, in conjunction with the red-tipped, 

 attenuated, spire-like outline of the floral 

 parts, are responsible for an effect sugges- 

 tive of an Orchid glorified. The scapes 

 are 2 feet or so high, leaves narrow, 

 ascending, woolly, and covered with 

 silvery hairs. Excellent for colonies in 

 the cool parts of the rock garden, or for 

 naturalising on a worthy scale. Quite 

 happy in cool loam and leaf-soil, and 

 seeds freely. From the mountain 

 meadows of W. China. June- July. 



P. LUTEOLA. One of the handsomest of 

 the yellow Primroses, and a noble plant 

 when well grown. The flower-stems are 

 often i to 2 feet high, though they are 

 usually under i foot in height. They 

 sometimes become fasciated, and thus 

 carry a huge cluster of flowers 4 to 6 inches 

 across. These flowers are like those of a 

 Polyanthus or an Auricula, but they are 

 borne in more compact heads. It likes 

 a moist situation in full exposure, and if 

 put out in rich borders of rather moist 

 soil, or on the lower banks of the rock gar- 

 den, or in a copse with a good bed of leaf- 

 soil, it will soon repay the planter. Cauca- 

 sus. 



P. MALACOIDES. A charming species, 

 remarkable for its elegant habit of growth 

 and freedom of flowering. Not hard 

 enough for growing in the open air, it is 

 favoured by amateur and professional 

 gardener alike for its adaptability to pot 

 cultivation and as a room plant. Florist 

 decorators also employ it freely. Rather 

 less than a foot high, the lilac or mauve- 

 coloured flowers are produced in whorls, 

 a dozen or more scapes issuing from quite 

 an ordinary sized plant. Seeds are pro- 

 duced abundantly and germinate freely 

 if sown soon after ripening. May be 

 treated as an annual or biennial. China. 



P. MARGINATA. One of the most 

 attractive of the alpine Primroses, and 



distinguished by the silvery margin 

 of its greyish leaves and by its soft 

 violet-rose flowers in April or May. 

 It is of the aborescent class and should be 

 catered for as such. When the stems 

 become long, and emit roots above the 

 ground, it is a good plan to divide the 

 plants, and to insert each portion firmly 

 down to the leaves. If this be done 

 biennially the plants will be reinvigorated 

 and will flower in greater freedom. Alps. 



P. MEGASE^EFOLIA. A rare and distinct 

 species from Rhazistan, having large 

 roundly cordate leathery leaves which 



Primula pubescens alba. 



assume reddish or bronzy tints in autumn. 

 The flowers are rose with magenta shade. 

 Flowering in winter it is not a success in 

 the open, and should be grown in the green- 

 house. Even in the unheated alpine 

 house it is rarely seen in presentable con- 

 dition. 



P. MINIMA (Fairy Primrose). One of 

 the smallest of European Primroses. 

 Usually there is only one flower, which 

 is generally rose-coloured, and some- 

 times white, and appears in summer. 

 The plant is only an inch or so high, 

 but its single flower is nearly I inch 

 across, and almost covers the tiny rosettes 

 of foliage. Bare spots in firm open 

 parts of the rock garden are the. best 

 places for the plant, but the soil should 

 be very sandy peat free from lime, and 

 must never become too dry. It is peculi- 

 arly suited for association with the very 

 dwarf est and choicest of alpine plants. 

 Division or seed. Mountains of S. Europe. 

 P. Flcerkiana is much like it, and probably 

 is only a variety, since the sole differ- 

 ence is that it bears two, three, or more 

 flowers, instead of only one. It enjoys 

 the same treatment in the rock garden. 

 Austria. Of both kinds it is desirable 

 to establish wide-spreading patches on 

 firm bare spots, scattering half an inch 

 of silver sand between the plants to keep 

 the ground cool. 



P. MUNROI. This grows at very high 



