AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



217 



Priestleya continued. 



P. vlllosa (villous). fl. capitate. June and July. I ovate- 

 elliptic, acute, one-nerved, flat, and, as well as the branchlets, 

 calyces, and pods, hairy on both surfaces. A. 2ft to 4ft. 1774. 

 (B. M. 3216.) 



PRIMORDIAL. First in order of appearance. The 

 term is usually applied to first leaves. 



PRIMROSE. See Primula vulgaris. The name 

 was also formerly used for Privet. 



PRIMROSE, CAPE. See Streptocarpus. 

 PRIMROSE, EVENING. See (Enothera biennis. 



PRIMULA (from primus, first; referring to the 

 early flowering). Primrose. OED. Primulaceae. A genus 

 comprising from seventy to eighty Bpecies of mostly 

 hardy, alpine, perennial, rhizomatous herbs, natives of 

 Europe and temperate Asia, a few American, one or two 

 found in the mountains of Java, and one in the frigid 

 region of South America. Flowers white, pink, purple, or 

 yellow, umbellately or verticillately racemose, very rarely 

 solitary, involucral-bracted, ebracteolate ; calyx tubular, 

 funnel-shaped, or campanulate, often inflated or angular, 

 with five persistent lobes ; corolla hypogynons, infundi- 

 buliform or hypocraterifonn, with a short or elongated 

 tube, and a limb of five flat or concave, spreading or 

 incurved, imbricated lobes. Leaves all radical, usually 

 obovate-spathulate, rarely orbicular and long-stalked, 

 entire, toothed, or rarely lobed. The various beautiful 

 Auriculas have been derived from P. Auricula. Five 

 of the species are natives of Britain, and include the 

 well-known common Primrose (P. vulgaru), Cowslip 

 (P. officinalis), and Oxlip (P. elatior), of our meadows 

 and woods. The species described in the following pages 

 are hardy, except where otherwise stated. 



Primulas are charming and exceedingly useful plants, 

 adapted collectively for various decorative purposes and 

 positions under glass, and also in the open air. In them 

 are represented great diversity of habits and growth, 

 some being very dwarf and slow growing, while others 

 develop and flower as large plants in a comparatively 

 short time. Many of the hardy species are excellent 

 subjects for sunny positions on rockwork; but some that 

 are rare should receive special attention, or be kept in 

 pots in a cold frame. Primulas of any description may be 

 successfully grown in pots, if kept in the proper positions 

 and temperatures which the several species and varieties 

 require. The hardy ones may be kept in cold pits or 

 frames throughout the summer, such as those with a 

 north aspect ; in winter, they must also be kept cool, and 

 allowed to rest. Damp is one of the greatest enemies 

 to hardy Primulas in winter, but still their roots must 

 never be allowed to become too dry. All the small 

 alpine species and their varieties should have their 

 crowns kept well above the soil, and be maintained in 

 position by placing pieces of sandstone on either side. 

 This provision against damping applies to those grown 

 in pots, in the open border, or on rockwork : it is always 

 advisable to support the in many instances, tiny plants 

 in this way. Varieties of the hardy Primrose are well 

 adapted for naturalising in woods or shady places along 

 with the common sort. A quantity of plants for this 

 purpose may readily be raised from seed, a good strain 

 of which should be secured. 



Propagation of the species of Primula is most generally 

 effected by seeds. The varieties of any section seldom 

 reproduce themselves true from seed, and these have 

 therefore to be propagated by cuttings or divisions. 

 Careful division sometimes affords a method of increase 

 amongst rare species when seeds are not procurable, 

 and also more frequently amongst others that are com- 

 moner. Seeds of the hardy species are best sown, soon 

 after they are ripe, in shallow pots or pans of light soil ; 

 the seeds should be thinly covered, and the pots placed 

 in a cold frame, and kept shaded. When the seed- 



Primula continued. 



lings appear, they should be placed near the glass, 

 and, in due course, pricked out, or inserted singly in 

 small pots of soil similar to that in which the seeds 



P. japonica, one of the finest, strong-growing species, 

 succeeds well in pots for greenhouse decoration, and also 

 when planted on rockwork or in the open border. The 

 seeds of this species should be sown when ripe, and the 

 plants, when raised, grown on to flower the second 

 spring following. As they are very vigorous, rich soil 

 and rather large pots should be provided for them after 

 the first winter has passed. If the flowers appear on 

 plants within a year after the seed has been sown, it is 

 not so desirable as when they can be kept back until 

 starting time, after two winters have passed. P. japonica 

 never requires any fire-heat ; all the leaves die down in 

 winter, when the pots may be stored in a cold frame, and 

 kept moderately, but not quite, dry. P. obconica, a pretty 

 and very popular plant, is best adapted for pot culture ; 

 it flowers, more or less, in a cool greenhouse or conserva- 

 tory, nearly all the year. Propagated, in spring, by care- 

 fully-made divisions, and by seeds. Another Primula 

 well suited for pot culture in greenhouses is P. cor- 

 tuaoidea Sieboldii, of which there are several beautiful 

 varieties, all worthy of more extended culture than they 

 at present receive. 



Perhaps the best-known Primula is that which is very 

 generally and extensively cultivated for greenhouse and 

 room decoration from autumn till late in spring, namely, 

 the Chinese Primrose (P. sinensis). Of this beautiful 

 and popular species, there are single and double varie- 

 ties, but plants of the former kind are more easily grown, 

 and more frequently seen in gardens, than are those 

 of the latter. These Primulas are always most accept- 

 able in winter, when their bright and cheerful flowers 

 appear to best advantage, and suggest the return of 

 spring; at the latter season, however, the plants attain 

 their greatest degree of perfection. To keep a succession 

 of the single ones in flower, the first portion of seed 

 should be sown in March, for growing plants in prepara- 

 tion for the ensuing autumn, and other sowings should 

 be made in April, May, and June. Shallow pans are 

 best for the seed ; they should be well drained, and filled 

 with light soil, composed chiefly of leaf mould, with a 

 little loam and sand. The surface may be slightly pressed, 

 to make it even, and the seeds must only be very lightly 

 covered ; the pans should then be placed in a warm frame 

 or pit, and kept shaded. A pane of glass, laid over the 

 top of each pan, will prevent rapid evaporation, and 

 watering need not then be frequently practised until ger- 

 mination takes place. The young plants should be left in 

 the seed-pans or pots until ready to pot off singly, unless 

 any of them show signs of damping, in which case they 

 are best pricked off at once in new soil, about lin. apart, 

 and kept shaded for a few days. In about a fortnight, a 

 cold frame will be the most suitable place, as the plants 

 must be kept near the light, and have plenty of air while 

 growing, to insure what is most essential a compact, 

 sturdy habit. As the soil in small pots becomes filled 

 with roots, shift on into others Sin. in diameter, a size 

 sufficiently large for Chinese Primulas to flower in. For 

 the final potting, an open and rather rich soil is neces- 

 sary, consisting of two parts loam to one each of well- 

 decayed manure and leaf mould, a little charcoal or sand 

 being added to insure porosity. The pots should be 

 clean, well, drained, and perfectly dry when used. Venti- 

 lation, watering, and shading, are the principal points 

 requiring attention in the general management. Through- 

 out the summer, a slight shading, or screen from the 

 sun's rays, is necessary through the hottest part of the 

 day : a thick or continuous shading is more injurious 

 than beneficial. Liberal supplies of water are required 

 in summer; bat towards autumn, and in the winter, it 



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