I'KIML'LA 



from seed. Primula i'orbesi comes from China. It is 

 a dwarf, compact plant, and its lilac flowers are produced 

 in whorls on long, wiry stems, as they are in P. 

 Japonica. It can be raised from seed or increased by 

 division. P. obconica is a very showy plant and will 

 produce blossoms almost continually. It would make a 

 valuable florists' plant if it was not that it is slightly 

 poisonous to the touch. It has been greatly improved 

 since its introduction in 1882. The best form now in 

 cultivation is P. obconica, var. grandiflora fimbriata. 

 Youm; plants are easily obtained from seed and can 

 be grown in the greenhouse in one summer until they 

 ail- large enough for 8-inch pots. Primula verlicillata 

 is a desirable greenhouse plant with yellow flowers 

 which are produced in whorls on the stems. It has 

 handsome foliage covered with a white mealy powder. 

 If this powder is washed off with careless watering the 

 plants are never so handsome. Robert Cameron. 



Bioniing J\'o(fs on Primida.— Ot the greenhouse 

 species, P. Sinensis is the old stand-by. The single 

 forms are easily grown from seed. It requires about 

 seven months from date of -i-.v!!;- r > l>'.'"m. For fall 

 flowering, sow in March. Sim !- :' i i ir^ in water. 



This will insure a more e^ !: ^ ■ 'I'lien sow 



in pans filled with light smim: , . ! i^- the seeds 



orilv vi-rv fliinly witll sali.l ; t, nil.. r;ii u n ,il'F. Keep 



[,:iM' (h>,:i\- -r :mii1 -liaily. In two or tliree weeks' 



tiiii I ' i :- - ;r(^h, which is most essential, 

 til. _ - -• i |irieking out. For that pur- 

 ,.i,-i ! ii I. .... - ..i . nil. u iians filled with a mixture of 

 two parts peat and one part common garden soil are the 

 best; do not take pots, because they are too deep and 

 do not dry out fast enough. Keep shady; temperature 

 70°. When large enough, tr.inspliint in thumb-pots very 

 loosely and not too .1. . p, ^Ir-rTiin' i>t' ^ni! riml the tem- 

 perature should bi. tli. ..... : •■ ■ -I :i.|\i^iil. Keep 



plants shifted inti> I ■ . , r. i|uiri. it. 

 Do not let them gel : . '.! - .il ii- a\'ier 

 at each transplantiuL.-. A; :. .-■ -! :'. - n ^li"uM be 

 from five to six moot Ik tp.imlai. ..f ^..>v in--, u-e liberally 

 of cow manure and bone-nie:il. Tlirun.-li ilii- whole sum- 

 mer plants should be kept -IkuIv an. I I, syringing 



overhead twice a day. (iet them a. .•u~i..iih..1 t.. the 



sun in fall. Temperature in winter .".n I h.iilile 



Primulas can be propagated by oitn .t a 



temperature of 70° to 80° F. After tli. i n at 



them the same as seedlings. The b..~i inn. i.r !.i. .pa- 

 gating is in February and March. We m-eil ii\ l.rnl> of 

 this Chinese Primrose with other greenhouse species. 

 The writer has succeeded in making a promising cross 

 of P. Sinetisis and P. ohmvira. This is figured in 



Mar. 



fion. 



liown as P. obconit 

 actly as for P. f 

 flowered greenhou 

 ven P. Sinensis. 



Primula Auricula, the Primrose of the Alps, has 

 flowers variously colored, mostly yellow. Hardy or 

 half-hardy, needs light .soil, plenty of air and sunshine; 

 good for rockwork. The Auricula has never become 

 popular in America. 



Primula corfusoides and P. Sieboldi are beautiful 

 species of Siberia, of dark rose color. Hardy; give 

 plenty of air and a very sunny, rather dry exposure 

 Very satisfactory spring flowers. 



Primula capitata has flowers violet-blue in dense 

 heads. It is one of the most beautiful species of the 

 Himalayan region. It is diflicult to cultivate here, be- 

 cause it needs a very cool temperature. Sow seed in cold- 

 frame, prick out assoon as up, keep on growing outside 

 in a cool place through the summer. In fall they may be 

 potted, and, kept in the coldframe through winter; they 

 will be beautiful pot-plants in spring. It i' :i i^i.inl plant 

 for rockeries if it gets a place whifh i^ -li. It. r, .1 from 

 the sun and yet not shady. P. if. i//. /(.'.i/.i an.i var. 

 Cache.miriana are hardy. Give a ninjvi. ~uiiii\ place. 



Primula Stuartii has dark yellow flower-. Tlii.- beau- 

 tiful species is half-hardy; it needs a light soil, but not 

 dry, with full sun. Covered with a box over winter, it 

 will come through safely. It is rarely seen in this 

 ^ountO'- Adolf Jaexicke. 



1431 





upwards ) 



B. Lvs. thick: fls. umbellate: inro- 



lucralbracts usually not leahj. 1. AiKicrLA 

 )B. Lvs. thin: fls.verticillate: bracts 



leafy 2. Floribunda 



I'oung lvs. revolute {rolled back- 

 wards ) . 

 B, Plant large, with yellow or pur- 

 ple fls. in successive whorls . . 3. ProlifeRjE 

 5B. Plant with fls. in umbels or 

 heads, or if in whorls theplants 

 small and slender (as grown 

 under glass) and the fls. lilac 

 to white, 

 c. Lvs. lobed, the lobes dentate or 



crenate 4. Sinenses 



cr. Lvs. not lobed, or only indis- 

 tinctly so. 

 D. Calyx enlarging after flow- 

 ering, leafy .5. MoNOCABPicffi;: 



DD. Calyx ■ ■ 



Pis. no 

 ee. Fls. b) 



rted. 





distinctly pi- 



f lower dis- 

 till stalked. ... 7. Vernales 



fl„w.r sessile 

 . ' ./ wnrly so. S. Capitat.*: 



., :..'t."ly"pu'- 



,„n,l bracts 

 Kins or eared 

 hi base, 

 psifle globose, 

 ncluded in the 



ilh/X 9. AURIrULAT.E 



n o t gibbose 

 ea red : caps 

 cylindrical: , 



1. Auricula. 

 171, Vol. I. L.. 

 cuneate glabr.. 

 long, which ar. 

 3-6 in. long. . i 

 in an umbel.- 

 fragrant, sh.ni 

 bracts, the setj 



A. See p. 118 and Fig. 

 rosette of thick obovate- 

 mealy lvs. 2 or 3 inches 

 n the u|iper part: scales 



. ■.,..... .ill J tl... lvs.: fls. 



; . . ■> al mealy 



wild form as understood and described bv .J. G. Baker 

 in B.M. 6837. "It is one of the most widely spread of 

 all the species," Baker writes, "as it extends in a wild 

 state from Dauphine and the Jura on the west througb 



