^m.; 



m 





.^^ THE .^-^saMlmigiggniriTnn mnwgB^^ 



Ammw mm^mnKWXti 



PRACTICAL POINTS 



ON PRIMULA GROWING 



It is not a difficult task to have a six months' steady crop of primulas 

 in hloom. A few sowings at intervals, mostly from March to June, may he 

 so timed as to produce an unbroken succession of blooming plants from early 

 fall till late spring. Good plants are grown from seed in seven months. 



INGE this is intended to be 

 a brief life-sketch of the 

 primula, from seed pan to 

 specimen plant, why not 

 begin with its name — with 

 the christening? Names 

 are often difficult to ac- 

 count 'for, but in this case 

 there is not much room 

 for doubt. Both forma of 

 the plant 's name, primula and primrose, 

 are derived from the Latin primus, mean- 

 ing ' * first, ' ' and it is reasonably certain 

 that the word "first" refers to point 

 of time, or earliness of blooming. In- 

 deed, the cowslip, though frequently 

 known as Primula officinalis, seems to 

 be most properly called Primula veris, 

 "first in spring." The common prim- 

 rose, too, has been designated by some 

 botanists as P. veris 

 var. acaulis. It is 

 true, also, though 

 the christeners of 

 the plant probably 

 did not have this 

 fact in mind, that 

 the primula is near 

 to first place in the 

 affections of many 

 people, especiaHy 

 people who spent 

 much of their youth 

 rambling in fields 

 and groves where 

 the primrose, cow- 

 slip and oxlip grew 

 in wild profusion. 



Economical Crop. 



There are several 

 points in favor of 

 growing the primu- 

 la, aside from its 

 beauty and popu- 

 larity. In the first 

 place, it is so nearly 

 pest-free that one 

 "•xperienced grower 

 leclares it is less 

 molested by insects 

 than is any other 

 •ultivated plant. 

 Moreover, most of 

 f h e popular com- 

 :>i e r c i a 1 varieties 

 'ome fairly true 

 from seed. Again, 

 ■he primula is a 

 ■ool-climate plant 

 '>nd therefore does 

 !iot make cxtrava- 

 -Tant demands on the 

 lal pile. The prim- 

 ula is economical 

 ■•Iso in this paticu- 

 'nr, that it can be 



grown from the seed to the blooming 

 stage in seven months. Even when ex- 

 ceptionally large plants are wanted, they 

 can still be grown from start to finish 

 in a little less than a year. When the 

 largest specimens possible are desired, 

 for exhibition purposes, the plants may 

 be carried over a second year, but the 

 young plants are generally more pro- 

 ductive of blooms. 



Securijig the Seed. 



As the quality of primula plants is 

 peculiarly dependent on the quality of 

 the seed, the necessity of extreme care 

 in securing the seed is manifest. It is 

 true that any grower, by means of cor- 

 rect culture and close attention to se- 

 lection, can develop a satisfactory strain 

 of seed for his own use. But the 



What Plant Can Make a Better Showing In a 4-inch Pot than Primula Ofaconica? 



person of slight experience in primula 

 growing, or of slight patience in seed 

 selection, will find it to his advantage 

 to purchase his seed from a primula 

 specialist of unquestionable reliability. 

 And it is unwise as well as unjust to 

 begrudge paying a fair price for a good 

 strain, since the saving of the seed 

 is a tedious and skilled process. 



The proper compost for the seed pan 

 is decidedly light and porous and is 

 variously described as "light, sandy 

 soil," "light loam and leaf -mold, " or, 

 more definitely, aa "a mixture of equal 

 parts of leaf -mold and sand." Another 

 formula is: " Two-thirds leaf -mold, one- 

 third loam and a dash of sand." The 

 compost for the surface should be passed 

 through a fine screen. The drainage may 

 consist of a layer of such material as 

 broken crock, over- 

 spread by a small 

 quantity of coarse, 

 fibrous loam or a 

 few half-decayed 

 leaves. The' soil, 

 after being placed 

 in the pan, is spread 

 evenly and compact- 

 ed lightly. 



Some growers em- 

 phasize thanecessity 

 of having the pans 

 filled almost com- 

 pletely — filled to not 

 more than an eighth 

 of an inch from the 

 brim, so that there 

 will not be enough 

 of confined atmos- 

 phere to cause an at- 

 tack of the damp- 

 ing-off fungus. 



Sowing the Seed. 



Although, as al- 

 ready stated, the 

 majority of primula 

 sowings, under or- 

 dinary c i r c u m - 

 stances, are made 

 from March to June, 

 yet some of the sow- 

 ings may either pre- 

 cede or follow those 

 dates. For instance, 

 to produce first- 

 class, extra large 

 plants for Christ- 

 mas, the seed may 

 be sown as early as 

 January. 



The seed is scat- 

 tered thinly and 

 uniformly, pressed 

 down gently and 

 covered slightly 



^ 



