PRIMULA 



PBIMBOSE OBDEB 



PRIMULA 617 



purple, with a yellow eye, and borne in 

 umbels of 3-7 on scapes 3-4 in. high. 



Culture dc. as above. Bather sheltered 

 parts of the rookery in well-drained soil. 



P. tenella. — A native of Eastern 

 Thibet, 2-3 in. high. Leaves powdered 

 all over, wedge-shaped and entire below 

 the middle, toothed towards the apex. 

 Flowers in early summer, large solitary 

 bluish-white, with obcordate coroUa-lobes. 



Culture dc. as above. Sandy loam 

 and leaf soil in sheltered nooks of the 

 rockery. 



P. Trailli. — A pretty Himalayan Pri- 

 mula with oblong spoon-shaped crenate 

 leaves about 65 in. long, abruptly narrowed 

 into a stalk. From 3 to 6 drooping or hori- 

 zontal sweet-scented flowers are borne at 

 the top of a slender scape 12-16 in. high. 

 The obcordate notched petals are blush- 

 white with a deeper coloured eye. 



Culture dc. as above for P. involu- 

 crata. 



P. uniflora. — A charming little Hima- 

 layan species, with roundish or broadly 

 ovate pinnatifidly crenate leaves about 

 i in. long. Flowers in early summer, 

 pale lilac, larger than the whole rosette 

 of leaves, 1-2 on a slender scape. Corolla 

 lobes shallow, unequally toothed. 



Culture dc. as above. This ■ little 

 species, and aU others like it, should be 

 grown in patches, as single plants are 

 likely to get overlooked and lost. Moist 

 sandy soil and leaf mould in sheltered 

 parts of the rockery suit it well. 



P. variabilis. — A hybrid between a 

 form of the Common Primrose (P. vul- 

 garis) and the Cowslip (P. officinalis) 

 occasionally found wild in the British 

 Islands, and often mistaken for the true 

 Oxlip (P. elatior). The garden Polyan- 

 thus has been developed from this hybrid. 



Culture dc. as above. Ordinary good 

 garden soil in more or less shady positions. 



P. venusta. — A Hungarian Primrose 

 (probably a hybrid between P. Awricula 

 and P. camioUca) about 3 in. high, with 

 ovate toothed, or nearly entire leaves, 

 smooth on both surfaces. Flowers in 

 April, purple, borne on smooth scapes. 



Culture dc. as above. Eich sandy 

 loam in the rockery. 



P. Venzoi. — A densely tufted Tyro- 

 lese hybrid between P. tyrolensis and P. 

 wulfeniana. Leaves about 2 in. long, 

 ovate lance-shaped, pointed, slightly cre- 



nate, hairy, and densely pitted. Flowers 

 in April, 1 in. across, pale purple, 1-3 on 

 a scape ; corolla lobes deeply notched. 



Culture dc. as above. Well-drained 

 sandy soil and leaf mould in the rockery. 



P. vinciflora. — A remarkable looking 

 Chinese species 8-9 in. high, with oblong 

 wedge-shaped cOiated leaves, covered with 

 reddish glands and overlapping each other 

 like the scales of a bud, the smallest leaves 

 being at the base. Flowers in early sum- 

 mer, about 1^ in. across, purple-violet, vnth 

 a long downy tube swollen at the base, 

 solitary, on hairy scapes. CoroUa lobes 

 obcordate wedge-shaped, giving the flowers 

 very much the appearance of those of a 

 Vinca (see p. 645). 



Culture dc. as above. Bather shel- 

 tered sunny parts of the rockery in moist 

 well-drained soil. 



P. viscosa (P. villosa). — A charming 

 Pyrenean species 2-4 in. high, with 

 obovate or roundish deep green, hairy 

 leaves, having close-set teeth, and some- 

 what clammy on both sides. Flowers in 

 early summer, rosy-purple, with a white 

 eye, several in an umbel on clammy 

 scapes just above the foliage ; corolla 

 lobes heart - shaped, deeply notched. 

 There are several varieties, the best known 

 being: — ciUata, a vigorous form with 

 larger and more numerous flowers ; com- 

 mutata, with large bright rose flowers in 

 May and June, and entire or slightly 

 toothed leaves ; confinis, with small tooth- 

 ed clammy leaves and large bright deep 

 rosy flowers ; hirsuta, a charming variety 

 with large rosettes of deeply and sharply 

 toothed soft hairy leaves, and pale Ulao 

 flowers with a whitish centre. P. decora 

 and P. pallida are both similar to this var- 

 iety ; Nelsord is probably a seedling garden 

 form, with pale purple or pink flowers. 



Culture and Propagation. — P. vis- 

 cosa and its several varieties may be 

 grovsTi in light sandy loam and peat or 

 leaf mould which should be moist but 

 well drained. They may be increased 

 by carefully dividing the growths in 

 early autumn or spring, as well as firom 

 seeds. They are beautiful plants for the 

 rockery in nooks and corners, between 

 pieces of rook. 



P. vulgaris (P. acaulis). — Common 

 Primrose. — A well-known British plant 

 about 3 in. high, with a stout rootstook 

 and obovate spoon-shaped deeply veined 

 leaves 3-6 in. long in dense tufts. Flowers 



