66 



THE GARDEN INIAGAZINE 



September, 1910 



In any literature treating of primroses a 

 statement is almost invariably made that 

 they must have a cool, moist situation and 

 will not survive a hot, dry summer without 

 special care. True enough of some species 

 of primroses, such as denticulata; but in my 

 sandy garden, the polyanthus and the gail- 

 lardia survive drought better than anything 

 else. It is surely a mistake to say that our 

 summers will not permit successful poly- 

 anthus culture. Shade is the one requisite, 

 and even partial shade will do except in the 

 most exposed and absolutely dry situations. 

 My border is located on the top of a sand- 

 stone ledge, slopes to the south and is held 

 in place by a concrete 

 retaining wall. It is 

 so perniciously well 

 drained that it takes 

 up water like a 

 sponge, yet I have 

 grown as fine poly- 

 anthus as I should 

 care to see in this 

 border for years, and 

 they have received no 

 more care than is 

 necessary to success- 

 fully grow the ordi- 

 nary perennials. 



A little study shows 

 why the plant has a 

 remarkably large root 

 system for the spread 

 of foliage. The roots 

 are tough and pene- s?f^ 



trate straight down '-^W 



into the earth to a 

 considerable depth. 

 The seedling prim- 

 rose at first has a 

 fibrous root system. 

 The first work of the 

 little plant is to form 

 a crown. From this 

 crown in late summer 

 a number of tough, 

 sharp, white, pointed 

 roots start, turn, and 

 go straight down. By 

 fall the primrose is 



firmly anchored to the primrose and polyanthus 



earth and has a big 



feeding system far 



enough in the earth to provide moisture 



except in most exceptionally dry weather. 



The thick heavy leaves during the hottest 

 weather droop and lie flat on the earth, form- 

 ing a complete mulch that covers a space 

 fully equal to the circumference of the root 

 system, thus helping to preserve the moisture 

 in the soil. 



All of the above members of the primrose 

 family are easily grown from seed and ger- 

 minate within three weeks, except Sieboldii, 

 which is apt to take its time about appearing, 

 and then the whole crop of seed does not 

 germinate at once. I have never been able 

 to induce one P. Japonica seed to grow. 



In raising the polyanthus from seed, I 

 plant in the open ground in May in a shady 

 situation, transplant into rows as they make 

 their second leaves, cultivate them as I would 



a row of vegetables, and move them into 

 their quarters for spring blooming early in 

 September so that they may become re- 

 established before cold weather. 



They respond quickly to fertilizers, but 

 it has been my experience that too fresh 

 manures are not as good as well decayed. 

 The best polyanthuses I ever grew were 

 planted above six inches of manure and 

 leaves which had stood all summer and was 

 then trenched in. 



The polyanthus resents too heavy a 

 blanket in winter, by pushing up through 

 it. A light cover of leaves or spent manure 

 after the ground is frozen in sufficient. If 



floivers alike : tlie former is borne singly on short stalks, the polyanthus 

 makes an umbel 



forced by the warmth of too much covering, 

 the leaves come through drawn and yellow. 



I have left them with no covering at all, 

 but the edges of the leaves are likely to be 

 blackened by thawing and freezing, which 

 makes them look ragged in the spring. 



After a supply of seedlings has been 

 raised, the propagation of the better forms 

 is simple. The clumps may be divided 

 after the second year, and the plants will 

 be the better for it. It is almost necessary 

 to divide the third year, for after that the 

 centre of the crown hardens and dies, and 

 a lot of little plants form about the circum- 

 ference which need a season or two after 

 removal to become strong blooming plants. 

 In each lot of seedlings there will be some 

 inferior forms and a few which do not throw 

 the flowers above the leaves. These can be 



destroyed and the better specimens propa- 

 gated- The finest display I ever had was 

 secured by' planting the offshoots of each 

 clump, when divided, in little patches giving 

 colonies of various shades. With a little care 

 in marking the clumps before the bloom 

 fades, a very handsome color arrangement 

 may be worked out. 



I have seen it stated that young plants 

 obtained from division of old clumps lack the 

 sturdiness of seedlings, but I cannot detect 

 any difference. The clumps must be divided 

 at least every third year or else the centre of 

 the crown hardens and dies and a lot of tiny 

 plants form around the circumference which 

 take two or three 

 seasons to become 

 good blooming size. 

 Personally, I pre- 

 fer the solid colors to 

 the "laced" kinds, 

 but occasionally a 

 particularly striking 

 "laced" variety will 

 appear. The one 

 shown in the photo- 

 graph is so bright in 

 color as to appear 

 almost luminous. It 

 is a deep maroon, 

 lined and edged with 

 pale yellow. 



The only time that 

 I find the polyanthus 

 peculiarly susceptible 

 to dry weather is 

 immediately after 

 division, which should 

 be done as soon as 

 the flowers fade. 

 Taken later in the 

 summer the plants do 

 not get sufficiently 

 well established to 

 make strong plants 

 for the following 

 spring. 



The only bad luck 

 I ever experienced 

 with primroses came 

 four years ago when 

 I waited until July 

 4th to divide the 

 clumps. A long, hot, 

 and as I was away 

 from home the newly divided plants did 

 not receive proper care to permit them to 

 form new roots and I lost nearly my entire 

 stock. They should be divided imme- 

 diately after they have finished blooming, 

 and will then have ample time to establish 

 themselves before fall. I have found them 

 very easy to transplant, even late in the fall. 

 Another mistake I made was in planting 

 my plants as an edging instead of a fairly 

 good sized patch. Half the beauty is de- 

 stroyed by stringing them out in a narrow 

 line, and this year they are to be reassembled. 

 As I divide them I make colonies of one 

 variety in the bed and endeavor to make 

 the lighter varieties grade into the darker, 

 and the bed is much prettier than if mixed 

 haphazard. 



dry spell followed, 



