March 31, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
489 
PRIMULA SINENSIS.* 
In offering the following remarks I will dwell entirely 
on that well-known and highly appreciated species 
Primula sinensis, and will treat on the system or 
mode of culture which 1 have generally practised. The 
period from the time the seed is deposited in the soil 
till the flowering is over, is one of careful watching 
and wondering whether the seed will germinate ; 
the progress of the plant’s growth and the development 
of the flower truss ; and whether the colours are 
according to the description given in the catalogue. 
Finally a few are selected for seed saving if any possess 
good qualities, and the grower feels so inclined. 
Seed may be sown from January to July, according 
to the wants and convenience of the grower ; any time 
about the end of March will do well for mid-winter 
work, and later for spring use. Seed sown the second 
or third week in July will make nice plants to flower in 
March the following season. In sowing seed—whether 
it is of one’s own saving or from a nurseryman—I would 
advocate keeping each variety and colour separate, as 
gradually expose to light, and let it gradually become 
inured to a colder temperature. 
Allow the seedlings to become nice little plants 
before handling them. A very good plan is to prick 
them into a box, as it saves a great amount of watering, 
and allows the plants to get a good start ; they can 
then be easily lifted and potted when required. The 
more general plan is to pot them off into thumb pots. 
Where this is practised, they require careful watching 
so that they may never be allowed to get dry, as 
dryness at the root is almost fatal to the Primula at 
any stage of its growth. They ought to be placed in a 
position where scarcely any direct sunlight will touch 
them, so that they can be kept moderately moist. 
As the plants advance in growth they will require 
shifting into larger-sized pots, never allowing them to 
become pot-bound before shifting; for if you once 
allow them to become matted with roots round the 
sides of the pots, a great part of their strength is gone, 
and they become almost useless for further shifting. 
As soon as the young roots make their appearance 
own favourite manure for liquid purposes is good clean 
cow-manure, which I find can be administered to a 
much stronger extent than any other kind I have used. 
The plants also seem to enjoy it, as testified by the 
dark green leathery texture the leaves assume, while 
the flower truss seems to push up a much stronger 
stem, supporting their lovely heads well above the 
foliage. Of course, one must be careful to commence 
gradually with whatever kind of manure the grower 
fancies, so as to accustom the plants to it. 
The temperature in the summer cannot very well be 
regulated, and there need be no necessity for trying to 
do so, as it will then be quite sufficient without any 
artificial aid. The winter season is the time when one 
requires to know the proper heat and position for the 
plants. I am fully convinced that 40° to 50° is quite 
sufficient to keep the plants in perfect health, provided 
the atmosphere is kept moderately dry. During the 
past winter I have kept our stock in a heated pit, with 
a single 3-in. flow and return pipe, and in frosty 
weather the pipes only cleared the frost from the glass 
Azalea balsamin.eflora. 
certain colours germinate -much quicker than others. 
Whites, for instance, are always longer than the others 
in germinating, so that in sowing mixed seed one may 
he deceived by choosing the strongest seedlings, thereby 
often losing the finest plants both in habit and colour. 
In preparing the pots for seed, they should be half 
filled with crocks, then covered with half-rotten leaves 
to the depth of 1 in., the rest of the pot being filled up 
with fine sifted soil composed of leaf-soil, turfy loam, 
and peat, with a good sprinkling of sand to render the 
mixture free and porous, and the whole pressed mode¬ 
rately firm. The seed may then be sown and thinly 
covered with the same mixture. The pot must then be 
placed in the warmest position available, in order that 
the'seed may germinate as speedily as possible, thereby 
saving a great amount of seed, as the young embryo is 
forced into growth before it has time to decay. Place 
a piece of glass over the pot, or anything that will keep 
the soil moist, as nothing spoils the germinating power 
of the seed so much as allowing it to become dry. As 
soon as any signs of life appear, uncover the pot, 
* Read by Mr. Geo. Beaton, Stile Hall, Chiswick, at a meeting 
of the Chiswick Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Association, 
March 14th, 1888. 
through the soil, they ought to he shifted into larger 
pots. I find Primulas always grow much better, and 
make more healthy plants when so attended to than if 
allowed to get starved before shifting. 
The soil with many people seems, in their opinion, to 
require a great amount of manufacturing, but I have 
never found much trouble in growing Primulas in 
any soil possessing good qualities for growing soft- 
wooded stuff. I generally add a small portion of peat, 
and a good sprinkling of Clay’s Fertiliser, which I 
believe gives health, strength, and vigour to the plants. 
After getting their last shift they ought to be placed 
in a cold frame, or, if late in the autumn, where the 
frost can be just kept from them, with a position 
close to the glass, so that the foliage may become short 
and stubbly ; sprinkle the plants with water occasionally 
through a fine rose, and in a short time they will com¬ 
mence to grow and make such foliage as will perfectly 
satisfy the heart of the grower. 
"When in full growth, the Primula-will stand watering 
with good strong liquid manure ; it matters not what 
kind the grower may fancy, as opinions on that subject, 
as on all other things, differ to a great extent. My 
directly above where they pass through, and the result 
has been perfectly satisfactory. The plants ought to 
be placed as near the glass as possible, keeping all 
perfectly dry around the staging, to avoid their damping 
off at the base. 
Plenty of air ought to be given on all favourable 
occasions, as nursing the plants soon reduces their 
strength, and undermines their constitution, making 
them unable to withstand any variation of the tem¬ 
perature. Pinching out the main or first flower truss 
is a matter of much difference of opinion. With plants 
that are intended to make large specimens either for 
show or decorative purposes, it is very essential that 
the flower trusses should be picked out as soon as they 
appear, until the grower may think the plants will 
have sufficient time to form masses of flower in 
conformity with their size. For general cultivation in 
48-sized pots it is unnecessary to pinch any flower out. 
Exception of course can be taken to this rule, as a 
grower may find all his plants coming into flower at 
once ; it is then quite necessary to pinch the most 
forward flowers, and still have moderate-sized heads of 
bloom. 
