Primrose family. Homeland - temperate areas of Europe, Asia, North America. More than 500 species of these annual and perennial herbaceous plants are known in nature. The following species and their hybrids are common in culture:
- Reverse-conical primrose Primula obconica - a perennial herbaceous plant forming a rather large bush - up to about 60 cm tall. The leaves are pubescent, on long petioles, rounded, heart-shaped at the base, wavy along the edge, up to 10 cm long. Flowers up to 4 cm in diameter, fragrant, collected in umbrella inflorescences, can be colored - white, pink, red, cherry, blue, purple.
- Primula kewensis is an annual herbaceous plant with a rosette of leaves up to 35 cm tall. Leaves on long petioles, round-heart-shaped, serrated along the edge, with a whitish coating on the upper surface of the leaf, about 15-20 cm long. The flowers are small, up to 2 cm in diameter of a corolla with a long tube, fragrant, collected in umbrella inflorescences. The only species blooming with yellow flowers.
- The soft primrose Primula malocoides is an annual herbaceous plant with rosette leaves up to 45 cm tall. Leaves on long petioles, round-heart-shaped, serrated along the edge, about 15-20 cm long. The flowers are small, up to 1.5 cm in diameter, fragrant, collected in whorled inflorescences, in several tiers, can be colored - white, pink, purple, red with a yellow spot in the throat.
- The Chinese primrose "Primula sinensis" is a perennial herbaceous plant with rosette leaves up to 30-35 cm tall. Leaves on long petioles, round-heart-shaped, serrated along the edge, up to 15 cm long. Flowers up to 4 cm in diameter, collected in umbrella inflorescences, and can be of different colors - white, orange, pink, red, purple, with a yellow spot in the throat.
On sale as a home plant, hybrid primrose Primula hybrids is most often sold. If you buy primrose in a pot, take into account that the plants are short-lived, they live for a maximum of two years, but in normal home conditions - only the season, until the end of flowering. The only option is to transplant the plant into the garden.
Home primrose care
Temperature: Cool, in winter, during flowering optimal about 12-15 ° C, for reverse-conical primrose slightly higher - about 15-18 ° C. After flowering, reverse flowering primrose and Chinese primrose can be left for the second year, but for this they will have to be kept in very cool conditions - at a temperature preferably not higher than 15 ° C. To do this, they can be planted in the garden, preferably on the north or north-west side.
Lighting: Bright diffused light. In summer, shade in the afternoon hours - primroses do not tolerate heat above 24 ° C. In winter, during the most abundant flowering, the lighting should be maximum and the sun's rays at this time will not cause harm.
Watering: Primers are watered quite abundantly during flowering - the soil should be slightly moist all the time, but have time to dry out in the upper third of the pot. Perennial primroses left after flowering are watered moderately. Primers do not tolerate irrigation with hard water, do not tolerate the content of chlorine and fluoride in water. If you are not sure about the quality of tap water, water with filtered water.
Fertilizers: Primers are very sensitive to excess salts, so you need to apply fertilizers carefully, it is better to take half the dose recommended by the manufacturer. Feeding begins from the end of winter in February - when buds have already appeared or are just appearing and continue until the end of flowering, every two weeks.
For primrose feeding, use fertilizers containing not only macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), but also trace elements, especially iron, magnesium, manganese, boron. If you have yellowness on the leaves on the plant, first of all, make sure that the soil has not salted and its acidity has not shifted to the alkaline side. In this case, part of the nutrients (iron, manganese, zinc) ceases to be absorbed and signs of chlorosis appear on the leaves. There is no need to rush to feed the flowers, you need to replace the top layer of soil with a fresh one, and if the plant has finished flowering, transplant. In the future, use soft water and acidify it with slightly lemon juice.
Humidity: Primulas can be sprayed periodically with soft water. You can place pots on a tray with wet pebbles, and be sure to protect against the directed flow of hot air batteries.
Transplant: Carried out after flowering. Soil - a mixture of the 2 part of the leaf earth (or universal peat), the 1 part of the fine gravel (2-3 mm), the 1/2 part of the pine bark. A reverse-conical primule is added 1 part of the turf. Be sure to pour drainage into plastic pots, but make large holes at the bottom. It is not necessary to do drainage in clay pots, but periodically check if the drain hole is clogged (pierce it with a stick).
Reproduction
Primulas are propagated by seeds and dividing the bush during transplantation. Primrose seeds lose germination very quickly, so pay attention to the packaging time when buying seeds and storage conditions (only at cool temperatures).
Most primrose seeds need stratification (cold preparation). The easiest way to do this: sow seeds in wide plates in a substrate of peat universal soil (better Terra Vita) and vermiculite (in equal parts), to a depth of about 2 mm. Then the plates must be placed in a bag and put in the freezer for stratification. The optimal temperature is -10-15 ° C.
After a month, remove the plates with seeds and put on the windowsill, where the sun does not fall, or shade with parchment. Moisten the soil from the spray bottle, you can keep it in the bag, but ventilate 2-3 times a day, shake off the condensate. What is important - the temperature should be 14-18 ° C no higher. Therefore, calculate the sowing time in advance, adjusting to your conditions - either in spring or in autumn, when you can keep the crops at the desired temperature on the balcony. After the seeds germinate, the temperature can be raised to 18-20 ° C (i.e. move to a warmer location), and increase lighting. The light should be bright, but not direct, scattered, the morning sun is allowed, up to 11 hours. Otherwise, caring for adult plants is uniform watering, without waterlogging or drying.
