On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 19:35:28 +0000, Janet Tweedy wrote:

[Hose-in-hose] is a Primula it has outer and inner sort of leaves where the flowers
are. 'Wanda' is one named variety. You can also get other plants called
hose in hose but generally it's always alluded to the Primula.

"Hose-in-hose" refers to a form of doubling where one complete
flower is nested inside another. The primulas with a ruff of
leaves behind the petals are called "jack in the greens".

Wanda is neither a h-i-h nor a j-i-t-g, but there is a very
similar plant, originally bred in Seattle, which is a j-i-t-g. It
is called 'Julie Jack' or 'Jay Jay' depending on which side of
the 49th parallel you're on.

There are some dreadful h-i-h forms on the market this spring, in
garish colors and oversized flowers. I prefer my little yellow
hose-in-hose oxlip. (Or is it a cowslip?)


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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