As pretty as they can sometimes be, primulas seem to pop up everywhere
in my garden almost as invasively as weeds, yet after a cursory web
search I read quite a bit of advice about digging them up after
flowering, dividing them and then replanting. This seems quite an
elaborate procedure for something that survives all to happily without
any intervention from me. Am I'm missing something?

Can anyone advise. Just leave them be? Can one trim of the leaves
before they start to yellow and become unsightly?

thanks for any help.

On 2009-05-05 07:16:46 +0100, bob said:


As pretty as they can sometimes be, primulas seem to pop up everywhere
in my garden almost as invasively as weeds, yet after a cursory web
search I read quite a bit of advice about digging them up after
flowering, dividing them and then replanting. This seems quite an
elaborate procedure for something that survives all to happily without
any intervention from me. Am I'm missing something?

Can anyone advise. Just leave them be? Can one trim of the leaves
before they start to yellow and become unsightly?

thanks for any help.

They can become less floriferous if overcrowded, though nobody has told
our local wild primroses that, thank goodness! That's why you read the
advice on dividing them and of course, it increases your stock of a
particular plant. Don't take off the leaves because they're what
nourish the roots of the plant. If you find you have too many, you
could wait for them to finish flowering, then dig them up and pot them.
Then you could either give them to friends or to local fairs and
fetes for plant stalls.
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials
South Devon

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2009-05-05 07:16:46 +0100, bob said:


As pretty as they can sometimes be, primulas seem to pop up everywhere
in my garden almost as invasively as weeds, yet after a cursory web
search I read quite a bit of advice about digging them up after
flowering, dividing them and then replanting. This seems quite an
elaborate procedure for something that survives all to happily without
any intervention from me. Am I'm missing something?

Can anyone advise. Just leave them be? Can one trim of the leaves
before they start to yellow and become unsightly?

thanks for any help.

They can become less floriferous if overcrowded, though nobody has told
our local wild primroses that, thank goodness! That's why you read the
advice on dividing them and of course, it increases your stock of a
particular plant. Don't take off the leaves because they're what nourish
the roots of the plant. If you find you have too many, you could wait
for them to finish flowering, then dig them up and pot them. Then you
could either give them to friends or to local fairs and fetes for plant
stalls.
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials
South Devon


I agree entirely with Sacha, but would add that Primula Leaf Spot is now a
persistent problem with most of the primula tribe. This causes leaf
yellowing, but the spotting is usually evident. If you see leaves marked in
this way, it would be worth while removing them. If the leaf spot is left
unchecked, it generally weakens the plant - even our robust native primrose.

Spider

On Tue, 5 May 2009 13:49:44 +0100, "Spider"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2009-05-05 07:16:46 +0100, bob said:

They can become less floriferous if overcrowded, though nobody has told
our local wild primroses that, thank goodness! That's why you read the
advice on dividing them and of course, it increases your stock of a
particular plant. Don't take off the leaves because they're what nourish
the roots of the plant. If you find you have too many, you could wait
for them to finish flowering, then dig them up and pot them. Then you
could either give them to friends or to local fairs and fetes for plant
stalls.
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials
South Devon


I agree entirely with Sacha, but would add that Primula Leaf Spot is now a
persistent problem with most of the primula tribe. This causes leaf
yellowing, but the spotting is usually evident. If you see leaves marked in
this way, it would be worth while removing them. If the leaf spot is left
unchecked, it generally weakens the plant - even our robust native primrose.

Spider

ok - many thanks to you and Sacha for the overview.

I'll keep a lookout for the leaf-spot.

What is the normal life-cycle of the leaf from now on - what should I
expect? Do the green leaves, if healthy, remain from now until next
spring.

bob wrote:
On Tue, 5 May 2009 13:49:44 +0100, "Spider"
wrote:

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2009-05-05 07:16:46 +0100, bob said:

They can become less floriferous if overcrowded, though nobody has told
our local wild primroses that, thank goodness! That's why you read the
advice on dividing them and of course, it increases your stock of a
particular plant. Don't take off the leaves because they're what nourish
the roots of the plant. If you find you have too many, you could wait
for them to finish flowering, then dig them up and pot them. Then you
could either give them to friends or to local fairs and fetes for plant
stalls.
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials
South Devon

I agree entirely with Sacha, but would add that Primula Leaf Spot is now a
persistent problem with most of the primula tribe. This causes leaf
yellowing, but the spotting is usually evident. If you see leaves marked in
this way, it would be worth while removing them. If the leaf spot is left
unchecked, it generally weakens the plant - even our robust native primrose.

Spider

ok - many thanks to you and Sacha for the overview.

I'll keep a lookout for the leaf-spot.

What is the normal life-cycle of the leaf from now on - what should I
expect? Do the green leaves, if healthy, remain from now until next
spring.
A little off topic, however I have 2 clumps of wild primroses that
appeared in my garden. I was hoping that last year they would spread by
seeding but have not done so. Can I successfully lift and divide them,
without losing them? If so when would be the best time please?

--
Please reply to group,emails to designated
address are never read.

On 2009-05-05 16:41:27 +0100, Broadback said:

bob wrote:
On Tue, 5 May 2009 13:49:44 +0100, "Spider"
wrote:

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2009-05-05 07:16:46 +0100, bob said:

They can become less floriferous if overcrowded, though nobody has told
our local wild primroses that, thank goodness! That's why you read the
advice on dividing them and of course, it increases your stock of a
particular plant. Don't take off the leaves because they're what
nourish the roots of the plant. If you find you have too many, you
could wait for them to finish flowering, then dig them up and pot them.
Then you could either give them to friends or to local fairs and fetes
for plant stalls.
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials
South Devon

I agree entirely with Sacha, but would add that Primula Leaf Spot is
now a persistent problem with most of the primula tribe. This causes
leaf yellowing, but the spotting is usually evident. If you see leaves
marked in this way, it would be worth while removing them. If the leaf
spot is left unchecked, it generally weakens the plant - even our
robust native primrose.

Spider
ok - many thanks to you and Sacha for the overview.

I'll keep a lookout for the leaf-spot.

What is the normal life-cycle of the leaf from now on - what should I
expect? Do the green leaves, if healthy, remain from now until next
spring.
A little off topic, however I have 2 clumps of wild primroses that
appeared in my garden. I was hoping that last year they would spread by
seeding but have not done so. Can I successfully lift and divide them,
without losing them? If so when would be the best time please?

You can divide them in autumn. Every time I try to collect seed from
them, we seem to have terrible weather and I don't find any (or
something happens to distract me) so that may have affected yours last
year. They're obviously seeding if they've simply appeared by chance
so you may be luckier than me and be able to find some and divide your
plants as well, increasing your stock in two ways. ;-) Round here,
they flower well into May so be vigilant as to the flowering time of
yours if you want to find seed. We have great sheets of them on banks
round here and some are turning pink here and there so I imagine they
can be quite promiscuous if near the cultivated types!
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials
South Devon

Broadback writes
bob wrote:
On Tue, 5 May 2009 13:49:44 +0100, "Spider"
wrote:

ok - many thanks to you and Sacha for the overview.
I'll keep a lookout for the leaf-spot.
What is the normal life-cycle of the leaf from now on - what should

expect? Do the green leaves, if healthy, remain from now until next
spring.

They die back quite a bit in winter and then there's a big burst of
growth in spring.

A little off topic, however I have 2 clumps of wild primroses that
appeared in my garden. I was hoping that last year they would spread by
seeding but have not done so. Can I successfully lift and divide them,
without losing them? If so when would be the best time please?

You should be able to. When you lift them, you may find that they have
divided into several closely packed plants. You can tease them apart
gently and replant them separately. Keep them well watered after
replanting. Sometime in the next 6 weeks would be a good time. Don't try
to divide the clumps if they haven't already separated themselves.

You could also harvest the ripe seeds and sow them in a seed tray. They
germinate better if planted after harvesting rather than kept till next
spring. But they may require chilling - keep the soil moist (putting the
whole seed tray into a plastic bag is good), and if nothing has happened
by autumn, leave the seed tray outside over winter, and with luck you'll
get a whole mass of seedlings as the weather warms up in the spring.


--
Kay

In message , K
writes
ok - many thanks to you and Sacha for the overview.
I'll keep a lookout for the leaf-spot.
What is the normal life-cycle of the leaf from now on - what should
expect? Do the green leaves, if healthy, remain from now until next
spring.

They die back quite a bit in winter and then there's a big burst of
growth in spring.

They also often die back in the summer if they dry out.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message , K
writes
ok - many thanks to you and Sacha for the overview.
I'll keep a lookout for the leaf-spot.
What is the normal life-cycle of the leaf from now on - what should
expect? Do the green leaves, if healthy, remain from now until next
spring.

They die back quite a bit in winter and then there's a big burst of
growth in spring.

They also often die back in the summer if they dry out.
I've tried for a couple of years to germinate (bought) seeds, to no
avail, I'll try the wild ones this year. Many thanks for all the tips

--
Please reply to group,emails to designated
address are never read.

On Tue, 5 May 2009 22:32:49 +0100, Stewart Robert Hinsley
wrote:

In message , K
writes
ok - many thanks to you and Sacha for the overview.
I'll keep a lookout for the leaf-spot.
What is the normal life-cycle of the leaf from now on - what should
expect? Do the green leaves, if healthy, remain from now until next
spring.

They die back quite a bit in winter and then there's a big burst of
growth in spring.

They also often die back in the summer if they dry out.

I'd say it's moist enough here, but I notice they're almost all
starting to yellow a bit with a couple showing signs of leaf-spot.

I think I'm going to remove unsightly leaves come what may. There's
usually more primula than I need anyway and they evidently don't mind
being moved about when they start flowering.