"Ken Riley" wrote in message
...
I've just received some primula viallii plants in the post and was
wondering whether they could go out into the border straight away. I
had a look in Hessayon but he's very vague on which primulas like wet.
My border is boggy and cold in the winter (though p.denticulata do
very well in it). They are in pots and very little showing except
tiny shoots in a few of them. If I shouldn't put them out will they
be ok outside unprotected or should I put them in the greenhouse
(slightly heated but drops below freezing when very cold). I am
rapidly running out of room in the house - all windowsills full!

TIA

Joan in Bramhall (Cheshire)

Michael Wright's "Handbook of Garden Plants" suggests growing in a light,
rich soil in cool, light shade. I have grown them from seed, but I find they
rarely survive more than one year even though they are supposedly perennial.
They are described as moderately hardy so they should be OK for now in a
garage or unheated greenhouse unless we get Siberian weather conditions.

Bevan (St. Helens, Lancashire)

On Thu, 13 Feb 2003 18:29:43 -0000, "Bevan Price"
wrote:

...I find they
rarely survive more than one year even though they are supposedly perennial.

I wouldn't call them perennial at all. Monocarpic is a better
description -- they live until they flower and set seed, then
it's game over. Sometimes they last a year, sometimes two, even
three, years. Some individuals will survive longer, but even
those aren't long-lived.

They are described as moderately hardy so they should be OK for now in a
garage or unheated greenhouse unless we get Siberian weather conditions.

Bonehardy as far as I know, but they may take exception to winter
wet.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada