Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: rowlandwells on January 04, 2018, 19:34

Title: polyanthus primrose primula
Post by: rowlandwells on January 04, 2018, 19:34
I've never had any inspiration to grow polyanthus but that's not to say I wouldn't like to have a go but because I'm not sure how to grow them from seed we always buy them in flower in trays or pots

so I thought I would ask if anyone grows polyanthus primrose or primula from seed and what advise you could give me because the seed is quite pricy

I have an idea they need cold germination but not sure  :unsure:



Title: Re: polyanthus primrose primula
Post by: mumofstig on January 04, 2018, 20:40
Primroses grow easily from seed - they spread like mad in the wild along hedgerows and the like.
I brought one seedling home from a holiday in Cornwall and now have them popping up all over the garden :)

Perhaps that means that the seed needs to be fresh, rather than from a packet..
I'm not sure about the others, though.
Title: Re: polyanthus primrose primula
Post by: snowdrops on January 04, 2018, 21:00
Ive a feeling I’ve grown them from a packet before, I can’t remember if they needed the cold to germinate,I would have just followed the instructions on the packet. I know I have a packet that I’d meant to sow this autumn/winter. I’ll try & find them out & have a look. I think I got them in 1 of the Wyevale seed sales.
Title: Re: polyanthus primrose primula
Post by: New shoot on January 05, 2018, 11:33
Prims need either to be germinated from very fresh seed, or ideally stored in the fridge until sown.  A lot of woodland plants are like this and the seeds enter a deep state of dormancy if treated otherwise.  I've tried cowslips and native prims from the 50p seed sales and had no success, but a cold treatment may well break them out of dormancy.

The native prims and cowslips self seed all over, the fancier polys and prims don't tend to and the seeds are pricy for all of them.  If you want native plants, it may well be cheaper to buy a couple and let them self seed  :)
Title: Re: polyanthus primrose primula
Post by: rowlandwells on January 05, 2018, 19:33
it sounds a bit of a hit and miss and it mite be better to buy a few razed plants anyway your comments are note and many thanks to all 
Title: Re: polyanthus primrose primula
Post by: Gardener and Rabbit on January 06, 2018, 15:22
I've grown polyanthus from seed a few times. They do prefer to be a bit on the cool side for germination, so I've sown in March, and they've always grown well. Some plants do better than others, but I've always had 30 - 40 decent plants for bedding. It's always fun to see what colours you've got when they flower. They do best the first year, although I've also lifted, split and saved them for a second year. After that it's best to have a break or the vine weevils build up.
Title: Re: polyanthus primrose primula
Post by: rowlandwells on January 13, 2018, 20:27
we bought a tray of polyanthus 15  4'pots for £3.00 quid  good plants in flower very good value from our local G/C couldn't grow um for that price  ;)