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PRIMULA 'VIALII'

motinot

By Motinot

down, Ireland Ie

I have just recieved 5 Primula 'vialii'...(plug plants)...should i put them in the ground...pot them up and put them outside.....keep them in a cold-frame?....thanks in advance...I did have this plant before (love it) but the winter weather got it, dont seem to be as tough as the 'ordinary' Primulas....:>)



Goy..20th_aug__09_016

Answers

 

If they were mine I'd pot them up and keep them outside until the spring when they show signs of growth, then plant them out
Whenever I've bought plug plants and put them straight in the garden I've lost them

20 Aug, 2009

 

I agree - they're too small to go straight out. I'd pot them up and put them in a coldframe over the winter months as a little more protection - outside is fine until then, though!

20 Aug, 2009

 

I always pot up plug plants. Although they are meant to be perennial and hardy since you lost them last winter I would place them in a cold frame or cold greenhouse this winter .

20 Aug, 2009

 

Primula viallii is an Asiatic primula (Japanese, I think) and like a humus rich soil out of the full sun; don't let them get scorched.
The plugs seem nice and healthy. I would pot these up and keep them in a shady area for the moment then put them in the cold frame for winter, as has been suggested.
Does 'down' in your location mean County Down? If so you shoud have suitable weather for these primulas but, like us, I know that you had a prolonged period of really cold weather last winter which, presumably, did for them. P. viallii is a plant that I can only keep going for a year or two before it disappears, so good luck with yours

20 Aug, 2009

 

Thanks everyone....Yes Bulba....Co. Down.....:>)

20 Aug, 2009

 

Bough a new Cold-frame this morning, for my primula....happy days....ps nice to hear from you again Inverglen....:>)

20 Aug, 2009

 

I think it's the combination of cold and wet that does for primula vialii in a typical British winter. I grow mine in a planting basket stood in shallow water in the pond for the growing season and overwintered in a cold greenhouse with no water given. My plants are now four years old

21 Aug, 2009

 

That's an interesting comment, Andrew, I will have to give it some thought.

21 Aug, 2009

 

Me too Bulbah.....thanks Andrew....

21 Aug, 2009

 

Thanks, Andrew and all who commented on the Primula 'vialii'.
I have also bought some this weekend and wondered how best to care for them.
I am terrified the slugs will get them. They looked a bit potbound so I split them, then I potted them up with Vermiculite, compost and pearlite, then after a quick dunk, I spread horticultural gravel over the surface of the pot.
Is there anything there that was wrong?
I can undo anything BEFORE they die. ;-)
I shall try the cold greenhouse trick.
Thanks for that one, Andrew.
:-)
Di

21 Sep, 2011

 

I also love primula vialii ever since I was given a plant 3 years ago. I feared I would loose it and when it was large enough I split it into two and planted them up, one in a large plastic pot and the other in a wooden plant box. Both plants are doing well although the first flower to appear this year was eaten through the stem, on examination I found 6 large caterpillars on the underside of the leaves. I soon got rid of them and the plants have now grown really well and keep producing flowers. I would like to know if the flower heads - which I have left to mature to produce seeds, can be used for this purpose and if so, how? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

26 Aug, 2013

 

I have never tried them from seed Og.....but i know the seed heads form where the flowers were..like a tiny round ball...Carol Klein advises to pick and sow the seed while still green on the top of well drained seed compost and cover with a layer of grit...water and leave somewhere sheltered...Or maybe a cold frame?...Other people say you should allow the seed to ripen before picking and sowing....I suppose you could try both ways....hope this helps...:>)

26 Aug, 2013

 

Thanks Motinot, I will try both methods and see if any germinate. Watch this space.

27 Aug, 2013

 

I shall Og....good luck....:>)

27 Aug, 2013

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