Hello, all!

I've had two tiny little primrose plants growing in a shaded bed since I moved here three years ago. I'm not super familiar with primrose but last year I saw them in a woodland garden a township over and they were brilliant and full, and BIG! This person had them planted in partial shade under a Magnolia on their front lawn. I never knew they could look that good and I'm suddenly questioning my teeny tiny primroses that have never breached the 4" mark!

Their garden bed gets only dappled light in the morning, soil drains well but it's also prone to drying out too quickly especially when it's hot. I've tried to mulch the bed they're in but it's a small hill and the mulch has a tendency to shift and roll off onto the brick patio (no thanks to the local wildlife).

Now most of my backyard is comprised of similar garden beds. The ones by the pines tend to be the driest. There's one by an oak tree that retains lots of moisture and has a lot of organic matter pumped into it, it's mostly shade with a little afternoon sun. My side garden by the house doesn't dry out as badly, but it's well mulched, and it gets afternoon sun. Which location would serve my primrose better? Is it ok to move them now or should I transplant in the fall?

Thanks!

Some varieties are short, staying tight and close to the foliage and others send up taller stems.
Here is our database with many photos of all different varieties and sizes. The ones listed first are species then the named cultivars alphabetically. Personably I plant tiny short ones in a pot by my back door so I can enjoy them up close.
https://garden.org/plants/brow...

A couple of database photos for examples:

Calif_Sue said: Some varieties are short, staying tight and close to the foliage and others send up taller stems.
Here is our database with many photos of all different varieties and sizes. The ones listed first are species then the named cultivars alphabetically. Personably I plant tiny short ones in a pot by my back door so I can enjoy them up close.
https://garden.org/plants/brow...

Thank you! I never even considered it could be this specific variety is small. They've only managed to bloom well for one year, so I think I should still try to transplant them elsewhere. This bed gets a lot animal traffic and squirrels have dug my primrose up in the past. I might shift them into the more fertile bed with the rocks. I was suprised to find a young pulmonaria doing exceptionally well in amongst the rocks, perhaps the primula will too.

Here's a photo of the one year they performed really well, otherwise they've been small, stunted and seldom flower any more.

Did you take any pics of those plants that you saw?

purpleinopp said: Did you take any pics of those plants that you saw?

Unfortunately I didn't, and it's such a large town I'd be hard-pressed to find which house it was, they're all old farmhouses with magnolias lol. I remember them not being as clustered together as mine, and without the long stalks, they were in shorter formations with large blooms almost like icicle pansies, and they were orange.

Maybe they were these:
http://www.degoedebrothers.com...
They look about right and it would certainly explain the size. I'd love to buy them if I ever find them in our nurseries.

I hope you find something you like! : )

Our perennial garden is in zone 5b and we rely on primulas and other plants for flower colour in the spring. Our garden is sunny and reliably watered. The primulas and other spring-flowering plants are exposed to the spring and fall sun, but not to the hot sun in summer. In the latter case, they are completely shaded, underneath taller summer and early fall flowering (non-woody) perennials. The latter are cut back in fall to enable the sun (and rain in fall) to get to the spring flowering perennials.

We have a variety of (traditional) primrose, cowslip and hybrid forms, including a number of older and newer cultivars. The other primula that does very well in our garden is Japanese primula, which seeds itself across parts of the garden. Personally, I'd avoid seeding (as well as running) perennials, but Primula japonica (only have 'Miller's Crimson') seems to be a very unobtrusive/gentle spreader.
A mid May:

Japanese primula: a late May (not reached their candelabra form yet).

So pretty!!

Thanks, Tiffany.
And the best thing is that they're so hardy and easy to grow in our sort of growing conditions. Luck!
Still, there's other Primula which take huge effort to maintain here; such as needing to be in artificial bog beds.

My pleasure! I've always loved those. I bought a few in OH but they didn't turn out as great as yours.

I think you should put them both in the "oak bed". Although, since you have 2, you could do an experiment and put one in each place. In my zone 5 experience, primroses are happier in shade. Moving them now should be fine, especially since they're small and you can get a generously-sized root ball with them.

AuntieEm said: I think you should put them both in the "oak bed". Although, since you have 2, you could do an experiment and put one in each place. In my zone 5 experience, primroses are happier in shade. Moving them now should be fine, especially since they're small and you can get a generously-sized root ball with them.

This is a good idea, thank you!
They have bloomed again this year but they are still very tiny (blooms are less than dime sized and somewhat malformed). I'll try splitting them up and see who performs better next year.