Primula rosea Grandiflora - Primrose

The Primula rosea 'Grandiflora' is a beautiful improvement of a small Himalayan primrose called the Rose Primrose. More vigorous than its ancestor but also more floriferous, this small perennial of moist to wet soils is appreciated for its generous clusters of flowers of a particularly vivid and bright pink, enhanced by a small yellow heart. They appear in early spring, before the emergence of its large wavy leaves of a beautiful deep green. Very perennial, it completely disappears in winter to come back even stronger in spring. It will find its place in a fresh rockery or near water features, in a sunny or semi-shady position.

The Primula rosea 'Grandiflora' is a robust horticultural variety, derived from the Primula rosea, a small herbaceous perennial native to high altitude areas of Tibet, where it grows from 2700 to 4000 m (8858 to 13123ft). Primroses belong to the primrose family.

In March-April, while the foliage is still in bud form, short flower stems appear, 15 cm (6in) tall, sometimes extending up to 40 cm (16in), bearing terminal clusters of 4 to 12 flowers, 2.5 to 3 cm (1in) in diameter, in open cups composed of petals of a true, very vivid pink, slightly lighter in the throat surrounding a small bright yellow heart. The beautiful foliage of 'Grandiflora' develops when the flowering is well underway, in small rosettes on the ground, emerging from the short underground rhizome. The large lanceolate leaves, with dentate margins, completely deciduous in winter, 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8in) long and 4 cm (2in) wide, with a wavy appearance, are a deep green. They are carried by a petiole that elongates during growth.

The 'Grandiflora' rose primrose is easy to grow and particularly thrives in humus-rich, consistently moist to wet soil, not too shady, conditions that can be found in damp rockeries, around ponds or on the edges of a small waterfall. This plant pairs well with astilbes, Lysimachia, African lilies, physostegia or houttuynia on the banks of a water feature. In an alpine rockery, it can be combined with small ferns (Adiantum), carex, Alchemilla, other primroses, snowdrops and violets.

Most of the primroses in our gardens are perennials, sometimes annuals, rarely shrubs. Their cultivation can be very easy or on the contrary very difficult. Often, the climate is a determining factor for their survival; some species die if the summer temperature is too high, others if the winter is too wet, or too cold, etc. It is a complex genus, which we have been cultivating for 25 years, but to understand the very different ways of living of all the rare species, you need to spend a lot of time with them and know that they do not forgive any mistakes. The ones in this catalogue do not all offer the same degree of difficulty, but they can all be grown by a careful amateur.  it's up to you to choose the ones you think you can master the cultivation of!