Add spring cheer with Primulas

In borders or pots, primulas are a welcome reminder that winter will soon be over. Louise Curley reveals how to make the most of this varied and colourful species

- Louise Curley

THERE can be few plants that raise the spirits in spring as much as the primrose, with its dainty, pale yellow blooms adding a welcome splash of brightness to hedgerows and deciduous woodland. This native flower is one of many primulas, a diverse group of plants that includes auriculas from the mountains of central Europe, candelabra primulas from Asia, blowsy polyanthus plants, and the slightly tender P. obconic, which can be grown as a houseplant.

Popular as pollinators

Primulas are great for pollinating insects – cowslips and primroses, for example, are a food source for the rare Duke of Burgundy butterfly. Primroses can be in bloom in mild winters as early as December, when they will provide invaluable nectar for bees tempted to fly, and they’ll continue flowering into April. Asiatic primulas will extend the flowering season into July. In the garden, plant where their natural habitats are replicated. Shade and moisture-loving Asiatic primulas are perfect for around the edges of streams and ponds, or in bog gardens.

Primroses and oxlips will be happy beneath deciduous trees and shrubs, and in lightly shaded corners, out of the way of any hot, early summer sunshine. Cowslips, on the other hand, grow in open pastureland so are ideal for naturalizing in patches of sunny grass that can be left uncut until mid-July. All need neutral to acid soil – except for the cowslip and oxlip, which thrive in alkaline conditions.