Lollipop primulas

Now is the time to plant Asiatic primulas to provide a riot of colour around a pond margin or bog garden in late spring and early summer, says Hazel Sillver

- Hazel Sillver

FROM May to midsummer, moisture-loving Asiatic primulas bloom in a jaw-dropping show of tutti-frutti shades. Whorls of small flowers create lollipop-like clumps of orange, yellow, pink, red and mauve on tall stems, and when planted en masse they will stop you in your tracks.

This magical group of plants includes the long-legged candelabra forms (such as the excellent Primula pulverulenta and P. bulleyana), as well as bells, drumsticks and other gems (including the red and mauve poker primrose, P. vialii). All can be planted now, ready for a sizzling explosion of colour next year.

Humus-rich damp site

Since they hail from Asian uplands, where they grow in meadows that are wet in summer and blanketed with snow in winter, the best place to plant these primulas is in a humus-rich damp site. A bog garden or the side of a pond is ideal. One of the most famous displays is the Streamside garden at RHS Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire (carr is an old word for bog). Over the years, different types of candelabra primulas have bred with each other to create Harlow Carr hybrids.

Indeed, many of the moisture-loving Asiatics are self-sowing and promiscuous, so growing different species together will gradually produce a wealth of new plants in unexpected colours. Some (such as P. florindae) seed themselves with such abandon, they may not suit a small garden. It’s best to prepare the ground well when planting by digging deeply and adding compost, because forking or mulching an established area of bog primulas during their dormant period is tricky. Many are not evergreen and therefore may be dug up or covered by mistake, and scattered seed or seedlings may be disturbed.