Primula vialii (So)

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Vial's primrose

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Vial's primrose RHS

Other common names

orchid primrose, red-hot poker primrose

Synonyms

Primula littoniana, Primula viali

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A rosette-forming perennial to 40cm tall, with pear-shaped, pale green leaves which have inrolled margins. In midsummer, upright stems with terminal conical spikes of light violet flowers, 1cm in width, open from red buds, the unopened buds giving the flowering spike a red tip

Position

Partial shade

Soil Types

Loam

Max Height

0.1-0.5 metres

Max Spread

0.1-0.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
2–5 years
Max Spread
0.1-0.5 metres
Max Height
0.1-0.5 metres

Growing Conditions

Loam
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Acid or Neutral

Position

Partial shade
Aspect
North–facing or West–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H5

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Primulaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Clump forming
Genus
Primula are herbaceous or semi-evergreen perennials, forming a basal rosette of simple leaves, with salver-shaped or bell-shaped flowers which may be solitary or carried in an umbel or in whorls on an erect stem
Name Status
Correct
Horticultural Group

Horticultural Classification Codes

Horticultural Classification Codes are often given to genera which have a large number of species or cultivars. They are used to categorise cultivated plants based on specific, shared characteristics such as shape, colour, size or flowering time, and can be displayed as letters or numbers

For example:
Dahlia ‘Sunset Kate (Sin) = Single flower
Rosa ‘Marigold’ (HT) = Hybrid Tea

Soldanelloides primulas form creeping mats of green, deeply pinnate, oval-shaped leaves, with solitary, nodding, funnel-shaped white flowers
Plant Range
SW China

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in deep moist or moist but well-drained neutral to acid, humus-rich soil in partial shade. Sun is tolerated if soil remains consistently moist. See primula cultivation

Propagation

Propagate by division in early spring or propagate by seed sown from autumn to spring

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Rock garden
  • Flower borders and beds
  • Underplanting of roses and shrubs

Pruning

Cut back after flowering

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, vine weevil, slugs, leaf and bud eelworms and glasshouse red spider mite

Diseases

Generally disease-free