Primula 'Rhubarb and Custard' (Pr/Poly)

RHS Plant Profile
primrose 'Rhubarb and Custard'

Save a plant

Where do you want to save Primula 'Rhubarb and Custard' (Pr/Poly)?

Plants I own
Wishlist
Go to My Plants
primrose 'Rhubarb and Custard' RHS / Joanna Kossak
primrose 'Rhubarb and Custard' RHS / Joanna Kossak
Herbaceous Perennial

A rosette-forming semi-evergreen perennial with green leaves and clusters of orange-yellow flowers with pink frilly edges which appear in the from January to April

Position

Full sun, Partial shade

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

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

Chalk Clay Loam Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun Partial shade
Aspect
East–facing or South–facing or West–facing
Exposure
Exposed or 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)
H7

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Primulaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Semi evergreen
Habit
Bushy
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
Accepted
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

Polyanthus group primulas are rosette-forming perennials with umbels of salver-shaped flowers. They are usually grown as biennials by sowing seed in summer and planting out in autumn for flowers in winter and spring.

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in moderately fertile, moist but well-drained, humus-rich soil. See Primroses and polyanthus cultivation

Propagation

Propagate by division in autumn or early spring

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Patio and container plants
  • Rock garden
  • Banks and slopes
  • Flower borders and beds
  • Underplanting of roses and shrubs

Pruning

Cut back after flowering

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, glasshouse red spider mite, leafhoppers, vine weevil and slugs

Diseases

May be susceptible to grey moulds, primula brown core, primula leaf spot and a virus