Successful Cultivation Of Polyanthus Primroses. Reproduction

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

The first spring flowers cause the greatest delight. After a harsh winter, bright colors are especially pleasing to the eye of gardeners. I would like to extend this charm for a longer time. How to propagate your favorite polyanthus primroses?

Reproduction methods

For polyanthus primrose, two methods of reproduction are used:

• seed;

• vegetative

The first option gives a lot of different colors, fancy combinations. Inflorescences are pollinated mainly by bees, wasps, bumblebees. Flying from different varieties, they bring pollen. The result is incredible petal colors.

The second method is more often used by gardeners to preserve the variety.

Let's consider both methods in more detail.

Seed reproduction

Primroses of hybrid origin do not need mandatory stratification. Their germination directly depends on freshness. Two-year stocks are losing 40% of their original value.

Experts have proven that seedlings adapt better with winter sowing. Before the onset of persistent frosts, take a small container. Drainage holes are pierced. Fill it with loose nutrient soil. Fresh seeds are laid out on the surface without embedding, trying to evenly distribute them over the entire area. The dish is dropped on the garden bed in a shady place in the garden. Mark the place with sticks.

After the snow melts, the arches are installed over the container. Stretch the film. They monitor soil moisture by watering crops in a timely manner. After 2-3 weeks, the first seedlings appear

In the phase of 3 true leaves, the plants dive into the beds, gently with tweezers, trying to disturb the thin roots less. The growth point is not deepened, placing it slightly above the ground. The distance is set in a row of 20 cm, a row spacing of 25 cm.

Over the summer, the seedlings will get stronger, form a lush rosette of leaves. At the end of August, they are transplanted to a permanent place.

Many gardeners recommend sowing primrose at home in bowls, then putting it in the refrigerator for a month or burying it in the snow near the house. Perhaps, this technique helps store seeds to increase the yield of planting material, to increase the number of sprouts that hatch.

My personal experience shows that when sowing in early spring, immediately under the film in the open ground, the seeds germinate well without cold stratification. At the same time, plants do not need time to get used to outdoor conditions, unlike home seedlings.

Sometimes, near the main bushes, abundant self-seeding is observed. From it, you can choose the strongest specimens with the petal color you like. This once again proves the correctness of the judgment that the polyanthus primrose does not need to go through the cold period to increase the germination of the seed.

Dividing the bush

In the middle of summer, after flowering, they begin vegetative propagation of primrose. Three-year-old plants grow many daughter rosettes, create dense curtains. Together they become cramped. If you leave the bush unchanged, then over time it may die.

Dig up the plant completely. With a sharp knife, they carefully divide the mother plant into parts, trying to grab the root system from the main bush. If, as a result of division, children with small daughter roots are obtained, they are first planted under a film shelter. There, favorable conditions are created for building up a good nutritional mass.

Large parcels are planted in a permanent place. Young plants direct all their efforts to restore the lost part, do not lay buds for autumn flowering. The buds appear in early spring the following year.

According to my observations, an interesting pattern occurs: division stimulates the formation of more daughter outlets. 2 years after this procedure, the volume of the bush returns to its previous size.

We will consider the conditions of care, getting our own seeds in the next article.