Indoor primrose: home care and breeding options

Primula is a small ornamental plant, the flowering season of which begins in early spring. Another name is primrose, it takes root both in open soil and at home.

What does primrose look like?

The primrose flower is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the Primrose family. The leaves are painted in gray-green shades, often monochromatic. They have the shape of an elongated oval that tapers downward. Depending on the variety, the edges of the leaves are even or serrated, the surface is smooth or embossed. The leaves are covered with fine nap, soft and slightly fluffy to the touch.

The height of the flowering stem usually does not exceed 25-50 cm; a bunch of leaves grows at its base, which is placed on top of the soil. At the top of the peduncle is an umbrella-shaped inflorescence, which consists of a group of flowers. There are varieties with a short stem and single flowers. Flowers can be colored yellow, purple, white and red, as well as pink and lilac shades. The petals can be solid or variegated, the core of the flower is often yellow.

Pink flowers

Flower in full growth

Common varieties

There are about 20 varieties of primrose that take root in the climatic conditions of the middle lane, these include:

• Primula ordinary stemless reaches no more than 20 cm in height. The leaves are oval in shape, the surface is ribbed, painted in a rich green color. The inflorescences consist of flowers with a diameter of 3-4 cm, the color can be different. Flowering begins in April and ends in July;
• Primula officinalis spring Is a perennial plant that is found in wild forests, fields and meadows. It takes root well in garden plots. The length of the flowering stem is within 15-25 cm, the leaves are oblong with an uneven surface and jagged edges. Flowers are yellow, collected in an umbrella-shaped inflorescence;
• Primrose varieties ear it takes root well in rocky areas, its leaves are tougher. The surface of the sheet is smooth and glossy, colored green with a gray tint. The flower-bearing stem is high, growing up to 20-25 cm in length. Above is a spike-shaped inflorescence, which consists of 6 yellow flowers;
• Small-toothed primrose - This is a large plant, its height reaches 30 cm. The leaves are oval and wide, the surface is embossed with teeth at the edges. The leaves grow up to 40 cm in length. The inflorescence has the shape of a ball with a diameter of 8-10 cm, consists of tubular flowers 10-15 cm in size. The flowers bloom in April-May, are painted in white, red, purple or purple;
• Viala primrose, or Orchid, differs from other varieties, outwardly it does not look like an ordinary primrose. The plant was bred in China, it takes root well in moist soil. A flowering stem up to 20 cm high with a bloom along its entire length, it is crowned with an inflorescence with bell-shaped buds. During flowering, Viale primrose resembles lavender flowers in shape and color;
• Primrose varieties Siebold - a perennial plant, named after a botanist who first brought several plant varieties to Europe from Japan. An umbrella-shaped inflorescence can include from 5 to 15 flowers at a time, the color is white, lilac or purple;
• Terry primrose was bred by breeders, its distinctive feature is a large number of petals when compared with other varieties. Outwardly, the flowers resemble small lush roses, they can be white, red and pink;
• Primrose variety Obkonika - a small plant that takes root well at home. A plant with a lush rosette of leaves does not exceed 30 cm in height. Large flowers grow up to 8 cm in diameter, have a rounded shape and gather in umbrella inflorescences. It blooms almost all year long with a break in the summer;
• Wild primrose - a plant on the basis of which all other varieties and varieties are derived. Grows in the wild, in forests and fields;
• Japanese garden primrose - a perennial plant, belongs to the candelabra group due to the multi-tiered arrangement of inflorescences. The main stem grows up to 40-50 cm in height, the leaves are oblong, at the base they are connected in a symmetrical bunch. The flowers are colored in different shades of red and pink.

History of appearance

It is not known exactly when the primrose appeared; even in ancient times, people knew about its medicinal properties. There are several legends about the origin of the flower. One of them says that the Apostle Peter was the keeper of the keys to Paradise, and one day he learned that evil spirits had forged his keys. Peter was frightened and, through his imprudence, dropped the bundle to the ground, later a flower grew on this place, which reminded him of this incident. The primrose inflorescence upside down looks like a bunch of keys. Translated from German, the name of the flower sounds like "Peter's Keys" or "Keys of Heaven."

Yellow inflorescence

Home care

A perennial primrose, planting and caring for which takes a little time, will delight with lush flowering until the beginning of summer. The plant requires a certain air temperature and regular watering, it is also necessary to choose the right land for planting.

Humidity

The percentage of air humidity for primrose is not very important, the plant takes root both in dry and in humid rooms. In the hot season, the leaves can dry out, so that this does not happen, it is necessary to irrigate them every day with settled water from a spray bottle.

Temperature

For primrose, it is important to observe the temperature regime, the flower does not tolerate heat well. The ideal air temperature for a primrose is 15-18 ° C, in summer it should be within 20 ° C. In the cold season, the plant should stand in a cool room, on a loggia or balcony. If the flower pot is on the windowsill, it is better to choose rooms with windows facing West, North or East.

Flower on the windowsill

Watering

During the flowering season, primrose requires a lot of moisture, it needs to be watered regularly. The soil in a flower pot should always be moist, without excess. Primrose does not tolerate a large amount of water that stagnates. Watering rules:

• In autumn and spring, the plant is watered every other day, the amount of water depends on the volume of the pot. Pour water in portions until the soil becomes moist;
• In winter, the plant is watered every 2-3 days or as the soil dries up;
• In the hot season, primroses are watered every day;
• Water for irrigation should settle in open containers for several days. Do not immediately use tap water;

Earth mixture

Primrose, home care for which includes watering and feeding, should be planted in a special soil mixture. The soil for the primrose must be nutritious and loose. A drainage layer of small pebbles or vermiculite with a height of 1-2 cm is laid out at the bottom of the pot. For the soil mixture, it is necessary to mix in the same proportions:

• Leafy soil;
• Sand;
• Peat soil.

For planting the primrose of the Obkonika variety, you need to additionally add 1 part of sod soil.

Until the buds form, the soil cannot be fertilized, because only the leaves will begin to grow. Fertilizer is applied during the entire flowering season, every 7-10 days. Any liquid complex fertilizer for flowering plants is used as a top dressing. You need to use it in small quantities.

Plant transplant

Indoor primrose is sold in small containers, it must be transplanted immediately after purchase. Also, adult plants over 3-4 years old are transplanted to a new place.

To transplant primrose, it is important to choose the right pot, its volume should be 2-3 times the upper part of the plant with leaves. There should be holes at the bottom of the pot for excess water to escape. You can buy ready-made soil for primrose or make it yourself by mixing sand, peat and deciduous soil in equal proportions.

How to transplant:

1. Dig up the plant carefully. If the roots are intertwined, there is no need to untangle them, it is enough to shake off the excess soil. Primroses have thin and fragile roots that break easily;
2. Drainage is laid out on the bottom of the pot, the layer thickness is from 1 to 3 cm, depending on the size of the pot;
3. On top of the drainage layer, it is necessary to fill in 3-4 cm of prepared soil and compact it with your hands so that the roots of the plant do not touch the drainage;
4. The plant must be placed in a pot, covered with earth on the sides. There is no need to compact the soil;
5. The flower needs to be watered with settled water. The soil can be compacted and settle, in this case it is necessary to add more land mixture.

Primrose root system

Reproduction methods

Primrose owners can easily propagate the plant in different ways. Both purple and yellow indoor primrose can be propagated by seed or by dividing the plant into parts.

Seeds

Growing from seeds is more commonly used for primroses growing in the garden. At home, you need enough time for the seed to germinate. You need to plant seeds in June-July, how to do it correctly:

1. First you need to prepare a container for planting, it should be low;
2. The container is filled with an earth mixture intended for planting primrose. The layer height should be 2-3 cm;
3. Primrose seeds are small and do not need to be buried deeply. It is enough to put them on top of the ground and tangle them a little;
4. The container is covered with foil or plastic, placed in a cool place. The temperature should be between 15-19 ° C.

Sprouts in the ground

The soil in the pot should always be moist, but not soggy. Every day you need to remove the film to ventilate the soil with seeds. The first shoots will appear in 14-20 days.

By dividing the bush

For indoor plants, vegetative propagation is most often used. The plant, along with the root system, is cut into several parts. Only adult primroses, at least 3-4 years old, can be divided. How to do it correctly:

1. The plant is carefully pulled out of the pot, the excess soil is shaken off;
2. Rinse the roots with cold running water, put on a dry cloth.Excess water should drain off;
3. Using a sharp knife, the bush is divided into 2-3 parts. Each piece should have 1 growth point - the upper part of the main shoot;
4. The sections must be immediately treated with charcoal powder.

All cut parts of the bush must be planted immediately in the ground, otherwise they may dry out.

Forcing primrose

Forcing is the process of accelerating plant growth. For flowering ones, it is carried out by February 14 and March 8, when the demand for flowers increases several times.

Many pots of flowers

Primroses grown from seeds are suitable for forcing; their age must be at least 2 years. If the flower was propagated by dividing, you need to use plants older than 3 years. Forcing is carried out in several stages:

1. Primroses are planted in open ground at a distance of 15-20 cm between seedlings. The soil should be rich in humus, a plot of 50 m² is fertilized with 3-4 kg of superphosphate and 1 kg of potassium sulfate. Additionally, you can add 100-150 kg of compost or manure;
2. In April-May, seedlings need to be fed once with liquid fertilizers. A 10: 1 mixture of water and manure is suitable;
3. Before the onset of frost, street primroses are dug up together with a large piece of earth;
4. The dug out plants are planted in prepared containers or immediately in pots in which they remain. Fill the pots with a mixture of sand and peat or an earth mixture for replanting evening primrose. There is no need to feed the soil, otherwise only leaves will begin to grow;
5. The planted plants are stored in basements at a temperature of 5-9 ° C. If the frosts are light, storage in outdoor covered greenhouses, which are sprinkled with dry foliage for the winter;
6. From the end of January to the beginning of February, the plants are transferred to a lighted room, the air temperature should be within 17 ° C. During the week, primrose is watered every 2 days with a small amount of water, the previous irrigation regime is gradually resumed.

Some varieties bloom in April, some start blooming in February. In the spring, these primroses can be planted on the site, after a few years they can be reused for forcing.

Primroses are flowers that take root equally well in different conditions, including at home. If the primrose is properly looked after, it will delight for a long time with its appearance, bright coloring and pleasant aroma.