Native Bulbs

Vegetable Seeds

Primrose
Primula vulgaris

Other Names:  First Rose
Distribution/Habitat:  This is the native Wild Primrose, which was once common in the wild throughout British woodlands, hedgerows and grassy places. It prefers a shady site where the soil doesn’t dry out.  
Description:  One of our favourite native Spring flowers – and one of the earliest!  It is a short plant with yellow flowers from February to May and sometimes even earlier during a mild winter.  The flowers may not be pollinated as it blooms when few insects are about. Shakespeare wrote of ‘pale primroses that die unmarried’ in The Winter’s Tale. 
Uses: The flowers were used in the preparation of love potions in the Middle Ages. 
Wildlife: Night-flying insects do sometimes pollinate the flowers and it is a very valuable early food source for moths.

Sowing Instructions for Seeds:  Ideally, sow in the autumn in trays kept outdoors so that the seeds are naturally stratified (periods of alternating warmth and cold). At other times, sow and keep at around 22°C for 1-2 months. Cool for 1-2 months (around 0°C) in a fridge. Then warmer (around 10°C) for about a month. It may be necessary to repeat this process if using the fridge method. Germination is inhibited by temperatures above 20°C.

Our plants and seeds are of native British origin.