My favourite Primulas

Primula 'Inverewe' is unquestionably the queen of the candelabras. No other has the same gorgeous red flowers. I grew this one in Horsham in the early 1990s, after I was lucky enough to find one at a local garden centre.

Here is P beesiana. This species is much more readily available and can be found at good garden centres. The lovely pink flowers look good when planted with P bulleyana, whose flowers are a characteristic orange.

P cockburniana is a dainty little rockery plant that flowers in mid-late spring. This one I grew in a planter in Nottingham. The plants are not long-lived, but can be propagatated by collecting and immediately planting the seed each year after flowering. Spread a thin layer of perlite on top of the compost, dampen with water, then sow the seeds directly onto this without covering, as light assists their germination.

This cream-coloured gem is P chionantha. Its leaves are straighter and fleshier than some of the other Primulas, and sometimes bear an attractive white powerdy coating that is called farina.

This is a lovely example of P auricula. This species is widely cultivated by enthusiasts, and many named varieties are available - including a beauty called 'Adrian' whose flowers also have red outsides!
See the farina deposits on the leaves in the foreground.