Primula

Hi,
I’ve already seen primulas on sale in my local supermarkets like Tesco in Yorkshire. If I purchase these, can I plant them straight out? I always assumed they were a march flowering plant ?

m thanks

 

The ones I planted out in the autumn have flowered all the way through the winter. I've just bought a new batch and they will go straight outside.

Out in the country lanes I found primroses flowering at the end of December.

 

They've probably been grown inside a greenhouse or something so I would wait.
I bought some yesterday in B&M Bargains and I'm going to put them in a cold frame for now. It's near the kitchen so I'll be able to see them from there.

 

I’m in York - okay I’m guessing mid March at earliest then? Wonder why supermarkets have them on display now

 

I’ve never seen that in Yorkshire. Lucky you! Maybe you’re quite far south ? We are still getting minus 4 frosts here. I’m not sure primulas can tolerate frost .

 

They want to make money. They don't care whether the plants will survive or not.

 

Yes, I'm in Somerset. We haven't had any frosts in the last week and there's none forecast for the next week or so. My new primulas are now planted out and looking very pretty under the silver birches. The variety is called "Cottage Cream".

 

The Primulas on sale now, in full flower, have been grown under protection and will be very soft, also most are hybrids with larger flowers than the wild form.

They dont die if you plant them out now, but they do go backwards and take a long time to recover for spring, in my experience.