Description
Common name: Primrose. Sabhaircín.
General:
This population originates from Co Down. Irish Grid reference: J594448.
Perennial, this little beauty needs no introduction.
Benefits:
One of our first flowers to emerge in springtime it greatly helps queen bumble bees who need to visit around 6,000 flowers a day to get their nest established with workers. So the primrose benefits the early or buff-tailed bumble bee.
This species hybridises readily with primula cultivars. By using native-origin seeds and plants you are helping preserve native Irish primroses.
Habitat:
Hedgerows, verges, banks and woodlands.
Sowing guidelines:
Sow early autumn, protect from mice and leave in a cold frame over winter. The first flush of germination will come in spring so prick these out gently into modules. Find a cool, shady spot, keep moist and leave the rest of the tray alone. Keep an eye on it for your second flush of germination, we’ve found that this is the better one, with more plants emerging. Prick these out too. Keep going until no more emerge.
Plant out when they’re large enough to handle. They’re ok in grass as long as you allow them to establish while grass is low, the flowers tend to be going over and setting seed as the grass takes over again. Mice love the seeds, so if you want a harvest collect early, around July.
Cultural history:
The flowers are great in salads, since this is a protected species (schedule 8 of the Wildlife Act NI), just use your own cultivated plants from these seeds.
Avg contents: 150 seeds.
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