Primula auricula
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Read about Primula auricula in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Auricula (Primula Auricula, Linn.). A European perennial, sending up short scapes, bearing flowers of many colors. It is one of the most famous of florists' flowers, but it has never received the attention in this country that it has in Europe. Our summers are generally too hot for it. In this country generally treated as a greenhouse plant; but it is hardy, and in the Old World is grown largely in frames. See Primula. Auriculas grow wild in the mountainous districts of Switzerland, Austria, Syria, and the Caucasus; therefore they are generally regarded as alpine plants, but like many other alpines, they have proved to be excellent subjects for cool greenhouse culture as well as for rock- or alpine-garden culture. In their native habitats, some plants are heavily powdered with a fine mealy substance called "farina, while others are perfectly destitute of it. Under cultivation, also, they show this same characteristic. This has caused fanciers to divide them into two sections; those covered with farina, called show auriculas, and those destitute of it, termed alpine auriculas. The show auriculas have received the most attention at the hands of fanciers. Their flowers are large, and present more combinations in variety of color than the alpine section, and since rains mar their beautiful farina-covered leaves and flowers, they are by far best adapted to greenhouse culture. Like all primulas, the flowers are tubular and borne in erect trusses well above the foliage. Well-grown plants will produce strong trusses with often as many as twenty "pips" or individual flowers. Such a number cannot fully develop, consequently they should be thinned out and only eight or nine flowers allowed to develop on each truss. The tube of the flowers of show auriculas is usually white, with a circle of maroon, violet, plum or chocolate-color above and a margin of green, gray, white, or yellow. In what are called "selfs," the circle of chocolate-maroon, or violet, extends to the edges of the flowers. They are usually very sweet-scented. Alpine auriculas are best adapted for growing in the rock- or alpine-garden since the leaves and flowers are destitute of farina. This section does not exhibit as large a variety of color in the flowers. The tube of the corolla is usually yellow or cream-color with a margin of maroon or purple which shades off toward the edges. The culture given below is the same for both sections except that the alpine section should be planted on the north side of the rock-garden in October, where they will flower the following spring. Auriculas may be propagated by seed for general purposes and for the production of new varieties, but to perpetuate very choice varieties it is necessary to propagate either y offsets or division of the plants. Seed should be sown in shallow pans or 4-inch pots early in March, so that the seedlings will be well developed before very warm weather sets in. The soil used in the seed-pans should be very light and sandy, the surface should be made smooth, and the seeds then- pressed lightly into the soil, after which a light covering of sand should be given, and the pans placed in a temperature of 60° until they have germinated, which usually takes from three to four weeks; pans should then be removed to a light position, shaded from direct sunlight, in a rather lower temperature, to induce a stocky growth. As soon as the seedlings arc large enough to handle conveniently, they should be pricked off into other pans or shallow boxes containing a mixture of three parts leaf- mold and one part sifted loam and clean silver-sand. Watering should be carefully attended to, and everything done to promote active growth, so that, if possible, the plants may be large enough to require a second shift into other boxes, similarly prepared, by the end of June. Auricula seedlings go through the hottest months much better in boxes than in pots, as they can be kept more evenly moist. For their summer quarters, a wooden frame placed on sifted coal-ashes on the north side of a building or wall, or almost any position in which they will be sheltered from the sun and still receive plenty of light, should be given them. The frame should be provided with sash, which should be kept over the plants most of the time, giving air in abundance in favorable weather, and during the warmest weather the whole frame should be raised by placing a brick under each corner, so as to allow a good circulation of air among the plants. About the second week in September the young plants should be potted, using a compost of two parts good fibrous loam, one part leaf-mold, and one part well decayed cow- or sheep-manure, with a little sand added. The frame should be kept a little close for a few days after potting, and from this time care must be taken not to wet the foliage in watering. The plants may remain in the frame until danger of freezing, when they should be transferred to a cool greenhouse for the winter. All decaying leaves should be carefully removed, and but little water will be required during the dull winter months. Toward the end of February the plants will show signs of flowering, when they should be given a top-dressing of pulverized sheep-manure and placed in a light, airy position, in a temperature of 55°. The flowering season lasts about two months, after which the plants should receive their annual potting. All diseased or decayed roots should be cut away, and most of the old soil carefully removed. The propagation of very choice varieties by offsets or division is best done at this time. The pots used in potting should be well drained, and no larger than will just accommodate the plants. The soil best suited is the same as before recommended. After potting, they may be placed in their summer quarters. Offsets should be inserted around the edge of 4-inch pots, using very sandy soil, and kept in a moist, shaded position until rooted. By annually repotting and giving a little extra care during the summer months, a batch of show auriculas will return very satisfactory results, and may be kept in a good, healthy condition for several years.
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Read about Primula auricula in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Primula auricula, Linn. (Auricula lutea, Opiz). Auricula. Low, with a radical rosette of thick obovate-cuneate glabrous or pubescent mealy lvs. 2 or 3 in. long, which are often crenate on the upper part: scape 1-8 in. high (sometimes nearly or quite wanting), usually exceeding the lvs.: fls. in an umbel, sometimes as many as 20, bright yellow and fragrant or inodorous, short-stalked, subtended by minute oval mealy bracts, the segms. obovate-cuneate and emarginate; stamens dimorphous.—This description represents the wild form as understood by J. G. Baker in B.M. 6837. "It is one of the most widely spread of all the species," Baker writes, "as it extends in a wild state from Dauphine and the Jura on the west through Switzerland to Lombardy, the Tyrol, Hungary, and Transylvania." In cult., the plant has run into fls. of many colors. It is possible that some of these forms are hybrid progeny with related species. Baker writes: "What the relation is of this widely spread wild type to the multiform races of the garden Auricula is a subject that still remains to be fully worked out." The cult. forms are of two groups,—those having farina on the lvs. and those without it. Var. albocinota, Hort. Lvs. densely farinaceous, white-margined. The wild form of the species is little known in cult. MacWatt writes that "by nature it flourishes best where it is most at home, amongst the limestone rocks of the Alps, the Apennines, and the Carpathians. In the wild state the flowers are comparatively small, but under cultivation the scape often carries a big head of large-sized flowers." Var. ciliata, Koch (P. ciliata, Moretti. P. Balbisii, Lehm. P. bellunensis, Venzo), has lvs. not farinose, cartilaginous-margined, more or less glandular-pilose, the edges densely long-ciliate: fls. scentless. Var. Obristii, Beck (P. Obristii, Stein. P. similis Stein. P. Balbisii, Beck). Lvs. silvery green, not mealy, more or less glandular-hairy, the margin cartilaginous and ciliate: fls. fragrant, yellow, the calices and pedicels mealy; May-July.—For dry sunny edges or rocks.
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Primula auricula. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
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