Toothed primrose - types, use in garden design, care

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The small number of varieties and types of section of dentate primrose does not at all reflect their indispensability for landscape design. This is one of the most easily recognizable and abundantly colored categories of primroses. Neat, rounded, bright green rosettes of leaves and huge spherical inflorescences, which seem unusually beautiful, cannot but please. Dozens of soaring bright heads, blooming quite late, are not at all like the modest first spring stars. These plants, dazzling in every sense, are valuable both as ornamental and as cut crops.

Description of dentate primrose

The section of dentate primrose, or denticulate, is one of the smallest among the favorite garden primroses. But at the same time, its importance for modern landscape design is difficult to overestimate. These unique plants with ceremonial appearance are easily recognizable even against the background of much more representative classes of primroses.

Toothed primrose in nature is found only in Asia, they have received special distribution in the Himalayas and in the West of China. Plant breeding is not very active, almost all varieties on the market are time-tested and have become a real classic in garden design.

This unique discharge or section of primrose is easily recognizable by leaf sockets and inflorescences. In dentate leaves, primroses are all rounded - spherical heads of inflorescences and the same neat round rosettes of leaves complement each other perfectly.

Toothed primrose is a very heterogeneous section. Among them there are both perennials with high winter hardiness, and perennials that are not able to withstand winter in the middle lane and even to the south - they are grown as an annual decoration of the garden. But externally the plants are so similar and easily recognizable that no debate can be made about their community and kinship.

The leaves of the plant at the very beginning are folded with unusual spirals. They unfold and change gradually. Starting before flowering from a shallow rosette, the dentate primrose quickly transforms. Along with the growth of the peduncle, the leaves begin to grow. From modest and bright oval leaves, twisted into a spiral, about 5 cm long, they become more elongated, linguistic, reaching a length of 20 cm by the end of flowering and continuing to grow even after its completion, growing to 40 cm in length and creating stunningly beautiful rosettes.

The bushes of dentate primrose always look strictly, they develop in the form of an ideal ornamental outlet, with symmetrical circles of leaves. The power of the leaves should be taken into account, these plants easily drown out more malleable partners, without fear of competition. And the dazzling bright green color of the leaves pleasantly sets them apart from any other garden plants, recalling the bright acrylic colors.

The texture of the leaves is typical of primroses, but the dentate leaves are also distinguished by the powdery coating, which covers both greens and peduncles, and in the primrose capitate - even a cup of flowers. A light thick vein on the leaves emphasizes the brightness of the color.

The flowering of dentate primrose presents a genuine show, because the plant transforms and changes, gradually transforming into a bright, unusually beautiful star. At the very beginning, modest heads of buds with a nondescript dark color sit on short, up to 3 cm, peduncles in tiny rosettes that have not yet begun to unfold leaves.

Over time, flower stalks become thicker and more powerful, more and more boldly extended, and inflorescences increase in size until the soaring flowering spheres rise to a height of 25 cm. For almost 40 days, the primrose is pleased with its soaring heads. And when the seeds begin to ripen, peduncles continue to grow and rise to a height of up to half a meter along with fancy seeds.

Denticulate flowers are small, but not inconspicuous, although their shape is difficult to assess at a glance. Bell-shaped, with a beautiful serrated edge of the corolla petals, each flower of such primroses seems to be a work of art. The flowers sit tightly in spherical capitate inflorescences, which look very massive. The easy flattening of dense balls distinguishes inflorescences of dentate primrose and allows you to distinguish one species from another, but in general, flowering is more than recognizable in any flower garden and is truly unique.

The color scheme of the colors of dentate primrose is inimitably bright. The white eye emphasizes the richness of violet, lilac, pink and purple colors in the purest, acrylic colors. Tight balls of inflorescences look dazzling and break into the foreground of the compositions, as if increasing the inflorescences in size.

Types of dentate primrose

In horticultural culture, only two plants from the section of dentate primrose are used - winter primrose, small-toothed and non-resistant primrose capitate, wintering in regions with severe winters. Both plants are famous for their magnificent flowering and are very similar in appearance.

Fine-tooth primrose (Primula denticulata) Is a business card and the most common plant of the dentate primrose section. Large, elongated, tongue-oval, with a very bright color, the leaves reach a length of 20-40 cm, forming a very beautiful, almost strict and very bright rosette.

On high peduncles, large heads of inflorescences bloom up to 10 cm in diameter. At the beginning of flowering, inflorescences almost lie in the rosette of small leaves, at the same time they begin to grow until they are stretched to 25 cm at the peak of flowering and continue to stretch throughout the fruiting stage. White, purple, pink, purple varieties look dazzlingly bright due to the serrated edge of the petals and the dense arrangement of flowers.

It is difficult to look away from the inflorescences of the fine-toothed primrose. This primrose blooms in April, in the middle lane - in the second half of the month, the total duration of flowering usually stretches to 40 days.

In fine-toothed primrose, a number of decorative forms and varieties are distinguished. Grandiflora is especially popular - large-flowered plants with flowers up to 2.5 cm in diameter, and a cashmere form with a special powdery coating and purple color. It is easy to choose varieties, because their name reflects a shade of color - for example, a white variety Albapurple pink "Lilarose"ruby "Ruby", Violet Violet and so forth

As an annual, they grow up capricious, unstable. primrose capitate (Primula capitata) - by far the most spectacular of dentate primrose, but very rare due to its fragility and in almost all respects, except for the luminosity, losing to the finely dentate primrose.

This plant can be easily distinguished from the latter by a powdery coating that even covers flowers, although the rest of the plant is typical - with large bright leaves growing during flowering in a thick flat rosette and floating heads of inflorescences with small flowers with a unique serrated edge of the petals.

The shape of the inflorescences is slightly flattened in comparison with fine-toothed. The capriciousness of the plant is easily explained by atypical flowering periods and origin. This is one of the most spectacular summer primroses, blooming either in the middle or at the end of summer.

Use of dentate primrose in garden design

Being one of the most spectacular sections, the denticule suggests introducing elegant accents similar to bouquets to the design of the garden. The small-toothed and capitate primrose is used differently in garden design. Both plants look great in dense mixed plantings, can decorate compositions with conifers and shrubs, revitalizing their appearance and compensating for gloomy species.

Capitate primrose is an ideal candidate for the role of a masker of voids in flower beds and in discounts. You can decorate flower beds from summers and lawns with it, add blooming elegant accents to where they are not enough, create a temporary neat border or add colors to the design of ponds. This plant looks great when grown in outdoor flowerpots and potted gardens.

Fine-toothed primrose - elegant spring accent. It is planted where there is not enough lush effect at the beginning of the season. This is a ceremonial primrose for decorating a front garden and a rockery, the best flower beds, and revitalizing boring grounds. It is indispensable in the design of ponds and streams, is able to change the mood on the flower beds by the terrace or recreation area. It is worth planting a small-toothed primrose so that it can be admired - not far from paths and paths, places where leisure is usually spent in the garden.

Toothed primrose is one of the best for distillation, cutting and growing as indoor plants. These plants adore butterflies, especially often dwelling on inflorescences of fine-toothed primrose in the midst of flowering.

The best partners for primroses of this section are hosts, daffodils, spring blooming bells, violets, carpet phlox, milkweed, etc.

Conditions required for dentate primrose

Representatives of this section of primroses became famous for their ability to cope well with shading. More abundant flowering of dentate leaves can be observed in diffuse lighting, but even in the shade they are still pleasing. Bright greens in shaded areas have an amazing effect on the composition, so profuse color is often sacrificed to get bright highlighting accents in the design of secluded areas.

When choosing a place, you should avoid the midday sun and open southern areas. The fine-toothed primrose prefers the eastern, western, or northern sides of buildings, objects of small architecture, and alpine hills.

For dentate primroses, it is important to choose loose, water-permeable, light soil. A slightly acidic reaction is preferred. Plants can bloom profusely only on fertile soil, so before planting, organic matter and full mineral fertilizers are introduced into the soil.

The fine-toothed primrose is not afraid of transplantation, but for the primrose capitate it is better to try to keep the earthen lump intact. When planting, plants are placed in medium-sized individual pits. The optimal distance to neighboring plants is about 25 cm for both plants.

Dentistry Primrose Care

Both the small-pronged primrose and capitate primrose do not respond well to the complete drying of the soil. Withered leaves and reduced flowering make it difficult to enjoy the plant in full, therefore, in long dry periods, it is better to take care of supporting procedures. Primrose capitate irrigation need more frequent. Fine toothed only until flowering.

The rest of the care for dentate primrose boils down to just a few nuances:

top dressing once a year, at the very beginning of growth, with full mineral or organic fertilizers;
weeding and light loosening of the soil during loose planting;
partial removal of leaves before wintering or spring after wintering (sometimes only central leaves are kept in rosettes for the winter, pruning or plucking the remaining leaves to reduce the risk of decay and aging, but primrose with a natural shelter is best wintered);
to the annual pouring of soil at the bare bases of outlets.

In winter, the primrose capitate is removed from the compositions, but the fine-tooth is additionally protected from unstable weather and snowless periods. For this culture, a simple cover with a non-woven material is sufficient, although if possible it is possible to provide ventilation and prevent aging, it can be limited to mulching with dry leaves. The optimal layer height is about 10 cm.

Reproduction of dentate primrose

The main method for propagating both plants from the denticulate section is seed cultivation. These primroses give abundant self-sowing, so often plants are not sown and not grown annually, using the shoots to decorate the compositions and transferring “wilds” to the desired places.

The seeds of primrose capitate are traditionally sown on seedlings with stratification. It can be carried out both after sowing, and before it, by spreading the seeds on a damp cloth and keeping in the refrigerator for 2-4 weeks.

Sowing is carried out superficially, lightly sprinkling with light soil, or without cover. Bright lighting, a temperature of about 21 degrees, stable humidity under a glass or film - that's all that is needed for germination.

Plants dive twice, as real leaves appear at the beginning, a second time with the formation of a miniature outlet. Seedlings can be transferred to open soil only after return frosts disappear, after a long hardening, somewhere in late May.

Fine-toothed primrose seeds can also be sown for seedlings, but it is better to sow immediately in open soil, in the winter - in seedlings or in buried boxes. Sowing should be shallow, covered with soil with a layer of about 1 cm. The grown plants are transplanted next spring. Full bloom can be expected from the third year, although single sparse inflorescences may appear earlier.

The small-toothed primrose is also propagated vegetatively by root segments, rooting of leaves with cuttings with a “heel”, and separation of large bushes (daughter rosettes). Bushes are separated with a frequency of once every 4-5 years, usually this type of primrose actively forms side rosettes and is constantly growing.