Seed primrose - cultivation, tips and tricks

Growing a primula from seeds is troublesome and not always successful. You have to work hard to get the desired result. Experienced flower growers manage to grow gorgeous flowers.

Advantages and disadvantages of growing a primrose from seed

In flower shops, you can buy any kind of primroses all year round. Mostly one-year-old flowers are on sale. To grow a perennial plant on the site, use the seed method. It is long and painstaking. The advantage is getting strong healthy seedlings. Disadvantages:

• seeds under impeccable keeping conditions lose their ability to germinate by 45%;
• a stratification procedure is required;
• it takes time for a full-grown flowering plant to grow.

Growing primrose at home

How to collect and select seed

High quality seed material is the key to successful cultivation. When buying, the frost resistance of flowers is analyzed. Pay attention to the implementation period. Preference is given to copies of the current year. Purchased material needs to be stratified. How to plant freshly harvested primrose:

1. As soon as the plants have faded, a strong peduncle is chosen and left until the seeds are fully ripe.
2. Depending on the type of primrose, the seeds are suitable for planting by mid or late summer. They are dried up by sprinkling them on a white sheet or napkin.
3. The collected seeds are immediately planted before winter directly on the flower bed.

Storage of harvested or purchased seeds

The seed breeding method is difficult to implement. Until spring, germination is halved, even with ideal storage, and germination time is increased. The seeds are kept cool. Room temperature +20 ℃ - too high.

Primrose from seeds, cultivation, advice from experienced gardeners assume the purchase of only fresh material. Winter sowing is required. If the opportunity is missed, the seed is scattered in paper bags, put on the shelf of the refrigerator or freezer.

When to sow primrose seeds

Seeds rarely remain viable until spring. For this reason, they are sown in winter, in February or early March. It is permissible to grow seedlings already at the end of autumn (October-November). In this case, the seedlings bloom earlier.

Planting primrose seeds

Primrose, planting in a flower bed is carried out as soon as the snow melts. Sow first in a pot or container, which is sprinkled with earth. Regular maintenance is needed, as drying the soil can harm the seedlings. The plants will bloom by next spring.

Features of summer sowing

Summer sowing is carried out immediately after the seeds ripen. Many summer seedlings winter well.After the snow melts, shoots with 2-3 leaves sprout, from which strong, viable plants grow.

Late autumn sowing on a flower bed is possible when the ground freezes. Florists use this method for plants whose seeds require cold stratification. Before winter, large-seeded material of the following varieties is sown:

• stemless;
• polyant;
• high primrose hybrids.

Preparing for landing

Primroses are called primroses because they are one of the first to bloom on the site. The petals of terry and fine-toothed primroses appear at the beginning of spring. Preparing for landing involves:

• the correct choice of seeds based on local weather conditions;
• timely sowing;
• selection of containers for sowing;
• soil preparation.

To grow strong seedlings, you will need to carefully carry out preparatory measures.

Selection of containers and their disinfection

Shallow containers are suitable for sowing:

• pills;
• plastic glasses;
• peat pots;
• wooden boxes.

The main thing is the presence of drainage holes in the containers so that moisture does not stagnate. It provokes root rot and contributes to the development of fungal diseases. Before sowing, the containers are disinfected: they are washed with rose water with potassium permanganate or a fungicidal solution.

Peat tablets are convenient because the seedlings do not need to be dived.

Soil preparation

You can buy soil for flower crops or prepare a soil mixture yourself. The soil, purchased from well-known manufacturers, has already been disinfected. When using garden land, a disinfection procedure will be required. How to grow a primrose?

Primroses need a lightweight substrate consisting of:

• garden land;
• humus or peat;
• fine sand.

The soil is disinfected by:

• scalding with boiling water with potassium permanganate or phytosporin;
• roasting on a baking sheet;
• steam treatment;
• exposure in the cold for a week.

Disinfection of seeds

The seeds are processed before sowing. Soak in a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide for no more than 3 minutes, previously wrapped in a cloth. Disinfection is carried out to protect the seedlings from diseases and to increase immunity.

Step-by-step process of sowing primrose seeds for seedlings at home

Before sowing, read the instructions on the package. It usually indicates how to sow primrose seeds:

1. The prepared soil is spilled abundantly with water so that excess liquid glass through the drainage punctures.
2. The seed is poured onto a thin napkin. Fold it in half and scatter it over the ground.
3. The seeds are moistened with a spray bottle with the addition of fungicidal agents: Vitaros or Maxim. The preparations rid the plant of mold spores.
4. Cover crops with cellophane or glass.

How to plant primrose in peat tablets? They are not disinfected. Place the seeds in a shallow container of water. The tablets will get wet, increase in size and be ready for inoculation.

A primrose plant whose seeds are too small

Primrose seed stratification

Florists claim that most seeds need stratification (cold hardening). Exceptions are fine-toothed and common primroses, as well as hybrid varieties.

Frosty stratification

The inoculum is stratified under negative temperature conditions:

1. In this case, the seeds are laid only in dry soil along the upper layer, without falling asleep with anything, even with light sand. They are lightly pressed into the soil with a toothpick or tweezers.
2. The seeds are not sprayed, the container is covered with cellophane or glass and taken out into the cold. It is advisable to hide it in a snowdrift.
3. If it is not possible, put it in the freezer for a month (at least 2 weeks).

Cold stratification with and without preliminary seed soaking

This method of hardening seeds speeds up germination, but the chances of success are lower than freezing. There are 2 ways:

• the seeds pre-swell outside the soil;
• sow directly into the soil; first kept warm, then transferred to the cold.

With soaking

The seed is pre-soaked in water on an ordinary dishwashing sponge:

1. The sponge is dipped into the liquid, squeezed slightly, the seed is scattered, and the top is covered with a sponge of the same size.
2. Wrapped with cellophane, sent to the refrigerator shelf and kept there for 7 days.
3. Before being sent to the cold, a sponge with seeds is placed in a warm place for three days and only then in the cold.

The soaked seeds are laid out on moistened soil without pressing them down. Cover with transparent cellophane.

Without soaking

Seed material is laid out on a wet substrate superficially, covered with a film, kept warm for 5 days until the seeds swell. Without waiting for the shoots to appear, they are placed in the refrigerator and stored until the first shoots. Subsequently, they are transferred to room conditions.

Sowing without soaking

Seedling care

Suitable germination temperature is 16-18 ℃ above zero. Lighting should be chosen based on the variety of primroses. Germinate in the light:

• hybrids;
• common primrose, Japanese;
• pink, florinda;
• pubescent.

Direct sunlight is harmful. Siebold, fine-toothed and tall, sprout in the dark. They are covered with black foil. Seedlings are formed in 18-20 days. At the same time, they carefully monitor the condition of the soil:

• Drying out, like waterlogging, is destructive.
• The glass or film is opened gradually so that the first shoots get used to the air. The containers are opened after 2 weeks.
• Saplings grow slowly. When strong seedlings rise, a lot of bright, diffused light will be needed. Seedlings will die in direct sunlight.

Scheme and timing of picking primrose seedlings

One of the most important conditions for growing healthy seedlings is picking. Since the root system is fibrous, it is useful for the exchange of air, which the roots receive when picking. Flowers can be easily transplanted. In the phase of appearance of the 1st leaf, strong seedlings dive for the first time. Plants are carefully planted in small containers, preferably cassettes.

Primroses dive twice

After a pick, the seedlings grow rapidly. Cultivation of seedlings takes so long that by the time of the second dive, stable warm weather is established outside, without a drop in night and day temperatures. Seedlings are taken out into the street. Flowers are planted in a permanent place in the second year.

Transplanting primrose seedlings into open ground

Young plants are planted on site with minimal risk of night frosts. The daytime temperature should not drop below +10 ℃. How to plant primrose correctly?

If young seedlings were kept outdoors, they do not need hardening, unlike seedlings growing at home. Young plants are gradually accustomed to outdoor conditions, taking them to the air a week before planting on the site. Plants need light clay soil and shade.

Dig a hole, together with an earthen lump, pull the plant out of the container and transplant

Tips and Tricks for Growing Primrose from Seed

To grow primrose from seeds at home allows proper agricultural technology. When sowing, it is advisable to use purchased soil for seedlings. It contains all the necessary trace elements.

The roots need a lot of air to germinate.Too much a nutrient medium rich in organic fertilizers will destroy delicate roots:

• To prevent this from happening, experienced flower growers add perlite and vermiculite to the purchased soil. With agroperlite, the roots "breathe" easily. Vermiculite prevents the formation of a crust on the surface of the earth, facilitates the access of air to the roots.
• When sowing primrose seeds for seedlings, a trick is used: the soil is covered with snow, the seed is spread on top. With water from the melted snow, the seeds will penetrate the soil.
• When watering young seedlings, it is difficult not to break them with water, even from a spray bottle. It is recommended to water the sprouts from a syringe without a needle.

Compliance with agricultural technology helps to grow primrose from seeds in the shortest possible time. The culture develops rapidly and stands out for its lush flowering. To get a healthy plant, observe the regime of watering and the introduction of nutrients.