Representatives of the genus are annual and perennial herbs, sometimes with stems-arrows without leaves. In the root outlet there are leaves. Flowers of regular shape, five-membered, mostly yellow, red or pink, in umbellate inflorescences, rarely solitary. Calyx tubular, or campanulate; Corolla with tube and spicate or funnel-shaped limb. Fruit - a box.
The inhabitants of ancient Greece thought that in the primrose is a healing remedy for all ailments. In its leaves there is a lot of carotene, vitamin C, glycosides, carbohydrates, organic acids and essential oils. Therefore, it is customary to take a decoction of primrose with rheumatism, various headaches, treat them with bronchitis, whooping cough and pneumonia. The root of the primrose has a diuretic and diaphoretic effect, can enhance the secretion of the stomach, activate metabolism.
To strengthen the nervous system, Germans brew dried flowers of primroses and drink them instead of tea. In England, young primrose leaves are usually eaten as a salad, and the roots are used instead of spices.
Previously, decoctions from the roots were used to treat consumption and fever, making soothing teas and ointments from eczema. Today, primrose is grown as a decorative houseplant.
Care of the plant
Primula - houseplants that need to be placed in a cool room on a light window, in a well-ventilated room. The plant needs a large amount of bright light, but must be hidden from the sun. Better windows of the eastern and western sides. The plant can tolerate a half-shadow, grows well on the northern window.
For primroses, moderate air t ° is required from 12 to 16 ° C during flowering (in these conditions, the flowers will last longer). Not bad primrose flowers in unheated greenhouses or between window frames.
Watering these houseplants should be moderate, abundant at the time of flowering (the soil moisture should be uniform, but water stagnation should not be allowed), a soft soft liquid with drying of the upper layer of the substrate, it is impossible to wet the leaves. It is necessary to protect from the water the middle leaves, just beginning to develop. Lower watering is best used.
The primrose well tolerates liquid top dressing from a solution of bird droppings in small doses and concentrations. To feed flowers it is necessary in June and in the end of August, firstly - organic fertilizer, secondary - ammonium nitrate (one and a half gr. Per 1 liter of water).
Soil for primrose is needed weakly nutritious, humic (pH of the order of 6). The best for soft-leaved primrose is loose nutrient soil. The nutrient mixture can be prepared from the first part of sod, 2 parts of deciduous land and 1 part of sand. A weakly acidic soil is required, so one part of coniferous soil should be added to the mixture.
Primula - plants that are propagated with the help of seeds, it is possible to divide old bushes, root root shoots.
The reverse-conical primrose should be sown in April-May in pots on the surface of sandy-deciduous soil of 0.5 gr. seeds in a bowl. Water using a spray gun. Cover the crops with glass and place on the windowsill, hiding the shoots from the direct sun rays. It is necessary to maintain t ° within 18-20 ° C. After 10 days, shoots will appear. Small seedlings should be dived twice, and then planted in 9-cm. A bowl of two or three flowers. The nutritional mixture can be prepared from one part of deciduous, two parts of greenhouse earth and one part of sand. As flowers grow two or three times they are transferred to large bowls.
Seeds of primula plants can be grown without transshipment, planting them immediately in 13-cm. pots of two or three plants, adding to the mixture of earthen dry cow dung. With this method of growing primrose blossoms in six months.
Soft-leaved primrose is propagated by seeds, which are formed after artificial pollination of flowers in a considerable amount. Seeds need to be sown in June-July in pots or boxes. After 30 days the seedlings need to be dived into pots with a feeding area of 3x4 centimeters, and after 30 days they can be transplanted even less often (for example, 8x8 cm). In October, you need to land in 11-13-cm. pots. Six months after sowing, the first flowers will appear. At the time of flowering, t ° in the building should be maintained from 10 to 12 ° C. In autumn and winter it should be reduced from 8 to 10 ° C.
Primrose can still be propagated by dividing the bush. When the plant fades, in May it is placed in a shady place in order to provide forced rest. Flowers should be watered so as not to allow drying out. When the stems begin to grow, the bushes need to be divided into several small pieces and dropped into boxes in a loose and nutritious ground. When planting it is impossible to immerse the plants, it is necessary that the rosette is at the soil level. In order to ensure better rooting, the box needs to be covered with glass and placed on a well-lit window. Then primroses should be transplanted into 9-cm bowls, and a month later - in 13-cm.
During the growth period every ten to twelve days, it is necessary to feed the plants with a weak solution (2 g per 10 liters of water) of mineral fertilizers, and cut old leaves.
Primrose with one rosette of leaves and a weakened root system, in which it is difficult to divide the bush, are multiplied by rooting of the axillary shoots. To do this, at the base of the root collar, it is necessary to separate the leaf petiole with the kidney (cut the leaflets halfway) and part of the shoot, root it in river sand (coarse-grained), padded with a layer of 2 cm on a substrate of deciduous or peaty soil. Cuttings should be planted under an incline, the kidney upward to a depth of 1 cm.
To cuttings are rooted, they should be placed in a bright room with t ° from 16 to 18 ° C, sand humidify moderately and do not forget to spray. After 3 months, buds with 3-4 leaves will develop from the kidneys, which then need to be planted in 7-9 cm. bowls. The earth mix is prepared from deciduous (4 parts), humus (2 parts) and 1 part of sand. Will bloom after 5-6 months.
Difficulties in growing
If there is too much humidity, there can be a defeat with gray rot.
If t ° is too high, the air is dry, there is a stagnation of moisture, if the water you water the plants is stiff, and for fertilizing use highly concentrated fertilizers, then the leaves can turn yellow and the roots turn brown.
If the air in the room is dry and hot, then the flowers quickly fade.
When placed in a place that is too warm and dry, there may be injuries to aphids and spider mite.