Description of Primula japonica (Japanese Primrose)

Primula japonica is the Japanese primrose, a damp-ground plant that flowers in neat tiers. It is a good choice for shadier bog spots where many marginals sulk. It also self-seeds in the right place, so it can look more natural each year.

Appearance

In spring it makes a low rosette of fresh green leaves. Flower stems rise to around 30 to 60cm, topped with rings of flowers stacked up the stem. Colours vary from pink through red to purple depending on the form you grow. Flowering is usually late spring into early summer.

Care Guide

This plant likes steady moisture and rich soil. Dry spells can cut flowering short, so it is not one for a border that dries in summer.

• Sun: Part shade is ideal. It can take sun if the soil never dries.
• Soil: Humus-rich, moisture-holding compost. Leaf mould works well mixed in.
• Water: Keep the root zone damp at all times. In a bog garden, plant it a little above the water line, not in standing water.
• After flowering: Snip spent stems if you want a tidy look, or leave some to set seed.
• Division: Split clumps in early autumn or spring if they get crowded.

If you want more plants without buying more, let one clump seed and move seedlings in autumn while they are small.

Suitability for Bog Garden

Primula japonica is made for bog gardens and rain gardens, especially on the shaded side of a pond. It pairs well with ferns, hostas and rushes because it fills the late spring gap.

It also works as a front-of-border plant in a damp woodland edge. In a bog, use it in groups of three to five so the tiered flowers read as a block from a distance.

It does best where the soil stays cool. A mulch of leaf mould in spring helps, and it also keeps weed seedlings down around the crowns.

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