GROW IT
It's true! Prim can be very pretty
February 25, 2010
Sonia Day
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Primroses; Primulaceae
Pretty primroses. They've started popping up in pots at florists' shops and garden centres everywhere. I think they're a terrific buy for several reasons. First, their cheery little flowers – in yellows, jewel pinks and purples – are an instant pick-me-up when winter's beginning to drive us bonkers. Second, the plants are remarkably cheap and healthy, because they're grown in Ontario and not trucked thousands of miles from Lord-knows-where. (I bought a yellow one for $1.99 in Toronto last week. It boasted 14 flowers already in bloom, as well as 38 new buds coming along – a truly amazing tally for the price.)
But the principal reason I'm passionate about our local potted primroses is that, later on, you can plant them outside. Unlike most forced spring bulbs (which are also raised in greenhouses and often won't bloom again as a result) primulaceae don't need to be tossed out when their flowers are over. I stash mine in a cool room indoors until the weather warms up, watering the pots occasionally. Then they go outside into a flowerbed next to the house when I get around to it.
They adapt perfectly. I'm actually quite chuffed about my primrose collection now. It keeps getting bigger and almost every one started out as an impulse purchase at a florist's on some dreary day in winter. These recycled posies mostly bloom like clockwork every spring. A few even send up more flowers again in fall.
So pick up a potted primrose or two. We should be proud of our local growers for producing such terrific inexpensive plants that can live two lives – both indoors and out.
soniaday.com
Toronto Star