Many of the “selfs,” “fancies,” “edges,” and “stripes” are heavily sprinkled with natural white or gold farina (mealy powder)-on the blooms and sometimes on the foliage-which can be damaged by rainfall. “Alpine,”“border,” or “double” types are considered the best for garden beds. Most of the ones available these days actually derive from crosses between Primula auricula and Primula hirsuta, with the resulting hybrids sometimes called Primula x pubescens. Though auriculas did lose popularity briefly after the industrial revolution, they’ve been making a comeback. (I may try using cactus potting mix instead.) Auricula's Performance That soil should be fast draining, perhaps equal parts of potting mix, compost, and perlite or grit. They require repotting, usually in late summer, both to remove offsets and to position their main root further down in the soil. The extra height of the long toms came in handy, though, since auriculas have a tendency to become leggy due to losing lower leaves. I suspect most of us “Yanks” are going to have to make do with shorter 4-inch ones instead. Those are tall and skinny terracotta pots, which reportedly should be no more than 3 1/2 inches across at the top. (Those blooms are, of course, not nearly as large as they are pictured here.)īecause auriculas grow in small spaces between rocks in their mountain habitat, they usually were kept tightly potted in what are called “long toms” in England. But we can guess that it was the challenge and the competition that motivated them as much as the wide-eyed blooms. Growing delicate plants which seldom surpass 8 inches in height can seem like an odd avocation for blue-collar men. Their hobby would be picked up by miners as well. Since weavers often worked from home in those days, they could take a break and potter among the posies whenever the mood struck them.

Growing, breeding, and showing auriculas was a passion with them from about the 16th century through the 19th. (Grit either can be coarse sand or finely ground gravel and should make up about a third of the soil in which these primroses are planted.) Auricula's Potsįortunately, the plants adapt well to culture in fast-draining terracotta pots too, as can be attested by centuries of British weavers-especially those with Flemish ancestry. So, oddly enough, what the pretty little plants probably need is grit-and lots of it-to grow in our predominantly clay ground.

Auricula theatre