How to Plant Primrose Perennials

Primrose (Primula) offer blooms in colors from delicate to bold and, as a perennial, will bloom year after year as long as they are kept healthy. With good soil preparation and placement in the right area of the garden, you can give primroses the best chance at living a healthy life in your garden. The extra care you take right now can result in pretty spring blooms for years to come.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

• Hoe
• Spade
• Compost
• Peat moss
• Pine bark
• Composted leaf mold
• 10-10-10 fertilizer
• Watering hose

1. Clear an area for the flower bed that receives partial shade. Sites that receive full sun will wither these flowers during hot summer days.

2. Spade or hoe the area, breaking up the soil 10 inches deep. Break up all large clumps of soil and add compost. If your garden soil is sandy or clay, mix in a few inches of peat moss, pine bark humus, or composted leaf mold.

3. Add a balanced fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, to the soil. The numbers indicate the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the fertilizer. Follow label directions regarding rate of application and mix it in with the soil.

4. Dig holes for each starter plant at least 6 inches apart and as deep as the plant is in the container.

5. Remove the primrose plants from their container by lightly tapping the bottom and the sides and gently pulling them out. Place each plant in its hole.

6. Gently fill in the dirt around each primrose starter plant up to the crown — the crown is the top of the root ball, where the plant emerges from its roots. Water the plants as soon as you’ve filled in the dirt around them and they are securely set in the ground.

Tips & Warnings

• Primroses purchased as seasonal houseplants can be planted outdoors as soon as they finish blooming, according to Oregon State University Extension.