Primrose cultivar - "Tying it all together"

Primrose cultivar - "Tying it all together" (post #17706)

Denisey on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 10:42

Feedback On Fine Gardening

Hello -
I enjoy the magazine, but I am on the internet so much...I have to admit that I rarely visit the website. Today I received an eLetter, and decided to check out the plant IDs from "Tying it all together", an article in the October issue.

I was disappointed because I saw a fantastic Primrose - red - and taller than the adjacent "Sum and Substance" hosta! WOW! Knock out! I need this primrose if it is hardy here. Sure enough, there was no data on this primrose's name.

So please allow me to take Fine Gardening to task here. This is NOT a publication that people purchase to look at pretty pictures. Taunton publications are created for people that are passionate about their hobbies. So when I see a plant that I wish to own, I should be able to get an idea of Genus, species, cultivar so I can try to get one. You are not dealing with subscribers that need to be told that the pretty white flowers are daisies. You are dealing with people that have a certain amount of knowledge coming in. It is your job to add to that knowledge.

While the flowers are a candleabra type, that is all I know. Please! This is why I subscribe!

~Denisey

Can anyone identify this primrose? (post #17706, reply #1 of 3)

Ruth in reply to Denisey [original] on Tue, 08/03/2010 - 09:19

Hello, Denisey. I'm the Web producer for Fine Gardening, and as I write this I'm sitting next to the person who edited Cindy Stockett's article "Tying It All Together" from issue #135. She reports that the author's garden is several years old, and she (Cindy Stockett) doesn't remember each and every species and cultivar (who does?). That's why some of the plants are identified only by genus, and some not at all.

If anyone out there would like to take a shot at ID-ing this primrose, see http://www.finegardening.com/pages/tying-it-all-together-1.asp and let us know what you think.

We understand your frustration, and hope you will understand that we are not "talking down" to our readers. If we had (or could obtain) the details, we would.

www.vegetablegardener.com

Primrose cultivar (post #17706, reply #2 of 3)

by Denisey in reply to

Ruth [original] on Sun, 08/08/2010 - 21:44

Hi Ruth!

I certainly understand that most people don't keep track of such things - I am surely amongst the ones that DON'T! I hope that someone recognizes it - it is gorgeous! And it would look great in my newish "hot colors" garden.

PS. If you ever determine a fool proof way to mark plants in the garden so that the markers can't be raked away in fall, or mulched over in spring, let me know! That way more of us could keep track of the cultivar names. LOL!

Thanks for your help.

~Denisey

Primrose cultivar (post #17706, reply #3 of 3)

by anonny in reply to Denisey [original] on Mon, 08/30/2010 - 13:14

Might it be Primula japonica, perhaps "Miller's Crimson"?

Primrose cultivar - "Tying it all together"