14) Primula, Dodecatheon, Androsace and other Primulaceae

Last summer I found some very small specimens of Primula elatior growing at the verge of the main road in mid Norway. I rescued two plants and they flower in my lawn now.

Primula are the poster children for the pin and thrum phenomena, although they are not the only ones that employ such a way of pollination. The physical differentiation between the two types of sexual (ahem...) positioning within the same species of flower is easy to understand:

The "pin" form is when the pistil (the female part) within the flower is much longer than the stamens (the male parts). So in these photos, the stamens are much shorter than the pistil (otherwise known as the "pin".) These are pin flowers.

Catching up on posting some pre-Christmas photos. This is Androsace spinulifera, grown from seed sown in 2002. I grow it in a very gritty mix with a thick collar of grit around the neck, and as I don't have a greenhouse it's left outside in all weathers all year round. I give it part shade in the summer otherwise it begins to flag. After flowering the large summer leaves die back until eventually there's nothing left in the pot but a cluster of winter resting buds, looking like Brussels sprouts but with a spiny tip to the leaves - hence the specific name.

Primula suffrutescens is a Sierra Nevada endemic found at high elevations on damp granitic screes and talus slopes. These seeps are kept moist by melting snow.

Plant looks like a white-flowered A. carnea but I grew it as Androsace darvasica. First flowers just starting to open.

I live in the wet Pacific Northwest and am able to grow Primula forrestii from seed with little effort. The bad news is that I can't seem to find the right conditions for getting my seedlings through the winter. My experience is that this primula is not reliably hardy so it needs some cover over winter. It gets botrytis from too much wet but doesn't like drying out either. I've heard that folks in California can grow P. forrestii like a weed. Anyone have suggestions on how to manage it in my environment?

Thank you.