Primula eliator Veristar Late Red F1 - Oxlip

The Primula 'Veristar Late Red F1' is a hybrid primrose that impresses with its performance in the garden and its flowering, which is both generous and richly coloured. This small, beautifully bushy plant produces numerous flower stalks, each carrying flowers richly coloured from red to golden-hearted. Very beautiful in borders, it is also a hardy variety, perennial to biennial, ideal for ornamental containers. You should plant it in a sunny but not scorching position, in soil enriched with compost, fertile and moist.

Primroses belong to the primrose family. The Primula elatior, also known as Oxlip or Cowslip, is a herbaceous perennial plant that belongs to our native flora and is mostly found in the semi-shade of clear woodlands or at the edge of forests. When abundant, this species, sometimes called the cuckoo flower, is an indicator of old forests, little disturbed by human activity. This plant has produced many short-lived perennial hybrids, often grown as biennial plants, through hybridisation with the common primrose (Primula vulgaris). This 'Veristar Late Red' primrose blooms from late January if protected from the cold, but more commonly in March, depending on the climate, for about 4-5 weeks. On each plant, several flower stalks, 20-25 cm (8-10in) tall, each carry several single flowers, 3 cm (1in) in diameter, composed of rounded petals. Their colour is well highlighted by evergreen foliage in rosettes of large, deeply-veined dark green leaves, ornamental even outside of the flowering period.

Elatior primroses are less well-known than stemless primroses, but they have their own advantages: they are taller, hardier, more long-lived, and their flowering is also more spectacular. They are excellent companions for shade-loving and cool, clear understory perennials such as heucheras, Brunnera, forget-me-nots, horned violets, and hostas. They also allow for decoration of the terrace, window, or balcony, planted in containers that will brighten up spring scenes. They also hold up very well in a simple bouquet, mixed with forget-me-nots or early tulips.