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was by pure chance that I came across Primula
deflexa, seeds being sent by Votjech Holubec
as extras to my original requests from his 2009
seed list. It was described as a small caespitose
plant 8-15 cm high, small hairy rosettes, short
dense spikes, bright rose nodding flowers,
collected from alpine meadows at 4600 metres in
the Hong Shan mountains, Yunnan, China. |
| I
sowed the seed on 18th January 2010 in my usual
seed compost, left it outside, and was pleased to
find it germinated easily, giving me at least 15
plants. It did not flower that year but survived
outside in pots through 2010-11, perhaps protected
by the snow, and flowered May-June in 2011. The
plants are small but very dainty with deep
blue-purple flowers and to date I have 10 plants,
having given some away. |
| What
has given me even greater pleasure was to see it
growing wild in Northwest Yunnan this June on a
Greentours trip, in the same general area from
which Vojtech’s seed came. We found many plants
of it growing by the roadside on our way back from
Tianchi Hai, slightly larger than my home grown
form, and also one poorer specimen in woodland in
the Yading Nature Reserve. |
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Primula
deflexa in Yunnan, 3500m |
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Primula
deflexa from VH seed |
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| Having
now experienced travel through this magnificent
mountainous region, I have great respect for the
plant hunters of the past and present, and
appreciate how fortunate we are to be able to get
seed and grow so many of these beautiful plants. |
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