Wikimedia Commons
Primulaceae
Orchid Primrose
Primula vialii
Exotic wonder.
- Family
- Primulaceae
- Genus
- Primula
- Native to
- China, Yunnan Province, Sichuan
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- perennial herb
- Height
- 1-2 ft
- Sunlight
- part shade
- Soil
- moist, humus-rich, well-drained
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 5-8
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- Primula vialii is utterly unlike any other primula: it produces a tapering spike of red buds that open to lavender flowers from the bottom up.
- The two-toned spike — red at top, lavender below — resembles a red-hot poker or an orchid spike, earning it the 'orchid primrose' name.
- It is native to damp alpine meadows and stream margins in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China.
- The species is named after Père Paul Vial, a 19th-century French missionary who collected plants in China.
- Despite coming from high altitudes, it is not fully reliably hardy and often behaves as a short-lived perennial in cultivation.
Color meanings
0
wonder
1
exotic beauty
2
rarity