Auricula and Primula Society (Mid and West), National

The Plants We Grow

Auriculas are members of the Genus Primula which is a large family of plants comprising over 425 species and many thousands of hybrids.

The auricula first appeared in European gardens around the middle of the sixteenth century. The cultivated forms which we grow today have been developed for over 350 years as Florist Flowers. The word florist, used in this sense, refers to a gardener who grows and raises plants to agreed standards. The use of the word to mean a flower seller is a relatively recent development.

The different types comprise Show, Alpine, Double and Border auriculas. Show types include green and grey edged, selfs, stripes and fancies. Alpines are either gold-centred or light-centred.

In addition we also grow the gold-laced polyanthus, the only member of the primrose family grown to florists’ standards.

Although originally formed purely to grow auriculas and gold-laced polyanthus the three independent sections of the Society, all based in England, cover the whole range of primula species and hybrids including such popular plants as primroses and polyanthus.