Primula beesiana - Primrose

The Primula beesiana, which is classified as part of the section of candelabra primroses, is an attractive botanical species native to China, whose cultivation presents no difficulty in cool to wet soil. This perennial primrose produces rosettes of elongated, light green leaves, from which upright stems emerge in late spring or early summer, carrying layered crowns of flowers with a very fresh colour: a purplish pink corolla adorned with a golden heart. Very hardy, it is more or less evergreen and thrives in partial shade or full sun, in deep and humus-rich soil.  It will be perfect along the edges of water features, or in clear and humid understory areas, where it will freely self-seed.

The Primula beesiana, now considered a subspecies of Primula bulleyana, belongs to the primrose family, like all primulas. It grows in nature in damp high-altitude meadows in western China. This perennial first produces a rosette of deciduous or semi-evergreen, light green, slender and dentate leaves, measuring about fifteen centimetres in length, including the petiole. The veins are visible on the leaves, which have a puckered appearance. The flowering takes place in June-July, in the form of tall, sturdy stems measuring 45 to 60 cm (18 to 24in), adorned with 6 to 8 whorls, each bearing several lightly scented flowers, tightly packed together, typical of primroses, with a purplish pink colour and a yellow centre that catches the eye. This vigorous and robust perennial easily self-seeds in moist soil.

This primrose is not very common in European gardens. Resembling a pink oxlip, it appreciates moist to wet, humus-rich soils, without too much limestone, even clayey. Hardy to at least -20°C (-4°F), it will appreciate the immediate proximity of a stream or pond, preferably in a sunny location although it tolerates partial shade very well. Low maintenance, it thrives on its own by spreading randomly. In moist borders, it adds height and lightness to the broad foliage of rodgersias, deer ferns, or hostas. It also pairs well with Alchemilla mollis, Artemisia lactiflora, meadowsweets, yellow loosestrifes, and astilbes.