The species is native of the Alps, Apennines, & Carpathian Mountains. It was good luck rather than careful choice that also gave us those spiffy yellow-eyed purple blossoms. We planted it among other evergreen & semi-evergreen primroses, where it is the only one with pale smooth leaves, the others being soft, crinkled & dark. When Granny Artemis first pointed it out in the nursery, we could see at once it would be a fine addition to a garden of low-growing leafy plants, with a four-season presence. The second-most common name, Bear's Ears, reflects this toughness of appearance. These big leaves are the opposite of delicate & not what most people think of as primrose leaves, unless they know auriculas in particular. It looked like something that sincerely belonged in the woodland garden. We liked it for the leaves, & it was chosen just on the strength of the strongly evergreen & nearly succulent foliage held in slovenly rosettes on thick tough stolons. Surprisingly enough we didn't select this one for the fine two-colored blooms, for we obtained it in winter before it flowered. They are all easily grown, but the Border Auriculas are the hardiest of hardies & the only category generally recommended for unprotected outdoor cultivation. But the Border Auriculas are spectacularly garden-hardy & not damaged by exposurure to wind & rain. Those are often grown in cold frames or under glass or in alpine houses, in order to preserve their finer qualities, for they are easily damaged by the weather. The other categories are Alpine Auriculas, Show Auriculas, & Double Auriculas, but as we don't grow the fanciest types, I won't define them. There are hundreds of varieties of auriculas divided into four categories & sundry sub-categories, with many colors in each camp. They were in particular a fad during the Victorian age, with many colors developed, though among the basic colors are purple or blue-purple with yellow or ivory eyes. It was obviously a "garden auricula," meaning unnamed intraspecies color hybrids such as have been grown in European gardens for centuries, the earliest printed mention of larger gardened forms being in 1582. The petals are dark purple on the outside with blushes of gold at the edges, with the inner petals purple with golden centers.Īlthough this was sold to us as a species-primrose, the leaves got much bigger than the species, & when it bloomed, it was not the pure yellow of the species. It is shown here in two consecutive Aprils, 2003 & 2004.
Primula auricula or Mountain Cowslip has such beautiful blossoms beginning in early April, with later reblooms to be expected at least through June.
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