Where & How to grow Cowslips Primula Veris
These beautiful yellow flowers were once very common in old meadows. They are still seen on roadside verges where they are safe from the plough. Cowslip flowers during April and May. Though they are short, the grass is generally shorter so they can still be seen. They are ideal to be grown in hedge banks or in a semi-shady situation. They may also flourish in open woods. They favour chalky soils and will thrive in chalky boulder clay.
Cowslips have a rosette of green, tongue-like leaves which are low to the ground. Their tube-shaped, yellow flowers are clustered together at the ends of upright green stems.
Where and how to grow cowslips
Cowslips are perennial plants that can be grown from seed. They are ideally sown in autumn in a seed tray, although they can be sown in situ. The seed will germinate in the spring. If sowing in a seed tray, cover with glass until germination takes place. This can be slow; to encourage the seed to break dormancy it may need placing in the fridge several times before sowing. If planted in trays then plant the small plants out in the meadow in the following autumn. Established plants can be divided up and replanted in the autumn.
An simpler way to introduce cowslips is by buying plug plants. The optimum time for introducing plug plants is from September to May. Cowslips suit good soil in the sun or partial shade.
