Tough but tricky

A friend recently gave me three plants of Primula flaccida, a wonderful little plant in the Soldanelloides section of the genus. I've planted them out, but sadly they are not the easiest of the family to keep. Native to NW Yunnan, they tend to dislike winter wet and be short-lived and as with that other wonderful primula, P. viallii, I'll need to remember to collect seed and grow more on, as I reckon I'll be very lucky to get a second season out of them.

The flowers and stems are covered in the most amazing white farina. One of those great little plants, it was introduced to cultivation by George Forrest in 1914.