This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

[PRIMROSES] Scree

I was hiking in the Alps last summer looking for alpines and was struck by
the drainage in the high places. Primula auricula was growing in scree, the
mixture of gravel and some moderate sized rocks and what must have been
loam since the cows were using it for pasture.

I think a raised bed like a rockery but with about half or more gravel
would give superior drainage to keep the water loving primulas in good
condition. Herb Dickson lost a lot of candleabras in pots when it froze and
snowed and the snow melt stood in the still partly frozen pots as they
slowly thawed. I've read that freezing is a state in which plants can't
absorb water, while we ask them to sit in water in the winter. Most of
these high mountain are pretty picky as opposed to primulas like sieboldi
that are woodland plants growing in leaf mold.

I often think I could make a bed of the gravel that's not been washed that
would grow anything that likes real drainage. It might help with the
Canadian Praire winter. But you'd have to water almost continuously in the
summer like a lawn.
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index