Cowslip » Planting, care, propagation and more

Plant cowslip properly

Properly planting a preferred cowslip does not require extensive prior gardening knowledge. While you're weeding and raking the soil, place the still-potted root ball in a container of water until no more air bubbles rise. Follow these steps:

• Dig a pit twice the size of the root ball
• Enrich the excavation with compost, horn shavings, guano or bark humus
• Repot and plant the cowslip while maintaining the previous planting depth

Pour the young plant with a good gulp of water. Ideally, arrange the natural perennial in a small group of 3 to 5 specimens, which underlines the picturesque effect in the long term.

care tips

Caring for a cowslip is not a problem even for hobby gardeners with limited time. It's that easy:

• Cowslips water during drought in summer and frost in winter
• Start fertilizing in the bed in March
• Fertilize flowers in the bucket every 2-3 weeks during the flowering period
• Cut off wilted flower stalks at the base
• Cut back fallen leaves close to the ground in late winter

If you cultivate wild types of cowslip, you don't have to worry about winter protection. Highly bred hybrids, on the other hand, are piled up 20-30 cm thick with leaves, straw and needle brushwood. Potted flowers ideally move to bright, frost-free winter quarters.
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Which location is suitable?

In the wild, the cowslip (Primula elatior) looks for a sunny to partially shaded spot on meadows or along a forest. Wherever the wood primrose finds a humus-rich, calcareous and freshly moist soil, it likes to stretch out its roots. The cowslip (Primula veris), on the other hand, prefers a full sun to sunny location with sandy-loamy soil, like the rock garden has to offer. The closer the location in the garden is to these characteristics, the more at home the pretty perennials feel.
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The right planting distance

The cowslip raises its slender flower stalk from a rosette of leaves. Depending on the type and variety, this can reach a width of up to 30 cm. It is this growth width that also defines the ideal planting distance. The oxlip (Primula veris), for example, spreads between 20 and 30 cm, so a planting distance of 25 cm is good is chosen. Although the tiered cowslip (Primula japonica) is up to 50 cm higher towards the sky stretches, it has the same growth width, so that the appropriate planting distance of 25 cm is also used here amounts to.

What soil does the plant need?

Mother Nature has the right cowslip ready for almost every soil condition:

• Cowslip (Primula elatior): nutritious, humus-rich and fresh and moist
• Cowslip (Primula veris): humic, sandy-loamy and rather dry
• Tiered cowslip (Primula japonica): nutrient-rich, loamy, likes to grow at the wet edge of the pond

Soil moisture requirements may vary; Of course, cowslips do not tolerate waterlogging.

What is the best planting time?

Cowslips can be planted all year round, as long as the ground is not frozen. If you are considering direct sowing in the bed, we recommend late summer, as the seeds are cold germs. In this way, Mother Nature takes over the stratification.

When is flowering time?

The specific species defines the flowering time of a cowslip. If you combine the heralds of spring in coordination with their blossom, the blaze of color extends from March to September. The following arrangement shows a possible variant:

• Cowslip (Primula elatior): March to May
• Heavenly key (Primula veris): April to May
• Cowslip (Primula japonica): June to August
• Cowslip (Primula florindae): July to September

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Cut the cowslip properly

Cut off the withered flower stalks immediately if seed formation and the associated self-sowing of a cowslip is not desired. Otherwise, leave the flower in the bed until the foliage is completely drawn in. In late winter at the latest, the cowslip is cut back close to the ground to make room for the next growing season.

Water the cowslip

Do not let cowslips dry out. If the natural rainfall does not cover the water requirement, watering is carried out regularly. In the bucket, the watering can is used more often as soon as the substrate surface has dried. An exception is the cowslip, which also feels at home in dry, sandy gravel beds. Nevertheless, water this perennial in the early morning during summer drought, because the root ball must not dry out here either.

Fertilize cowslip properly

In nutrient-rich soil, the cowslip does not require fertilizer. On the contrary, too much nitrogen could force foliage growth to the detriment of rich flowering. In rather poor soil, we nevertheless recommend starting fertilizing in March with compost or liquid fertilizer.

A potted cowslip fertilize Feed them with liquid fertilizer for flowering plants every 2-3 weeks from March until the end of the flowering period long-term fertilizer in rod form into the substrate.

hibernate

Only the wild species are completely hardy. If you are cultivating one of the colorful hybrids from specialist shops, they should be protected from the first frost in the bed and placed in the pot. How to do it right:

• Wild cowslips and cowslips are only covered with foliage in rough locations
• Cultivated forms from the store in the bed cover with garden fleece or heap it up thickly with leaf mould, straw and needle brushwood

Put cowslips in the planter in autumn and cut off the withered leaves to prevent diseases and pests. The winter quarters are frost-free and bright. Water the root ball occasionally so it doesn't dry out.

Propagate cowslip

The most uncomplicated method of propagation is by dividing in the fall. Dig up the cowslip, shake off the soil and split the root ball into two or more pieces. A suitable segment has at least 2 shoots. Plant a section in the new location without delay, retaining the previous planting depth as far as possible. Abundant watering in the period that follows supports the cowslip in rooting.

A successful propagation also promises the sowing. Collect the ripe capsules after flowering and sow the seeds. The seedbed should be as finely crumbly as possible. Sieve the seeds very thinly with sand or vermiculite, as they germinate in the light, and water with a fine spray. If sowing takes place in autumn, the seeds receive the necessary cold stimulus over the winter and germinate in early spring.

How do I plant correctly?

The cowslip accepts a change of location without complaint. Either in early spring or early fall, dig up the root ball and shake off the soil. Examine the root system to cut out dried or rotten strands. At the new location, place the perennial just as deep in the soil, which is ideally enriched with compost.

Cowslip in a pot

In pots, cowslips spread natural flair on the sunny to partially shaded balcony. The undemanding flower thrives in commercial potting soil, which gets the desired permeability with a little sand or perlite. Drainage at the bottom of the pot above the water outlet prevents waterlogging. Check the substrate every 2 days with a thumb test and water when dry. As long as cowslip is in bloom, give it a dose of liquid fertilizer every 2-3 weeks. Cut off the withered parts of the plant in autumn at the latest to give the cowslip a bright, frost-free winter quarters. Although the perennial is hardy, the root ball freezes through in the open air in the exposed position of the pot and will not produce any more flowers the next year.

How to care for the cowslip after flowering?

Cowslip is so undemanding that no special care is required after flowering. If the withered flower stalks affect the visual appearance, cut them off as well as the withered leaves. However, if the near-natural perennial is allowed to multiply by sowing on its own, leave the flower until the beginning of winter or early spring.

Is the cowslip protected?

Cowslips have been under strict nature protection since August 1980. In fields, forests and meadows you can admire and photograph the yellow natural beauties. Picking or even digging up, on the other hand, is punished with high fines.
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What healing properties does the cowslip have?

The traditional use of cowslips in natural medicine is experiencing a brilliant renaissance. It is mainly the secondary plant substances that make a Primula elatior or Primula veris so valuable. Essential oils, flavones, tannins and other substances relieve coughs, headaches, migraines and insomnia. How to prepare cowslip tea:

• Harvest the flowers between March and May
• Always collect the flowers together with the calyx
• Pour boiling water over fresh or dried
• Leave for 10-20 minutes, add a little honey and enjoy

Since the cowslip is a nature reserve, it is best to grow the perennial in your own garden. Picking or digging up in the wild is strictly forbidden and will be punished with heavy fines.

cowslip medicinal herb