Prepare the garden by breaking up the existing soil (use a hoe, spade, or power tiller). Add organic matter such as manure, peat moss or garden compost until the soil is loose and easy to work. Organic ingredients improve drainage, add nutrients and encourage earthworms and other organisms that help keep soil healthy. Give plants an extra boost by adding a granulated starter fertilizer or a balanced all-purpose feed (for example fertilizers labeled 12-12-12).
Check the plant label for suggested spacing. Crowding plants can result in fewer blooms and weak growth as the plants compete for light. Exceptions to this might be regions with a short growing season, shade plantings which tend to grow slower and fill in less quickly, or a need to fill an area with color quickly such as for a special event or if planning to entertain guests outdoors.
Remove the plant from the container. If plants are in a pack, gently squeeze the outside of the individual plant cell while tipping container to the side. If plant doesn’t loosen, continue pressing on the outside of the container while gently grasping the base of the plant and tugging carefully so as not to crush or break the stem until the plant is released. If the plant is in a pot, brace the base of the plant, tip it sideways and tap the outside of the pot to loosen. Rotate the container and continue to tap, loosening the soil until the plant pulls smoothly from the pot.
Dig the hole up to two times larger than the root ball and deep enough that the plant will be at the same level in the ground as the soil level in the container. Grasping the plant at the top of the root ball, use your finger to lightly rake the roots apart. This is especially important if the roots are dense and have filled up the container. Set the plant in the hole.
Push the soil gently around the roots filling in empty space around the root ball. Firm the soil down around the plant by hand, tamping with the flat side of a small trowel, or even by pressing down on the soil by foot. The soil covering the planting hole should be even with the surrounding soil, or up to one inch higher than the top of the root ball. New plantings should be watered daily for a couple of weeks to get them well established.
Vining annuals require vertical space to grow, so provide a trellis, fence, wall or other structure that allows the plant to grow freely and spread.
Primrose – Annual (Primula acaulis)?
Other references state it is a perennial – why do you say it is an annual. Another reference states ‘primula acaulis, formerly ‘vulgaris’. Why the confusion?
Hi Brian,
Technically primrose is a perennial, but this is a plant that is native to England. It doesn’t like hot, dry summer conditions so that’s why you may see it being sold as an annual. It may go dormant during summer, but it is just as likely that it may die if subjected to very hot conditions.
The additional confusion about the species, is something that happens fairly frequently in the world of plant classification – the two species were reevaluated (usually due to the emergence of some new information) and one was botanically reclassified. The P. acaulis and P. vulgaris were considered two different species in the past. But over time the experts determined that they really weren’t different – they are both Primula vulgaris. Despite that, it’s not unusual to find the plants still being sold as P. acaulis. If you see this on a plant label or in a plant reference, just know it is the same plant as Primula vulgaris according to the plant experts.