#Auricula theatre for sale uk free#

A basic mix with equal parts of loam, compost and grit (or perlite) is good to start with most growers will have their own preferred mixes but they tend to be a variant of this.

#Auricula theatre for sale uk free#

Just like their alpine ancestors they prefer lots of ventilation and a free draining compost as they detest being wet in the winter. Those that show them competitively today can spend a fair amount of time caring for their every need and the auricula societies of the UK have a wealth of information about the standards they require for showing if you are interested. The shows could do with some protection from the rain to stop the meal being spoilt but it’s not detrimental to the plants health if they do get splashed. Often thought to be fussy and needy, still many shy away from growing them, but they are hardy and can be grown outside in semi shade. Keen in 1887 and lot of work has been done over the last 75 years to prevent the loss of these remaining heirloom plants and incorporate them in breeding new show worthy varieties. Some historic varieties did survive, such as ‘Argus’, originally bred by J. However, the lack of available plant material to florists, meant the gene pool was smaller and it was said to be harder to breed plants of a high quality. Thankfully, the auricula societies and a few stalwart growers continued to keep some of the remaining plants going. Popular for centuries, they fell out of favour in the late 19th Century and with ‘ stripe‘ and ‘ double‘ varieties almost being lost completely due to the impact of WWI and II in the 20th Century. ‘ Selfs‘ are a sub-category of shows and have a block of colour whilst ‘edges’ have grey, green or white sections of meal to the edge of the petals (hence the name). The alpine types are often brightly coloured with either a gold or light centre (paste). Shows have a white dust like covering (farina/meal) on their flowers and/or leaves whilst the alpines do not.

There are two main types the ‘shows’ and the ‘alpines’. The collective enthusiasm and effort that was poured into the breeding of auriculas by florists over 150 years or so, has culminated in the auriculas that we know and love today.

The owner of the best auricula would take home a coveted ‘copper kettle’ that adorned the front of the pub on show day. Annual auricula shows were hosted in the local pubs and the plants were judged to very specific, very exacting standards, many of which are still used today. With travel and recreational activities limited, many people grew plants competitively (not just auriculas but dahlias, carnations and many more), always striving to grow the very best specimens. They were popular with florists, which then described the people growing plants to specific criteria not flower sellers, in the north of the country and were collected by both rich and working men who used their free time to cultivate & breed new varieties. Those plants would have had similar colour bases and stripes to the ones that you see today, but interestingly, it’s been noted that the petal edges were pointed rather than curved. Introduction is disputed but the popular theory is that they were brought over with Flemish Huguenot migrants. They are thought to have been grown in UK gardens since the latter half of the 16th century and are mentioned in Gerard’s herbal of 1597. History, Horticulture Plant Spotlight – AuriculasĪuriculas as we know them today are descendants of a hybrid between 2 European alpine primulas the Primula auricula, or bear’s ear, and Primula hirsuta or European alpine primrose.