Polyanthus Care Guide

Welcome to your Polyanthus care guide! Here you will find all of our Growers' knowledge of how best to look after your Polyanthus, and what to do if you get stuck.

Plant name: Polyanthus
Latin name: Primula L.
Varieties included: Polyanthus Supernova, Polyanthus Crescendo

Polyanthus are the perfect addition to outdoor spaces of any size. Their beautiful blooms in striking colours  

Before You Start

If you are planting in a garden container, make sure it is clean and has drainage holes in the base.  You will need a good quality compost, trowel, watering-can and gloves may also be useful.

Planting Guide

When planting directly into a garden bed or border it is often best to lay out your plants still in the pots so you can make sure you plant them in the best place to get the overall visual impact you are wanting. 

Once you have decided where the plant is going dig a hole a little bit bigger than the pot size in the garden bed / border. 

Next, take the plant out of the pot.  This can be done easily by squeezing the sides of the pot between your thumb and fingers, then releasing your grip on the pot. This helps the roots come away from the pot. 

Then hold the plant by the base of the stem, close as possible to the pot and remove the plastic pot. Hold your plant by the root ball and position in the middle of the hole. 

The top of the compost around the plant should be a little lower than the level of the bed / border.  If you need to dig a little deeper take the plant out and make the hole a bit deeper.

Once the Polyanthus plant fits in the hole you can twist it around to get the best side of the plant facing forwards.  When you are happy with the position fill the hole back in around the root ball and firm the soil back in. 

Finally give the garden plant a good water, wherever possible trying to avoid getting water on the flowers.

Avoid planting during the hottest parts of the day. They prefer to be planted during the cooler part of the day as this reduces their stress levels (and nobody wants to see her stressed believe us!)

Positioning

Polyanthus will be happy in any part of your garden, but they will thrive if you can find a sunny spot for them.

Watering & Feeding Guide

Keep your Polyanthus well-watered, especially in warmer and windier weather, as the soil will dry out a bit quicker in these conditions. Make sure you don’t overwater though to prevent the leaves from moulding and being more prone to disease.

They will benefit from a feed every week or two, using a multipurpose feed.

Soil type: Polyanthus can be planted in any type of soil. Use a potting mix compost for containers and hanging baskets for better moisture retention and drainage.

 

Top Tips

Deadheading will promote further flowering. 

Polyanthus make a great centrepiece to an Autumn/Spring container – try planting surrounded by violas and something trailing like Ivy to add colour to your garden all season long!