I tried a piece of this in the damp garden, but it did not like the continual moisture and passed away. This one wants good drainage. Flowers appear in open umbels of up to ten flowers in late spring. The individual flowers have frilled edges, echoing the crinkly edged leaves. There are several named varieties or types available, but nowhere near the number of clones grown in Japan, where it's something of a cult plant with societies devoted to it.
Clumps increase via rhizomes just beneath the surface of the soil.
Primula vulgaris 'Blaue Auslese' is the only representative in my garden of this popular primrose. Called the English primrose, it belongs to the Primula section. The common species is found wild in the UK, where its cheery yellow flowers signal spring. This species is adaptable to border conditions in rich, well-drained moist soil in shade to part shade. There are several sub-species and hybrids plus countless crosses that have used the species as one of the parents.