Belonging to the same section as P. kisoana , Primula sieboldii is at home in my woodland garden. Also a very early bloomer, this one combats summer heat and dryness by going dormant after bloom and disappearing below ground. The first time it happened, I was certain I'd managed to kill it, too. 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.