Belarina® Berry Darling Primrose - 72-Cell Plug Tray

Berry Darling brings a color you rarely see in a primrose: a deep, solid burgundy red. Fully double blooms, shaped like tiny roses, open over and over from the first mild days of spring until late spring, because the flowers set no seed and the plant keeps putting its energy into new buds.

It stays small, just 5 to 8 inches tall, which makes it a natural for the front of a shady bed, a woodland path or a spring container by the door. Pick a few flowers for a tiny vase; they hold up well indoors.

What it looks like

Fully double, rose-like flowers about 1.5 inches across, each packed with ruffled petals in a solid deep burgundy red with no contrasting eye. The blooms sit in a tight cluster just above the center of the plant, almost hiding the leaves at peak. Foliage is a low rosette of oblong, crinkled, bright green leaves 4 to 6 inches long with a quilted texture. The whole plant forms a neat mound 5 to 8 inches tall and 10 to 12 inches wide. In full bloom it looks like a small bouquet of dark red roses set on a bed of fresh green leaves.

Growing it with lavender

Primroses want cool shade and steady moisture, so give them a spot away from the lavender field, such as a woodland edge, a shaded front walk or the north side of the house.

Care

Give it part to full shade and humus-rich soil that stays evenly moist but never waterlogged, especially while it is blooming. Hardy in zones 4-8; pull off faded flowers to keep the plant tidy and divide crowded clumps after bloom every few years.

At a glance

• Botanical name: Primula vulgaris
• Flower color: Deep burgundy red
• Foliage: Bright green
• Growth habit: Low, rounded rosette
• Mature size: 5–8 in tall × 10–12 in wide
• USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
• Light: part sun to part shade, full shade
• Bloom start: Early-April
• Peak bloom: Late-April
• Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
• Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
• Pollinator value: Fair

Sizes and shipping

One full 72-cell plug tray: 72 young starter plugs of this variety (cells about 1⅓ in. wide × 2½ in. deep), rooted and ready to pot up into quarts or gallons. Best for growers and nurseries. Potted plants and plug trays ship during our live-plant seasons, March 1–May 31 and October 1–November 30; June through September is local pickup only. Plugs, potted plants and trays do not ship to AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT or WA.