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Auriculas

Auriculas are the alpine cousins of our wild primroses. Also known as the bear's ears primrose, they have smooth rounded fleshy leaves often covered with powder, to protect them from the intense solar radiation of the high mountains. Their jewel-like colours were much loved by the 18th and 19th century florists, although they are considered old-fashioned plants, they are still cherished today by young and old alike.

To find out a bit more about the fascinating history of the Auricula take a look at our Auricula History pages.

They are broadly split into two categories :

Garden Auriculas include alpine, border, doubles and striped. These are intended for the garden and are fully hardy and relatively easy to grow. Can be grown in pots or in the ground, but make sure they have good drainage in winter and protection from slugs.

Show auriculas are split into 5 distinct types : self, fancy, green edged, grey edged and white edged. All have a distinct circle of white paste or farina at the centre of the flower. The show auriculas are often grown in pots and need a little more attention if you are to succeed in producing top quality flowers.

Flowering period: Mid-spring- early summer.

For tips on growing Auriculas see the sections on Garden auriculas and Show auriculas.

Subcategories

Border Auriculas

Border auriculas are classified among the ‘Garden auriculas’ as they are bred to be vigorous, free-flowering plants that are often scented. They come in a huge variety of colours, some with powdery leaves, some with bright green rounded or crenelated leaves. Barnhaven has been breeding Border auriculas for many years and we have developed our own seed strains. We also have named Border cultivars in our collection. Some of which have been selected from our own seed strains if they are outstanding and many of which are old cultivars, mainly from English breeders.

Flowering period: Mid-spring- early summer.

Culture: They are very easy to grow as long as you ensure they are in a free-draining spot in part-shade. They look best in large pots, troughs or planted in groups at the edge of a border or rockery. They can be divided every two or three years as they tend to get a bit leggy. Some will cultivars will produce quite a lot of seed.

For more information on growing Border auriculas please consult our section on Garden auriculas.
Alpine Auriculas

Alpine auriculas have brightly coloured, velvety flowers which are often slightly larger than the show types. The corolla outside the centre should be gradually shaded from dark near the centre to light towards to edge.

They are sub-divided into two groups - gold-centred or light-centred. There is no farina on the flower or foliage which means they are happy being planted outside in a border or rockery as they will not spoil in the rain.

The plants in our Alpine auricula collection have come from many varied sources but we inherited a large number of them from Val Woolley's collection in the UK when we took over her National Alpine auricula collection in 2016.

Flowering period: Mid-spring- early summer.

Culture: If you are trying auriculas for the first time we often recommend the Alpine group as they are very showy but a bit easier than some of the true Show auriculas. They will generally offset quite readily and often set seed. Fully hardy, happiest in a well-drained, part-shady spot which is not allowed to fully dry out, or in pots.

For more information on growing Alpine auriculas please consult our section on Garden auriculas.
Double Auriculas

Double auriculas exist in a broad array of colours and forms. Considered as part of the ‘Garden auricula’ group, they can are not difficult to cultivate and flower quite readily.

They were amongst the first novelties grown by early Florists in the seventeenth century and are mentioned in books and depicted in paintings of the time. Some of the most prized doubles fetched a lot of money and were a valuable addition to a collection. Sadly they fell out of fashion when the Show auriculas came into prominence and it was only in the second half of the twentieth century that interest was kindled again. Thanks in part to Florence Bellis's work and other growers in America, the double auriculas were introduced back to England and there are now many amateur and professional growers producing some excellent doubles in a huge array of colours and forms.

Flowering period: Mid-spring- early summer.

Height: 10-15 cm

Culture: They are fairly easy to grow and produce a lot of off-sets but will rarely produce seed on their own. They may need a little extra feeding to enable them to produce really good flowers but can be grown in well-drained garden borders, pots or troughs. Fully hardy, happiest in a well-drained, part-shady spot which is not allowed to fully dry out, or in pots.

For more information about growing double auriculas, please consult our section on Garden auriculas.
Striped Auriculas

Striped auriculas have unusual flowers and are fun to grow. The stripes are formed by farina on the coloured petals but sometimes the petals have streaks of different colours in them too which give them the stripy appearance. Considered as part of the ‘Garden auricula’ group, they are usually free-flowering, fairly vigorous plants that multiply rapidly. Some of the cultivars have powdery leaves. They tend to have taller stems than some of the other groups.

Before the edged varieties appeared at the beginning of the 18th century, striped auriculas were were highly prized but as people lost interest they fell out of fashion and were no longer grown. Several growers applied themselves to the task to bring them back to life in the second half of the 20th century and they returned to the show bench in the 1970s.

Flowering period: Mid-spring- early summer.

Height: 10-20 cm

Culture: Well-drained garden borders, pots or troughs.

For more information on growing Striped auriculas please consult our section on Garden auriculas.
Show Self Auriculas

Show Self auriculas are show auriculas whose flowers are uniformly coloured from the paste to the margin. They have a golden tube surrounded by a dense white paste or farina which contrasts sharply with the brightly coloured petals. They are traditionally red, yellow, auricula blue (which is really a kind of purple) and a very dark red which often makes the flowers appear black. They often have quite powdery leaves. There is something so satisfying to the eye about a well-grown Self auricula. The pure colours, the perfectly shaped petals and the exceedingly round centre are just, well...quite perfect.

It is thought they date back to the beginning of the 19th century. They nearly disappeared after the Second World War but are now popular again, thanks to many amateur growers.

Flowering period: Mid-spring- early summer.

Height: 10-15 cm

Culture: Show auriculas are usually grown in pots and kept sheltered from excess wet in the winter. It is best if they are given some cover from the rain as the 'paste' in the middle can run. Some of the cultivars can be quite tricky to grow and are more suited to the experienced grower. Watch out for red spider mite as they seem to like the powdery leaves.

For more information on growing Show self please consult our section on Show auriculas.
Show Fancy Auriculas

A Fancy auricula is a category used at auricula shows for plants that have flowers with a green, grey or white edge and one whose body colour (the main colour of the petal) is not black. The 'body' colours are often red or maroon but can be other colours too. They have the typical white powdery centre of the Show auricula. The criteria for these plants is not as strict as for the Edged auriculas so you will fine some fun and unusual plants. Some of the cultivars can are trickier than others with certain cultivars more suited to the experienced grower but quite a lot of them are not too difficult and will flower readily so check the individual descriptions.

Flowering period: Mid-spring- early summer.

Height: 10-15 cm

Culture: Show auriculas are usually grown in pots and kept sheltered from excess wet in the winter such as in a cold greenhouse or in pots on an outside window ledge. They will need some looking after to produce good flowers, including a careful watering and feeding schedule.

For more information on growing Show Fancy auriculas please consult our section on Show auriculas.
Show Edged auriculas

The aristocrats of the auricula world, the 'Edges' are some of the most sought after plants. They are also some of the most challenging to grow, which is why they can also be considered as some of the most fun and rewarding plants. The green edge is actually a mutation of the petal edges into leaf material, and depending on the amount of farina on the flower, this edge can be green, grey or white. According to the rules of the UK auricula societies the body colour should be black or very dark red if not they should be classified as a Fancy auricula though the rules are becoming more flexible.

Flowering period: Mid-spring- early summer.

Height: 10-15 cm

Culture: Show auriculas are usually grown in pots and kept sheltered from excess wet in the winter such as in a cold greenhouse or in pots on an outside window ledge. They will need some looking after to produce good flowers, including a careful watering and feeding schedule.

For more information on growing Show Edged auriculas please consult our section on Show auriculas.