What Kind of Leaves Do Primroses Have?

Common Primrose

• The common primrose is known botanically both as Primula vulgaris and Primula acaulis. Its blossoms are mostly five-petal singles but include some lacy doubles. Although pale yellow is a common primrose color, blossoms also come in shades of gold, orange, pink, purple, red and white. Sometimes they have contrasting centers. The dark-green, elongated, tongue-shaped leaves have crinkly ridges and finely serrated edges. The crown of a primula plant should never be covered with soil. All primulas, including the common primrose, thrive in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Hardiness Zones 5 to 9. However, there are family members that do well in chillier climates.

Wedgeleaf Primrose

• You aren't likely to see the wedgeleaf primrose, a wildflower primula, unless you encounter it in Western Canada, Alaska or the damp, mountainous areas of Japan. Its hot pink blossoms with yellow centers have short stems and appear to float on the plant's smooth, scalloped, dark-green leaves. The Alaska-in-Pictures.com website notes that wedgeleaf primrose, Primula cuneifolia, flourishes in the alpine tundra of southeastern Alaska's Thompson Pass. The Coolweather.net website lists the pass, which is near the Richardson Highway and northeast of Valdez, as being the snowiest place in Alaska.

Oakleaf Primrose

• Another primula with unusual foliage is a newcomer called oakleaf primrose, which has leaves that are deeply lobed and look similar to those of oak trees. It was discovered among a regular crop of greenhouse primroses in 1999, according to the website of Heronswood, a Pennsylvania nursery that has been developing variants of the original plant.

Giant Cowslip

• The giant cowslip, Primula florindae, is among the tallest primulas, with flower stems up to 36 inches tall bearing clusters of tiny, yellow, trumpet-shaped blossoms. It has large, dark green, oval-shaped leaves that are rumply with toothed edges, but which come to a point unlike the rounded tips of most primrose leaves. Similar to the wedgeleaf primrose, the giant cowslip tolerates colder climates and thrives in damp soil. It does well in USDA Hardiness zones 3 to 8. It prefers partial shade, but tolerates full sun if constantly moist.