I do plan on fixing the shelf, and sanding and staining the whole thing dark grey, but I decided to put that job off because the flowers are only going to last a couple more weeks. It was a real faff of a job, and the middle shelf is slightly on the huh, as they say in Norfolk. There was a mini crisis when I discovered that the shelves were too short for the plants! But my father-in-law helped me to remove and rearrange the shelves. After handing over £20 to a lovely old chap in the wilds of Norfolk, I had my theatre. The theatre itself is an an old, pine kitchen shelving unit that I found on Gumtree. These include the Doubles, Selfs, Fancies, Edges and Stripes. My plants cost around £30, and if I get on well with them this year, I may try to grow some of the more specialist ‘show’ types next year. The Woottens website has some useful information about auriculas, including how to grow and care for them, so do take a look if you’re interested.
I’m going to do my best to keep them alive!
The auriculas are frost hardy and will live in the garage over winter, since I don’t yet own a greenhouse or cold frame. They produce many flowers per truss and are strong growers in the garden.” The flowers have one of these two-coloured eyes with petals that start with a dark colour and fade to a lighter shade. “The alpine group contains two smaller groups – either ‘light centred alpine’ or ‘gold centred alpines’. She suggested I start with alpine auriculas, which are ideal if you’ve never grown auriculas before.
Auricula theatre for sale uk how to#
I came away with nine, perfect, little auriculas, and lots of helpful advice from their auricula specialist, Sandra Sutton, about how to care for and propagate them. They’re only open to the public on certain days, but to my delight, they were holding an auricula open day at just the right time. A quick Google search led me to Woottens of Wenhasten, a plant nursery near Southwold in Suffolk that specialises in auriculas, among other plants. My next task was to find a local nursery selling auriculas to fill the shelves, as they’re not the kind of plant you’ll find in a normal garden centre. As luck would have it, my lovely mother-in-law informed me that they have lots of old pots going spare! It’s always worth trying to get things that can be reused, before buying new. I popped a post on a local recycling/selling group on Facebook, asking if anyone had any old, small terracotta pots that they no longer had a use for. If you’d like to grow auriculas and display them in a theatre, here’s what you’ll need: I think they look lovely like that, sitting on the shelves, all perfect and pretty. And you can more easily appreciate the beauty of the flowers when they’re at eye height. So, auricula growers keep their plants under glass over winter, and only display them when they begin flowering in spring, in an auricula theatre. What’s more, they need to be shaded in hot, summer weather, as strong sun will scorch them. Rain will ruin the perfection of the flowers, washing away the farina. For the flowers to be at their best, it’s important that the plants are kept in a sheltered spot, away from wet and windy weather. They require very particular care and growing conditions.
And they are sweetly scented, especially en masse. The leaves are a silvery green, smooth and surprisingly tough and fleshy. Auriculas were originally bred from just three wild forms of primula, and over 400 years, thanks to the enthusiasm of plant breeders, thousands of hybrids have been created.īut growing auriculas is not easy. Their patterned, multicoloured petals are dusted with powdery farina, and held high, on long, straight stalks. As soon as I saw the little auricula theatre at Sissinghurst Castle Garden last month, I just knew I had to have one.Īuricula flowers are exquisite perfection.
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