Primula Cortusoides

The Sayan Mountains in Siberia extend for eight hundred miles between the Atay Mountains and Lake Baykal; they are largely roadless and uninhabited... a vast (175,000 sq. miles) area of wild mountains and deep, swift rivers. They are home to Primula cortusoides; a small primrose with lilac flowers. It stays in bloom longer than any other primrose we can grow; the whole month of May here in Iowa, and longer in cooler, wetter climates than ours. It's very hardy (zone 2-3 winter hardy), but doesn't tolerate dryness, and will be blasted by hot sunlight, so I have had to extend a little thought in siting it in our garden. It rewards the effort by forming patches, and seeding.