There's a new Frosted Jade in town...

Primulina yungfuensis - Original Frosted Jade

There is much interest in the species Primulina yungfuensis, first shown and distributed by Jim Roberts.  It has distinctive variegated foliage and I’ve proposed a marketing common name of ‘Frosted Jade’.

            Once I got stock established, I have propagated hundreds.  Its only weakness is brittleness --- its leaves want to snap off.  I think that it could be a stand-alone plant, promoted as Frosted Jade.

            Awhile back, I noticed a different leaf pattern----a mutation in the population of yungfuensis.  It has much more silver and is distinctively different from the original clone.

            I’ve propagated these leaves to prove that it is stable.  Once I have a group to test, I can decide about naming and possible release.

            A new Frosted Jade…

Primulina yungfuensis- New clone from vegetative mutation

What's New?

Primulina 'Rachel' grown by Karyn Cichocki

            The most common question I got over the years when talking to Garden Center buyers is “What’s new?”

            New plants keep gardeners interested and help sales.  Of course, “New” is relative to what you’ve seen before.  And there is a lag between what the Garden Center buyer decides is new and what the final consumers see as different.

            This helps explain how managers in the plant industry think that Fairy Gardening has peaked while the facts show  that people are just now learning about it.  We forget that the subjects we think about daily are only casually observed by consumers --- sometimes for only 5 minutes per year.

            Asian Violets are new and will be for years.  Only hard core hobbyists know about Primulina.  Casual observers have not been exposed to them.

            The main issue has simply been --- no supply.

            I have P. ‘Loki’, P. ‘Rachel’, P. ‘Piccolo’ and P. ‘Betty’ in production and for sale.  By 2017, Frosted Jade (P. yungfuensis) will be available.

            ‘New’ plants are here now.

Frosted Jade

Primulina yungfuensis grown by Bill Price

Primulina yungfuensis grown by Drew Norris

            Common names and marketing names are a part of Horticulture.  They evolve and there is no stopping them.

            Primulina yungfuensis has tremendous potential as a commercial plant, but we need a better name if it will be talked about.

            Several names have been proposed to me and the consensus is that Frosted Jade should be the one. Jade has a Chinese connection and the leaf has a dark green color.  If you look at yungfuensis with the sun shining on it, the silver variegation on the dark green jade sparkles like frost looks on grass.

Hybrids get nice English word names that have some significance to the hybridizer who usually gets to name his selected new releases.

Species have Latin names but can be designated with a cultivar name, if there is variability in the collected specimens.  Sometimes, a geographical name will be added to a species name to distinguish it from other clones of that species.  Occasionally, some named species cultivars are determined, by taxonomist, to be different enough to be named a different species.

            While all of this is going on, common names and marketing names are valuable to keep the plant world turning and the horticulture trade moving.

            Through a technicality, the botanical name cannot be Primulina yungfuensis ‘Frosted Jade’.  By adding the cultivar name, it implies that there are other different clones of the yungfuensis species.  Since at this time there is only one known clone of yungfuensis in North America, there cannot be any distinction.

            By announcing my marketing name of Frosted Jade, I hope that it becomes the common name for Primulina yungfuensis.

            In casual conversation it will be much easier to ask:  “How’s your Frosted Jade doing?” then saying: “How’s your Primulina yungfuensis doing?”

            Will Frosted Jade gain acceptance? --- The market will decide.