In 1941, World War II was raging overseas. A small group of Primula enthusiasts formed the American Primrose Society in Portland, Oregon. According to Florence Levy’s article “First Steps”, plant societies were fashionable at the time.
Through the forties, the membership slowly extended beyond the local group with the first primrose show held in Portland in April 1942 and the first journal mimeographed in 1943. There were new members in other parts of the country, Canada, and the UK. It was not easy with the war emergency on throughout the country in those years. Fortunately, the society remained vigilant in their exchange of ideas and interest for Primula.
After more than 70 years, the enthusiasm for the genus Primula still vibrates today with membership still going strong globally. We have members in the USA, Canada, the UK, Europe and Japan.
The American Primrose Society truly is an international society.