Galanthus November 2022

[Stefan B.]

Galanthus corcyrensis

[Roma]

Galanthus corcyrensis
The first one is near my back door in fairly moist soil which gets no sun all the time the Galanthus are above ground.  In the summer it can get quite dry and the Galanthus bulbs are hidden by a large Hosta.
The second is in the front garden in well drained soil in full sun. They are both the same clone. Sometimes the clump in the sunny spot flowers earlier but this year they are both about the same stage. The scapes of the clump in the shadier spot are noticeably longer and the leaves are more advanced.

[TCalkins]

Blooming mid-November in northern Virginia, USA

[Maggi Young]

lovely to see your galanthus getting sunny days for you to enjoy them, Tim!

 This month's International Rock Gardener  free e-magazine will feature a new autumn snowdrop, named by Tim Calkins and  formal news of Anne Wright's latest series.  Online Friday 25th!

[Mariette]

@ Stefan: Your G. corcyrenis has a very impressive mark!

@ Roma: The same experience with me: You´ll never know whether a certain clone will flower at the same time in different spots in the garden or not. Also, the scapes grow much taller in the shadier green-house than in the border.

Tim, You grow a lovely range of G. bursanus! I like the second one best, but generally, G. bursanus is especially attractive to me because the marks resemble those of G. gracilis, my favourite.

Just two unnamed G. elwesii in my garden: this one is my earliest flowering G. elwesii var. elwesii.



This one is quite substantial with its 3 cm outers and makes a welcome contrast to Arum italicum ´White Winter´.

[Leena]

Really nice to see autumn flowering snowdrops!
How in G.bursanus in hardiness compared to G.reginae-olgae?

Mariette, what a wonderful picture of snowdrops among Cyclamen! Also, it is nice G.elwesii in a way that it doesn't have big leaves yet.

[Maggi Young]

lovely to see your galanthus getting sunny days for you to enjoy them, Tim!

 This month's International Rock Gardener  free e-magazine will feature a new autumn snowdrop, named by Tim Calkins and  formal news of Anne Wright's latest series.  Online Friday 25th!

International Rock Gardener e-magazine - november 2022  IRG #155

In the areas of the world where Autumn-flowering snowdrops are grown, this seems to be a good year for these enchanting little flowers. The major excitement about these bulbs comes in Spring (I was going to write “hysteria”, but thought that was a tad unfair!) but there are Autumn blooming plants within galanthus and other genera too, and these are equally enjoyed by their devotees. I pause here to differentiate once more that there are “true” Autumn Crocus – not the oft repeated common name applied in error over many years to what are actually Autumn flowering Colchicum, also foolishly referred to as “Meadow Saffron” – a mistake that could be fatal. If people are able to learn the name Narcissus or Crocus, I have no sympathy with those who claim it is “too difficult” to educate folks to the proper names of such species.  Rant over – but you will see that I feel strongly on this point. It’s not often that your editor bangs her own drum so I hope readers will understand!

 Anne Wright, whose Dryad nursery is a small-scale mail-order-only nursery based in Tockwith, North Yorkshire, UK, grows and breeds miniature narcissi, snowdrops, and hepaticas. Anne writes here of her choice of her latest series of Galanthus hybrids which will be registered with the Koninklijke Algemeene Vereeniging Voor Bloembollencultuur Royal General Bulb Growers' Association (KAVB).  Anne’s attention to detail in her hybridisation projects is focussed and involves constant monitoring and she clearly excels in this.
The nursery was set up originally simply as a way of disposing of excess bulbs from her hobby, and still has this function, but she also now propagates the plants especially for the nursery list.

The next writer on Galanthus is a new contributor this month, Tim (Timothy) Calkins, from America wh names a Galanthus regainae--oolgae cultivar. Tim has been developing his garden in Reston, Virginia, USA for 30 years, trying to change a suburban yard of under 1/3 acre (0.12 hectare) of sun-baked, grass-covered clay into a variety of garden environments.  It includes raised vegetable beds, trough gardens, a small orchard, a small bog, and a mix of sunny borders and shaded areas for winter blooms, spring ephemerals and woodland perennials.  Particular enthusiasms include galanthus (he grows 19 species and several hundred cultivars), rain lilies (zephyranthes and habranthus), narcissus, and a growing collection of lycoris.  Something is in bloom, if not every day of the year, at least every month.
Final item this month is a brief plant portrait of Primula frondosa, from a Czech friend, Zdeněk Řeháček.

Download the IRG here https://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2022Nov241669317506IRG_155.pdf


Cover image: Galanthus ‘Dryad Princess’ – photo by Anne Wright.