What kind of plicatus?

[ScotsmanInKent]

Hi Everyone

I have a  few clumps of plicatus in my garden that looks quite different from all the others of which I have quite a few growing naturalized.

The leaves are larger, about 6 inches long and wider, about 1/2 to 1 inch.
The leaves themselves are very green and the grey stripe in the centre very pronounced.
The photo of one of the clumps is not very good, sorry, it is still suffering a bit from being frozen and under 6 inches of snow.
Picked a flower and brought it in to get it to open, none of the ones outside have opened yet.

Is there anything interesting about this plicatus or is it just a slight variant from the norm?
Prized open a few unopened ones and they all seem to have an inner that is mostly green from base to tip.
Anyone recognise this as a named "variety". I think the previous owner of the garden liked snowdrops as there are several types of nivalis I recognise (Atkinsii, Sam Arnott, Magnet, Merlin, Anglessey Abbey) and a few different elwesii growing in clumps in this same area.

Thanks for your help. I can take more photos Friday if that would help.

[Alan_b]

Here's a clump of Augustus I photographed whilst visiting one of the gardens open for the Gala.  I would have thought the leaves look distinctly greener than in your photograph - but perhaps that's just the photograph. 

[johnw]

Alan - My Augustus has always had two prongs from the apical mark toward the base as shown. Does virus notably affect the markings of Augustus? I see the same sort of pronging in plicatus seedlings but less distinctly so and tose are not viral!

Such a good snowdrop that I'm afraid has to be kept isolated.

Any word on the virus-free Augustus that was all the talk a few years back? 

johnw

[Alan_b]

I cannot really comment, John.  I cultivated Augustus for a few years, it looked virused and then it died.  But the clump I photographed in Devon looked pretty healthy to me. 

[ichristie]

Hello, nice picture, I think you may have a seedling, I notice in the picture that a small seedling leaf is appearing the Galanthus plicatus do set lots of seed it is also possible that you may have some hybid blood in the plant, cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[Carolyn Walker]

I cannot really comment, John.  I cultivated Augustus for a few years, it looked virused and then it died.  But the clump I photographed in Devon looked pretty healthy to me. 

I would love to know more about forumists' personal experience with the virus that infects 'Augustus'.  I read about it in the snowdrop bible which says that almost all stocks are infected.  I was given a plant that was labeled G. plicatus subsp. byzantinus, but later the owner decided it was 'Augustus'.  It is planted in the ground near other snowdrops and looks perfectly healthy.  Should I move it somewhere in isolation?  How far away is safe?  Maybe I should just dispose of it.  My stock of what could be the true 'Beth Chatto' is on the next terrace up the hillside.  Thanks, Carolyn

[Gerard Oud]

The virused Augustus will stay the same clump you started with or vanish in time. I do have some viused bulbs i received a copple a years ago. I do keep them on a separate place with other virus infected cultivars to show people how exactly virus looks like in the leaves/flower/pedicel or stem and seedpot. Because most people dont know how it looks like. I do have a virusfree stock of Augustus too and they are significant different to the infected ones. Very shiny dark green leaves with lots of flowers and they grow like weed!

[ScotsmanInKent]

Hi Everyone

I think this plicatus resembles Augustus very much but does no have the exact same inner green mark as the photo.
I am guessing it is indeed a unique seedling and may well have some hybrid in it.

I really like it as it grows very well here and does have quire striking foliage and a large flower on a long stalk.

I would like more similar but different plicatus to this one.
If anyone has similar seedling or named plicatus and would like to swop some bulbs please do PM me.
I am a recent snowdrop convert and would love to increase my numbers of variants but cant affoed current ebay prices!

Again thank you all.

Simon