Dryad Nursery Dryad Gold & Estonian Spirit Ebay

[Blonde Ingrid]

Just heard from my AT that Anne Wright will be launching an Ebay campaign of her special snowdrops imminently, probably by the weekend!!

This is rumoured to include the Dryad Gold Series, including Gold Sovereign (shown below), in addition the Estonian Spirit Group including the delicious 'Kullake'.

There may well be some special greens as well.

Good hunting!

[Alan_b]

I cannot remember hearing of the "Estonian Spirit Group" before.  Spencer Davis Group yes, Estonian Spirit Group no.  I tried Google and that brought me to this site: http://www.palmse.ee/en/event/estonian-spirits but that doesn't seem quite right.  Eventually I stumbled across the eBay listing which says

Estonian Spirit Group of Galanthus nivalis - This group of yellow snowdrops has been introduced from Estonia. They are characterised by the small size, very pale yellow colouration of the ovary and inner segment mark, and pale silvery green leaves. The whole plant looks ghostly - which is why we have chosen this group name. This particular clone was found in the village of Esiküla on Kassari Island by Taavi Tuulik in 2007. It is a compact grower.

I still don't understand why the snowdrop on sale is described as a clone whilst the name says group.

[annew]

There are several clones included in the group. Taavi says most are so similar as to make it impractical to name them individually. However some people already have some of the clones and understanably wanted to know if the one for sale was the same or different to the one they had. The ones to be offered will be identified by clone number where possible to avoid this problem.
I will put a page on my website shortly to explain all!

[Alan_b]

Thanks Anne.  I was being tongue-in-cheek when I asked the question but eBay listings are ephemeral and I thought the Estonian Spirit Group deserved a permanent record of what it was.  I'll look out for the page on your website or perhaps you can post a link when it is there.     

[annew]

I've put what information I have on a page on my website:
http://www.dryad-home.co.uk/pages/ESTONIAN%20SPIRIT%20GROUP%20SNOWDROPS.html

[Alan_b]

I'm still a bit confused.  There's "Kullake" and some other unnamed clones.  But there's a passing reference on the website to Käina 2007/3 which is presumably the reference designation of another clone.  And there is the one recently sold on eBay which may be neither of these.

Edit:  There seems to be more information on Anne's web page than when I last looked (unless I missed it).  Now we have:

• "Kullake"
• Käina 2007/3
• 2009/2
• 2009/10
• Taavi's own garden seedling

[annew]

Exactly what is confusing you, Alan?

[Brian Ellis]

I would have thought that Anne has quite succinctly given their history, and, very helpfully for those that have not seen them shown pictures so that you can see how beautiful they are.  Personally I think they are absolutely delightful and, in many ways I prefer them to most of the 'yellows'.

[Alan_b]

I don't know if I failed to scroll right down to the bottom of Anne's 'Estonian Spirit Group' web page on the first occasion that I visited it (using an old and slow computer at the time) or if it went through a preliminary version before reaching its final form.  But I find it perfectly clear now. 

Speaking for myself, I find that yellow snowdrops often look more green in photographs than they do in life so I like to see them in person.  I'm a bit red/green colour blind so I don't see why that should affect my perception of yellow but many's the time I have been shown slides of yellow snowdrops that look green to me.  So Anne, if you ever exhibit these new 'Estonian Spirit Group' snowdrops, please let us know in advance.