Galanthus in February 2013

[John Aipassa]

My best yellow so far.

Sandersii 'Chatton' a selection by Ian Christie.

Pictures were taken yesterday on a sunny afternoon.

[hwscot]

Another Sandersii to add to John's. Still a bit new to galanthomania, as to posting. This is one of three I got from Rod Begbie last year, and kept outdoors over winter in a clay pot. Got one other sandersii last year, kept in identical pot and compost, still only about 3mm above the compost.



Could anyone more knowledgeable say if I should expect this much difference in timing within the sandersii group, or might it be that the solitary one came in the green (and seemed to settle very well) while the ones from Rod Begbie came dormant later in the year?

Your 'Chatton' looks very good, John. Wonder if he will have any at Dunblane. (My first ever proper grown-up snowdrop event! Scotrail permitting.)

[Alan_b]

The reason Sandersii Group is a group is that there are very many which are well-nigh impossible to distinguish by appearance.  Probably some are good doers and others not, some flower early or later but they all look much the same.  I don't know what grounds Ian Christie had for selecting "Chatton" and giving it a name.  For that matter, forumist 'snowdropcollector' has one called 'Elles Dream' http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10034.msg266090#msg266090 but again it looks like just another Sandersii Group snowdrop to me.

In the snowdrop world we are in danger of being swamped by names.  Sandersii Group is one of the most sensible rationalisations of nomenclature we have, so should not be disregarded lightly.     

[David Nicholson]

Very sensible point of view Alan, it could equally apply to lots of other genera too

[Ian Y]

The reason Sandersii Group is a group is that there are very many which are well-nigh impossible to distinguish by appearance.  Probably some are good doers and others not, some flower early or later but they all look much the same.  I don't know what grounds Ian Christie had for selecting "Chatton" and giving it a name.  For that matter, forumist 'snowdropcollector' has one called 'Elles Dream' http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10034.msg266090#msg266090 but again it looks like just another Sandersii Group snowdrop to me.

In the snowdrop world we are in danger of being swamped by names.  Sandersii Group is one of the most sensible rationalisations of nomenclature we have, so should not be disregarded lightly.     

Using groups is fine and logical to a point but as you state yourself Alan although they all look similar some are better growers and increase while others seem to struggle. Common senses says that most growers will want those that are the strong growers and so they need to be identifiable from the rest of the group and so you end up with named clones from a group.

[John Aipassa]

Ian's 'Chatton' received a PC so his form must be doing something right. According to Ian it is a very good doer.

I don't know if Ian is in Dunblane, but you could ask him hwscot . He's a forum member.

[Maggi Young]

Ian Christie has been away in England attending Snowdrop events - he will be at Dunblane on Friday and Saturday.

From past experience I know that Ian names snowdrops that do well here in Scotland.

[Tim Ingram]

Hardly any yellows have done well for me in the open garden, except for Wendy's Gold. That's why Anne Wright's controlled crosses with yellow snowdrops are so exciting - there are likely to be other yellow varieties which prove equally garden worthy.

[Alan_b]

From past experience I know that Ian names snowdrops that do well here in Scotland.

I don't doubt that Ian had his reasons.  I looked on his web site and you can buy Sandersii for £8 or Sandersii Chatton for £15.  But I couldn't find any mention of what, apart from the price, is the difference.

[Maggi Young]

I don't doubt that Ian had his reasons.  I looked on his web site and you can buy Sandersii for £8 or Sandersii Chatton for £15.  But I couldn't find any mention of what, apart from the price, is the difference.

Well the obvious answer is that a named clone that is in short supply and being increased to sell will always be more expensive -that's  the same for any new form,  I think.

As I said before, it seems to do well in Scotland and, from John A's report, in the Netherlands, too - so that is one difference from many of the group.

[Alan_b]

Yes, that's the reason it's more expensive but I was curious as to what particular merit it had to become a named clone.  I was hoping Ian might have given a brief synopsis on his web site but, although there's often a clue, I could not find one in this instance.

[Maggi Young]

I thought that with his "retirement" lists, there is no description of any 'drops on Ian's list online.

With his frenetic level of activity, rushing around the country all the time, I am not surprised about that!

[TC]

Now for something completely different - sort of. I have been waiting for sunshine to arrive so I could get some update shots of the plantings in Fullarton Woods.  No such luck and as we are supposed to be getting snow tomorrow I went along today.  It always amazes me how tough snowdrops are.  Last year had freezing conditions at flowering time.  Since the turn of the year we have had about 4 dry days and the wood has been like a quagmire on occasions.  The flowers have not opened fully as yet - neither would you at 1c !!!
The first few are general views.
 1169 is a small clump of doubles.  A poor picture as I cannot get down to ground level now - correction I cannot get up from groud level !
   Nearly all the snowdrops approach 25cms high.  One clump quite far in, viewed with binoculars had 50 blooms.  I wonder how long it took to reach that size.
As far as I am aware, they are all nivalis but surely there must be something different here from self seeded plants over the decades.

The patch of flowers in 1167 covers an area of approx 100 metres  x  50metres

[mark smyth]

Tom do you ever seen odd looking snowdrops there?

[John Aipassa]

I wanted a yellow one and a good doer, not a sulker. I could have ordered an ordinary Sandersii or even a 'Lowick' from Ian C. last year. But I am glad I chose Ian's recommendation. I ordered two and one of the two came with an extra bulb already on it, so I was able to plant three in different spots in the garden. All three are flowering now. The two bigger bulbs do have side growths popping up next to the inflorescence, so the promise of bulking up is there.

And if the real promise is like the photo shown below, which is Ian's photo he shared with me, than I will be a happy man.