Galanthus that are truly easy to recognise!

[mark smyth]

I'd bet that no-one can tell one poc from the others and that's why I don't have any in my garden

[fermi de Sousa]

I'd bet that no-one can tell one poc from the others and that's why I don't have any in my garden

I don't have any because I can't get any!
cheers
fermi

[johnw]

I would add 'Trymposter','South Hayes',You could blindfold me,and spin me around three times,and i would still pick them out.....

Steve  - I should fly you over to sort the mess out here......Trym, Trymposter, Tramp.........they leave my head spinning.

johnw

[MR GRUMPY]

 Alan,Trymposter keeps it's leaves very close to the ground,which makes a show piece of the flowers,which stay for a long time,a month last year.It's seems bomb proof too,where as Trym has erect leaves,and a smaller flower and a is little taller.
 

[MR GRUMPY]

Steve  - I should fly you over to sort the mess out here......Trym, Trymposter, Tramp.........they leave my head spinning.

johnw

[Alan_b]

Coming into flower soon here is Galanthus elwesii Peter Gatehouse.  Whilst you might not distinguish it from other elwesiis if you saw photographs, I think it is entirely distinctive from any other snowdrop that flowers at this time.  It has a much fuller green marking on the inner petals than anything else (that I can think of) and you can see a little of that green mark even on a cold day when the outer petals are closed.

[Brian Ellis]

Yes, I agree with you there Alan, mine are also about to flower.  Seeing the green through the gap between the claws is always attractive.

[Carolyn Walker]

I am very interested in this thread because in the US you don't get to see and compare very many cultivars.  I may think a cultivar is very distinct but it could be because similar cultivars are not available here.  The person who started the thread said distinctive snowdrops identified at a glance and thought 60 would meet the criterion.  To me that means without a key or a label.

Only 15 have been named though: Diggory, Swanton, Wasp, Lapwing, Green Mile, Lady Beatrix Stanley, Elizabeth Harrison, Hans Gluck, Hill Poe, Anglsey Abbey, Blewbury Tart, Lady Elphinstone, Trymposter, South Hayes, and Peter Gatehouse.  Is that it? 

[Alan_b]

I'm sure that's not it, Carolyn, and there are many more than 15; it's just that we are not fully focussed on snowdrops yet so nominations are a bit sparse!  In my mind I imagine I am wandering around a snowdrop garden where there are no labels and I think to myself which of those snowdrops would I recognise immediately without the possibility of confusion with another one.  Now that I think of it, for reasons indicated below it's probably best to assume that you are presented with clumps of snowdrops and can therefore see multiple examples of each individual cultivar. 

I am grateful to Steve for his explanation of why Tryposter is unique and easy to spot. 

I might be slightly inclined to take issue with Anglesey Abbey.  This has shining green, leaves unlike the normal glaucous nivalis colour, and a tendency to produce somewhat poculiform flowers.  I think in combination the two characteristics are unique but the poculiform nature of the flowers is not reliable and there are other more obscure snowdrops with similar leaves but ordinary flowers.  So given a clump of Anglesey Abbey you would need to find a poculiform flower to make a 100% positive identification.

Now I'll nominate Godfrey Owen, which with 6 outer and 6 inner petals is very distinctive.  My only reservation is that last year I encountered some that were not performing quite as they should that particular year so, as I don't grow this one myself, I don't know quite how reliable the 6x6 behaviour is.         

[mark smyth]

Wendy's Gold, Ailwyn, Modern Art, Sophie North, Walrus,

[snowdropcollector]

Pl E.A Bowles  , a easy grower for some, but hardly to grow for others. Like me  .

[mark smyth]

Alan is correct .. I'm not in snowdrop mode either

[Anthonyh]

Hello again everyone... I haven't posted for ages, and snowdrop mode is only just returning here as well... but more shoots are appearing  everyday in the bulb frame.

I'll suggest Sickle, and Augustus (the leaves help in both cases). Perhaps Fly fishing? It stands out rather more than Galatea and Magnet here.

I'm reluctant to suggest some others because although I can identify most of the snowdrops I grow at a glance, that may simply because I don't tend to buy snowdrops similar to the ones I already own....

[mark smyth]

so this is what we have so far. If you want to add to it copy the whole list

Ailwyn
Anglesey Abbey
Augustus
Blewbury Tart
Diggory
Hans Guck
Hill Poe
Lady Beatrix Stanley
Lady Elphinstone
Lapwing
Modern Art
Sickle
Sophie North
South Hayes
Swanton
Trymposter
Walrus
Wasp
Wendy's Gold


I've never seen Swanton so don't know how distinctive it is

[Alan_b]

Thanks for the list, Mark.  Speaking personally, I have sometimes confused Wendy's Gold and Wandlebury Ring, so I'm never confident I can tell them apart unless presented with the two side-by-side for comparison.