The first Galanthus nivalis starting flowering?

[Gerard Oud]

I has been raining for a while here so it looks wet, but they are planted in peatmoss so that is no problem, what we need now is a bit frost and not so much rain.

[Maggi Young]

Flowers from chips in less than a year is fantastic! Did you feed the young ones much? And if so, what did you feed them with, please?

[Martin Baxendale]

Gerard, did you check if the flowers are coming from the new bulbs or from the remains of the old bulb chip? I had this phenomenon one year and Ian Young (I think it was) said the embryonic flower had most likely formed in the old bulb and sprouted alongside the new bulbil from the chip.

You could poke away some compost to check.

I wonder if the new small bulbs formed in the bags last Summer would have been able to form a flower bud while needing their energy to make the new bulb scales? 

[Paddy Tobin]

Gerard,

That is an extraordinary success with a chipped bulb. Could you describe what treatment you gave them to bring them on so quickly. No doubt you didn't put the chipped bulbs straight into peat. What did you start them off in? When did you move them on etc?

Paddy

[mark smyth]

If only Janet, Judy's, would come in for a quick chat on this subject

[Gerard Oud]

When i chip the bulbs around July i take the biggest ones from a species, they have proven to be best growers. I try to cut them in as much pieces as possible (vertically) and after a fungicide treatment i put them in perlite.
 Then they stay in a separate room with a constant temperature of 24 'celsius, then after a 6 to 8 weeks you can see the new bulbils grown on the old chips.
I use the fertilised peat you can buy in gardencentre to plant them in.
I know that when you chip a bulb, there is a reaction starting, lets say its a reaction to survive. They start growing very fast. And about the early flowering Martin, i think its the one that got the biggest part of the the bulbbottom where stadium G develops.
When you chip them in July there is no stadium G visible, i think its visible round the end of August.
But i will have a look inside the pots to be sure.

[Gerdk]

Then they stay in a separate room with a constant temperature of 24 'celsius, then after a 6 to 8 weeks you can see the new bulbils grown on the old chips.

Gerard,
Do you mean a separate room or a container similar to a fridge (with the opposite effect of course)? I am looking for something which can be used for a small amount of bulbs/chips.

Gerd

[Martin Baxendale]

And about the early flowering Martin, i think its the one that got the biggest part of the the bulbbottom where stadium G develops.
When you chip them in July there is no stadium G visible, i think its visible round the end of August.
But i will have a look inside the pots to be sure.

Sounds like the flower will be coming from the old chip then.

[Maggi Young]

Do you mean a separate room or a container similar to a fridge (with the opposite effect of course)? I am looking for something which can be used for a small amount of bulbs/chips.

Gerd, we put the chips in a plastic/poly bag with perlite and keep them in a cupboard, next to the hot water tank of the house... nice and dark and warm.. they like it!

[Brian Ellis]

Gerd I have put them in a propagator and kept that covered.  I didn't want them to get too warm so pleated a newspaper and put that in the bottom to keep them above the cables.  It seemed to work well.

[Gerard Oud]

Gerd,
I put in a special cel were we grow the microprops of the lillies in tubes, it has a constant temperature all the time.

[Gerard Oud]

Martin,

They came out of the old bulbchip, but still remarkable. I do cut them in 6 to 8 pieces and the flower still survives, i must say this is a very good growing selection of "Maximus".

[Gerdk]

Maggi,Brian & Gerard,

Sorry, I wasn't able to reply until today because my computer had a breakdown (me too).
Thank you alltogether for your kind replies. Our heating system has no hot water tank, so I'll either use soil heating cables or I'll build a small cell in which I can control the temperature.

Gerd

[Maggi Young]

So glad your computer is mended, Gerd, and to see your flowers again on the Forum

[Gerard Oud]

Instead of the first flowering, this must be the last flowering.
Some special florepleno and a view of my secret snowdrop forrest were i found the poculoform florepleno and some florepleno that are looking up like tulips. The last picture is from a hybrid i call White madness because it shows a extra petal above the ovary and a extra flower from the spathe.