Galanthus breeding

[Diane Whitehead]

I have been trying to cross my four clones of poculiform elwesii
with my friend's Wendy's Gold, for several years now, but Wendy
doesn't seem inclined to produce much pollen.  Last year I picked
the stamens from four flowers, and thought I had a little bit of pollen,
but didn't get any seeds.  Unfortunately, that is the only yellow
snowdrop growing here.  (We have a group that searches old
gardens every winter.)

How is Wendy over there?

[Martin Baxendale]

Diane, I've only used Wendy's Gold as a seed parent, not a pollen parent. You could try picking some flowers and keeping them in water indoors to see if the pollen flows more freely in the warm. That often works for me. I gently tap the flower as I hold its mouth just above or inside an empty matchbox. If the pollen is flowing, it'll cascade down into the matchbox and make a little golden patch which you can then dab with your brush.

[Diane Whitehead]

Unfortunately, it's my friend's plant.  She is very generous in
allowing me to take stamens, but I wouldn't pick flowers unless
she had masses, and she only has a few.

[Martin Baxendale]

Perhaps you could try putting a bell-jar, cloche or just a big jar over the flowers on a sunny day. The trapped warmth of the sun might help the pollen flow - then try tapping it into a matchbox.

[Diane Whitehead]

OK.  That sounds do-able.  We have been having some sunny days lately,
(very unusual), but the elwesiis aren't out yet. 

[Guff]

Not a breeding question, but a seed growing one.

I have been collecting snowdrop seeds for the past 3 years, usually 600-800 seeds each year. How long do they take to flower from seed?


Thanks for info.

[Diane Whitehead]

I am very good about recording when seeds are sown, and when
they germinate.  I am reasonably good about recording when and
where they are planted in the garden, but I am not very good at all
 about noting when they flower.

I have only two examples of length of time to flower from seed.

G. nivalis subplicatus collected north of Istanbul.  Sown 1998, flowered 2006

G. reginae-olgae sown 1999, flowered October 2006

[Martin Baxendale]

Not a breeding question, but a seed growing one.

I have been collecting snowdrop seeds for the past 3 years, usually 600-800 seeds each year. How long do they take to flower from seed?

Thanks for info.

In my experience it can be anything from 2 or 3 years to 7 or 8 years depending on the growing conditions and the kind of snowdrop seed. I have seedlings from crosses made 8 years ago that still haven't flowered. Pure species seedlings seem to flower faster than hybrids, and some species flower faster than others. It's really a question of how long is a piece of string.

[Hans J]

Diane + Martin ,

I sowing a lot of Galanthus - but my expieriences are only for species .
G. reg. olgae ssp. vernalis needs 3-4 year from sowing to flowering
G. gracilis : 4 years
G. alpinus : 4 years
G. elwesii : 4 years
G. nivalis : 5 years

I have still some other sowing -but I have to wait ....

[Diane Whitehead]

Usually I have pollinated snowdrops growing in the garden, but this
year I suddenly have lots of new pots of elwesii that I have just bought
in flower.

I was advised that pollen flows better when the plant is warm, so I
brought the plants inside, and got lots of pollen.  I held a little piece of
aluminum foil under the flower and tapped it on the top.  The pollen
fell down very nicely, so now I have pots with their pollen-covered foil
squares in one corner.

I have pollinated some flowers, but now - at what temperature will
the seeds develop best?  I have rooms of different temperatures,
various places in a big unheated greenhouse, and places of varying
shelter outside.  The weather is not springlike - above freezing, but
it snowed for a while today.

Has anyone experimented with this?

[Martin Baxendale]

Diane, it's best not to keep the pollinated pots in a warm room or the pods can abort. Cool but frost-free under glass is best.

[Diane Whitehead]

I have been sent some pollen from some yellow nivalis so that
I can try my idea of using it on my poculiform elwesii, of which I
have four clones. 

Only two have decided to flower this year.

Now I wonder whether the hybrids I produce will be fertile. The
only hybrid that I grow is Magnet, which is sterile.  Does this
mean that elwesii x nivalis will be sterile?  I will need to go on
a couple of generations to develop good yellows, so this would
be a disappointment.

Maybe I should also pollinate some nivalis, just to make sure I
get some plants that will produce children and grandchildren. I
have a couple of clumps of nivalis - quite ordinary ones.  Nivalis
here don't vary as does elwesii.  (This might just be the result of
elwesii being much better suited to our mediterranean climate,
so that oddities can thrive). 

[Martin Baxendale]

Yes, I'd use the pollen on some nivalis as well. I've found a number of inter-species hybrids are very infertile, setting no seed at all (e.g. Robin Hood, Merlin). Do you have any plicatus? Nivalis crosses quite readily with plicatus. But do try some nivalis X yellow nivalis, to give you a good chance of some fertile offspring if that's what you want to continue breeding.

[Anthony Darby]

I have a 'Robin Hood' with nearly six petals!

[Anthony Darby]

Apart from the trickiness of knowing what has pollinated what (scissors, muslin bags and paintbrushes needed), I would sow seeds fresh in pots. They germinate in the spring and take five years to flower.