List of early-flowering snowdrops

[Hans J]

Alan ,

please look here :
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=6530.msg180266#msg180266

Hans

[Alan_b]

Thanks, Maggi and thanks for pointing out my misspelling.  For some reason I find I always start to spell rizehensis with an 'rh', as in rhino and rhizome, and by the time I have got the 'h' in the right place something else is liable to have gone wrong!

Thank, Hans, for the link back to 2011.  As far as I know (AFAIK) although a few of us grow autumn-flowering forms of rizehensis, there isn't yet a named cultivar.

[MR GRUMPY]

I've added some information about 'Sweetheart' sent to me by Michael Broadhurst.

In the November thread, Uvularia mentions Galanthus rizehensis Trabzon in flower for three weeks.  I cannot find much about this snowdrop, even whether 'Trabzon' is a name or just short for the description 'Trabzon form' which I find referenced elsewhere.  There is already a reference to early flowering forms of G. rizehensis (thanks to Hagen) so for lack of information I have not (yet) included Trabzon in the list.   

   Margaret Owen was selling rizehensis Trabzon.I too bought one and mine is nearly flowering with me.I asked about it at the time,and it was a seed collection from Trabzon.It should be labelled rizehensis coll Trabzon, as it's not a named plant.Hope that helps a little.

[Mariette]

So far I have tried and failed, twice, to establish 'Three Ships'.  But it's a very early season, I have seen 'Three Ships' in flower locally and as that is my (arbitrarily chosen) end-marker then I have to rule out anything else not yet in flower in my garden from being added to the list.  How is everyone else doing with their 'Three Ships'?

Hi Alan, ´Three Ships´ grows well for me, like most G. plicatus and nivalis do. They grow on a clay-based soil rich in humus, which seldom dries out. Perhaps Brian succeeded in a similar situation?

[Brian Ellis]

They grow on a clay-based soil rich in humus, which seldom dries out. Perhaps Brian succeeded in a similar situation?

Interestingly the answer is no.  Our soil is very free draining and I think that may have been the trouble, clay is some 45 cm below so a long way for roots to get down to for moisture!

[Alan_b]

My soil is very free-draining over chalk at some depth but I like to pot-grow my new snowdrops for at least one year to reduce the risk of importing diseases.  Neither of my attempts to grow 'Three Ships' survived the initial period of pot growth.  For pot growth I use 2 parts John Innes No.3 to 1 part sand.   

[Brian Ellis]

I use 2 parts john innes no.3,1 part sharp sand,1 part perlite and 1 part leafmould or multipurpose compost if I run out.  Could it be that the roots of your potted Three Ships froze?

[Alan_b]

That's always a possibility, Brian, but I use very large pots (3 litre, I think) so the thermal mass of the compost is quite large.  And the vast majority of my snowdrops survive this treatment so unless 'Three Ships' is particularly nesh [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nesh ] then that doesn't explain it.

[Carolyn Walker]

I was away from the forum for 10 days, and this whole list blossomed, so to speak.  Great job Alan.

I noticed that there was a discussion of 'Potter's Prelude', one of the few named US snowdrops.  I am including a photo below so you can see how beautiful it is.  It is very well formed and vigorous, always blooming by November 15 and often continuing into January.  It is very well suited to the climate in the mid-Atlantic and deals well with our cold winters, maintaining its leaves in very good shape.  It may not perform as well in the UK, which has a completely different climate.  Many horticultural practices that work there are unsuited for here and vice versa.

[Rick Goodenough]

Carolyn, that is one terrific clump of 'Potter's Prelude'.

[johnw]

Carolyn - A lovely one it is, very smart-looking.  Now can you tell us what sparks it to flower in your area?  Time, temperature drop, a good soaking rain or the benevolence of the gods?

Does it ever flower earlier and does 'Potter's Prelude' flower before or after reginae-olgae there?

johnw

[Hagen Engelmann]

It's a real proud plant, Carolyn. Fine

[Carolyn Walker]

Carolyn - A lovely one it is, very smart-looking.  Now can you tell us what sparks it to flower in your area?  Time, temperature drop, a good soaking rain or the benevolence of the gods?

Does it ever flower earlier and does 'Potter's Prelude' flower before or after reginae-olgae there?

johnw

Thanks, Hagen and Rick

John, G. reginae-olgae always flowers mid-October for me and 'Potter's Prelude' always flowers in mid-November.  I have had it since 2004.  My original clump, which I had mistakenly planted under a (dormant) peony didn't thrive.  I divided it and moved it into four sunnier spots towards the front of the borders, and it has thrived ever since.  Although battered by freezing temperatures, snow, and ice, the leaves come through the winter intact unlike some of my other fall-blooming G. elwesii.  The flowers will also tolerate a lot of abuse and stand back up.  G. r-o on the other hand waxes and wanes but has never disappeared totally.  Hitch Lyman said that he can't grow 'Potter's Prelude' in upstate New York, too cold.

I do not know what weather conditions inspire it to flower.  October and early November in the mid-Atlantic are pretty consistent from year to year: sunny and warm with plenty of rain.  The later parts of November are very inconsistent except that they are overcast and gray.

[johnw]

Carolyn - Thanks.  Interesting that Hitch has problems with it in northern NY state as I presume they have reliable & early snow cover up there.   I've always suspected these early flowering elwesii are not very hardy for places with real winters, the loss of dormancy that early would be suicidal here.  Judging from your flowering dates and latitude I guess we are just too far north & cold for the very earlies.

johnw

[Alan_b]

It struck me that "Potter's Prelude" is the "Barnes" of North America.  It would be interesting to know how they fare in a side-by-side comparison.