List of early-flowering snowdrops

[mark smyth]

elwesii 'Haydn'

[emma T]

I'd add Mrs MacNamara to that list it's all ways in flower before Christmas in my mums garden in Dorset

[Brian Ellis]

My Galanthus elwesii hiemalis 'Howard Wheeler' is just about to flower, that should be there too.

[uvularia]

I have 'Mary Biddulph' just about to flower. That doesn't seem to be on the list? Is this unusually early?

[Brian Ellis]

Mmm, I don't recall it trying to flower this early...thereby hangs a tale.  We've had it for seven years and it has flowered for me once   Unfortunately it seems to be the target of every pest we've got in the garden and has been attacked beneath the soil as well as when it has appeared!  I am saying this very quietly but....

there are three noses this year, perhaps it will flower again

 

[Alan_b]

I have never tried 'Mary Biddulph' myself but a quick survey of what information I could find suggests that it would not normally flower in time to make the list.  But I'm happy to be corrected on this point.  This seems to be a year in which many elwesiis are flowering earlier than normal.

[uvularia]

I have never tried 'Mary Biddulph' myself but a quick survey of what information I could find suggests that it would not normally flower in time to make the list.  But I'm happy to be corrected on this point.  This seems to be a year in which many elwesiis are flowering earlier than normal.

I got it from Louise at Foxgrove last year, so it should be correct. I'll take a photo as soon as opens properly.

[Leena]

This is an interesting thread though I suspect here all snowdrops (except very early ones) flower after the winter. I have only one mentioned in the thread, 'Mrs Macnamara', and last year it came up before the proper winter in the end of December, but waited through the cold and snow period until started to flower in the end of February after the snow melted (unusually early, normally it melts in March or April), and it didn't mind freezing temperatures in March, flowered right through them until April. I don't know how it would have behaved if there were a meter of snow on top of it. It would be interesting to hear about  experiences of early snowdrops in other areas with snow and cold winter, any experiences from Sweden or Norway? Or Russia?

[Alan_b]

In my part of Southern England we rarely have much snow and if it snows before Xmas then it's gone again in a day or two.  If there is a cold spell then snowdrop development will stop but the nivalis, elwesii and plicatus species we grow are (or have evolved to be) hardy.  Reginae-olgae are less hardy and won't necessarily survive a prolonged spell of cold weather.

I have added 'Rainbow Farm Early' to the list.  Thus is another 'Hiemalis Group' elwesii distributed by Michael Broadhurst.  He maintains that it's very vigorous but I've struggled with it myself.

[Hoy]

I agree Leena, it is an interesting thread although I have no experiences with early snowdrops. Snowdrops are hard to get here in Norway except the common one! (nivalis often without name and maybe elwesii, also nameless).

If I want to get it from abroad I need a Cites certificate and few vendors do that.

The climate where I live is mild and I assume I can have flowering plants at Xmas time if I could get hold of some - if they can take the low level of light at that time.
The ones I have in my garden now (I have no names) do flower from January onwards depending of the weather and amount of snow/frost which differ from year to another.

Early February last spring (2014):

[Hagen Engelmann]

Hi Allen, I'm an owner of a glasshoue now, so the question of the flowering time of the "early" galanthus got a new dimension. In the last years I ordered G elwesii in big numbers in the wholesale trade and got the bulbs from the Netherlands. In result I have about 20 different clones of Ge, looking like hiemalis group. Starts the winter hard, only a few of them will bloom, bit this year all stand in flower. So it is not a real thing of interest to create a big and bigger number of hiemalis members, look like the same.
Lets go to PETER GATEHOUSE and the other fall galanthus, which are much more different.
And let us go to the galanthus really flower before or together with THREE SHIPS.

[Brian Ellis]

I have added 'Rainbow Farm Early' to the list.  Thus is another 'Hiemalis Group' elwesii distributed by Michael Broadhurst.  He maintains that it's very vigorous but I've struggled with it myself.

Vigorous enough to split after a couple of years, (unfortunately it has now gone over - if it wasn't raining I'd count how many flowers the remainder had) both Ann Borrill and myself think it is much better than 'Barnes' , which I think Michael said may have been it's seed parent.

[Alan_b]

Does anyone know anything about 'Sheds and Outhouses'?  'Kentgardener' showed pictures in 2011 and Hagen mentioned it recently but I don't even know what species it is.  And there are a few others on the list about which I only know the name and would welcome more information.

[johnstephen29]

Hi Hoy do you need a CITES for seed as well? I was thinking that might be easier for you to get hold of then bulbs.

[Hoy]

Hi Hoy do you need a CITES for seed as well? I was thinking that might be easier for you to get hold of then bulbs.

I don't think I need Cites for seeds. And I discovered that I only need a phyto from countries like Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Sweden provided that the bulbs are artificially propagated.

But seeds are the easiest way and as I am not very concerned with names that would do.
But who trade Galanthus seeds?