Galanthus - January 2015

[mark smyth]

Some photos taken this morning while the sun was shining!
Art Nouveau
Courteen Hall

I think the difference does  become apparent in a photograph.

I don't see any difference

[kentish_lass]

Ronald isn't doing snowdrops anymore 

Oh No....how on earth am I going to replace Ruby Baker, Margaret Biddulph, Ronald Mackensie.....and now possibly Hugh Mackensie?

I went out to take photos today and was generally checking around for any problems.  This is what I found in my beloved Hugh Mackensie - it was in a lattice pot.  Is there any hope for the two bulbs on the left?  I threw the swift moth larvae into the field next door and amended the soil and replanted the bulbs as it was getting dark.

My father bought this snowdrop for my birthday 3 years ago - I am gutted.

Not the only losses - a lattice pot that was full of Green Arrow last year.....nothing - no larvaes of any kind and no traces of bulbs either.  In the coldframe I emptied out no shows in a state of panic.....all disappeared with a few signs of mush.

MARK SOLOMON 
MARGARET BIDDULPH
RUBY BAKER
CLIFF CURTIS
ACTON PIGGOT NO. 3
OCTOPUSSY.......and more......its such a waste of lovely plants

I actually bought coldframes last autumn and bedded the pots down into sharp sand.  Growing snowdrops is like playing Russian Roulette, but I am not giving up yet !

[Alan_b]

Swift moth larvae are a big problem for me too, Jenny.  Here's what I'm doing about it;

I have some snowdrops in raised beds.  I cover these with a fine insect mesh netting from May until the end of August.  I have done this for two years now without any apparent harm and I have not yet found any larvae in the covered area nor the surrounding pots which are also covered.

I treat with a product called 'Grow your own Nematodes' since there is no specific nematode for swift moth larvae.  I have no idea if this brings any benefit.

I have considered using Provado systemic insecticide late in the season (after flowering has finished).  I have used this once or twice but I don't really like spraying with insecticide so i am trying to avoid this.

I also have an unnamed snowdrop that seems well-suited to my garden conditions and bulks-up prolifically.  I am using that as a 'pioneer' as the first snowdrop to go in to a new area.  Once these 'easy' snowdrops are established I feel confident to plant some more precious ones amongst them.   

[Brian Ellis]

Jenny I am so sorry for your further problems.  I would, however, think that the bulb on the extreme left has some chance as there is base plate still intact.  It could take a couple of years or so to renew, but, as long as it is not attacked again it should do so.  My 'Ecusson d'Or' was bought in growth and nothing showed the next year, on inspection in the summer there was a tiny bit of baseplate left with miniscule pips beginning to form which have now grown on.  As there is a lot of bulb outer there it should be alright hopefully. Will PM you.

[Tim Ingram]

We have had big problems with swift moth caterpillars growing hellebores commercially (and had to resort to systemic insecticide) and it is obvious that they are ubiquitous in gardens and a serious pest of snowdrops and other plants. I think that you have to accept quite severe losses, especially of isolated bulbs, unless you take the sort of measures Alan describes. This is a danger of growing special varieties which are not really adapted to gardens but more to the gardener's eye. It's another reason to grow fertile snowdrops and enjoy the varieties that actually prosper in the garden. Once colonies begin to build up they seem less susceptible - it always seems the sought after and latest acquisition that these pests go for (we have had the same problem with rabbits! which always discover new and freshly planted plants, even if they don't eat them). We mulch the woodland areas of the garden with leaves and compost regularly and I suspect a more varied and natural woodland soil fauna that results probably means that soil pests are kept more under control without having to use chemicals.

[Philip Walker]

Galanthus 'Galatea'

[carolesmith]

I don't see any difference

I believe Courteenhall shows more green at the base Mark, more noticeable in a photo than trying to carry an image in your head across the garden.

[carolesmith]

We are supposed to go down to 1 to 5 degrees F (-17 to -15 C) three times in the coming week here in the mid-Atlantic where it is milder than many parts of the US. 

Ouch that sounds really cold - I do hope your system works and your bulbs survive Carolyn.

[carolesmith]

Taken yesterday while working in the garden, it is good to get close and see what is going on:
Fly Fishing - behaving
Anglesey Abbey - well I guess it is behaving (Bishop et al, "a somewhat variable inclination to be poculiform)

[Alan_b]

...Once colonies begin to build up they seem less susceptible - it always seems the sought after and latest acquisition that these pests go for...

I once put two Swift Moth larvae together in a small container; we'll call it a mug.  The crawled around the perimeter but got angry when one encountered the other and quickly fought each other to the death although hitherto they had been co-existing in the same pot.  If they don't like being too close to each other and you have enough bulbs to satisfy their hunger then perhaps they will just attack the bulbs at the periphery of a larger colony and you won't really notice this? 

[Tim Ingram]

Alan, I have done precisely the same thing and with the same results. We put them out with vine weevils for the robins! Sort of satisfying after all the damage they do.

[RichardW]

If there is anything left of the bulb I always try and rescue and it works sometimes, my one bulb of spindlestone surprise was in a very sorry state a few years ago & although it hasn't flowered again it's now the size of a marble and looking healthy.

Jane, that photo of Wasp in a clump is great, it's a variety I struggle to keep here but lattice pots are proving quite successful.

[fixpix]

Just "plain"ones in my garden. Don't think they would have a name. But I have lots of and i love them.

[MR GRUMPY]

Some photos taken this morning while the sun was shining!
Art Nouveau
Courteen Hall

I think the difference does  become apparent in a photograph.

I think you may have posted a picture of 'Modern Art' and 'Courteen Hall'.

[MR GRUMPY]

Great plants Brian and Mr King. They really made day.