Bulb Log 7 (18 Feb 2015)

[Brian Ellis]

Nice bulb log Ian  You have set me off on a quest.  On my database I have photographs of the snowdrops (and if named for a person of the people too) I think that the dissection and subsequent photographing of the parts of the flower is an excellent way to record the differences.  Anne W may need minions, I just need time

[Maggi Young]

Today's subject was a  surprise when I saw it!
There may be some interest in it, I suppose.....


Cover of Bulb Log 7 of 2015


dissection of 2 double snowdrop forms

[Maggi Young]

This one is very special for me

[Brian Ellis]

This one is very special for me
(Attachment Link)

I love 'Corrin' too, if only it was faster to multiply!

[Maggi Young]

It's a robust looking plant though, Brian which is what I like.  Got a bulb and a pip and now two big flowers  so I'm quite happy and I just want it to be happy here - I'll worry about increase in a few years.

[Brian Ellis]

Well I've had it for six years and I'm up to four flowers, mind you it probably gets too swamped by the herbaceous stuff!

[fermi de Sousa]

So, even the Despot is not immune to the fever!
Hopefully he has correctly diagnosed a mild form of the disease and we won't see other bulbs "dropped" to make room for them
cheers
fermi

[Chris Johnson]

This latest Log has inspired me. I'm of a similar mind to Ian regarding this genus and delight in its simple beauty.
However, the range is daunting: like shopping for a compact camera or similar widely available commodity and being so overwhelmed, you leave with nothing.

A Challenge

If I were to put a small representative collection together, say 10 (6 for the garden and 4 for pot culture), what would forum members recommend (nothing rare or difficult to obtain)?

Chris

[Tim Ingram]

Yes that really starts to put snowdrops back into perspective. They are like any group of plants you get excited by; the more you you grow them the more differences you notice and somehow the more and more appealing they become!

Chris - since they are generally plants of woodland, with the protection this affords them and that long made woodsy soil, they might be more tricky on a windswept island off the Scottish coast! There are some nice dwarf forms of elwesii, which otherwise is such a strong plant - 'Ivy Cottage [so called] Green Tips', is good, and 'Ransom's Dwarf'. I like G. plicatus particularly because for us it often fertile and gives the chance of more selection to specific gardens over time - so the famous 'Trym' can actually give rise to all sorts of Trym look-a-likes and cross with nivalis. 'Wendy's Gold' is a must and will also produce green seedlings, excellent for just building drifts of snowdrops to give a more natural effect. 'Augustus' has made wonderful ground-cover under a Medlar in our garden and is short and sturdy and a good doer (this doesn't seed but does seem to cross a little with plants around it, e.g: 'Trym). 'Gerard Parker' - a super form of plicatus seeds very freely with us, perhaps the best snowdrop we have in the garden if you can make such an impossible choice. G. ikariae and G. woronowii are both good for their green leaves and interest as species - the former self-sows freely with us though the latter doesn't. The famous 'Mighty Atom' clan, which includes a lot of very similar plants, are really stunning - so something like 'Bill Bishop'. And one of the old tried and tested and elegant varieties like 'Ketton'.

Under cover? Well a choice from a couple of thousand! There are some exquisite small forms of G. reginae-olgae subsp. vernalis which are beautiful in leaf as well as flower. Maybe doubles like 'Hill Poë' which are very uniform. And some of Anne's wonderful 'Dryad Gold' series when they hit the greater limelight  . I don't think you will stick with ten for very long, especially as anyone else will give you an entirely different list of favourites! Would be very interesting to compare how they grow in such a different environment and climate.

[Brian Ellis]

Very sound advice Tim, and Chris you might be interested in this thread:

http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=2756.msg63855#msg63855

[Matt T]

Or this thread: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11041.msg287818#msg287818
I have a short list of drops I'd like to acquire based on the list at the link above, from which I have picked those I like, can afford and are good-doers.

Almost without realising it I've accrued more than a dozen named varieties. Most of these are grown in pots in a shade frame, which is for wind protection more than shade. However, I do have some G. nivalis Flore Pleno planted out in the garden and they doing very well and not looking battered at all despite the recent weather. They're close to a wind shelter and I have incorporated lots of compost etc. Those in the attached pic have been in flower now for 3-4 weeks, so 'drops outside in the Hebrides is quite possible. This has encouraged me to split all my clumps in May/June to plant half out and keep half in pots.

I also have a number of forms of the autumn flowering subsp. of G. reginae-olgae, but these are strictly under cover in the bulb frame.

I should be able to find a few spare bulbs of named varieties ('Hippolyta', 'Lady Elphinstone', 'Viridapice' and 'S. Arnott') and maybe an odd G.elwesii and Gr-o for you, Chris.

[Ian Y]

It is always gratifying to know that the bulb log can inspire or stimulate interest thank you all for responding.
Chris, I cannot say more than than Tim or the others have already and recomend you follow the links to see masses of suggestions of good snowdrops that will not cost them earth.
Fear not Fermi I have this infection well under control, I am much more interested in the process of growing, raising from seed and the resulting variation than I am in the retail side of paying money for them - although someone in this house hold may be not quite so immune 

I don't think anyone who loves bulbs could not be attracted to the charms of the wee whites to some degree.

[Maggi Young]

Nothing wrong with a  little retail therapy now and again - I don't get out much, you know. 

[Chris Johnson]

Wow, thanks guys. I failed to get back to the forum yesterday so this is a nice surprise.

Tim, I was mindful of our conditions when asking the question but, as Matt has mentioned, sites close to wind-breaks can afford quite a lot of protection. As our prevailing winds are south-westerlies the north side of wind-breaks offer more protection and are also the shadiest. In the 6 years we have been here we have added an annual mulch of composted cow manure and seaweed which has developed a nice rich, moisture-retentive, soil. This is important as we overly sand (we're on the machair side of the island), making for good drainage. At present we only have G. nivalis which has established well, so a promising sign.

Matt - another foul day on Sunday when I visited so didn't have an opportunity to look around. Many thanks for the offer.

I will assemble Tim's list with the linked lists and start making some choices.

Chris