Galanthus February 2008

[Anthony Darby]

Antony

What a wonderful selection.

I am interested to know if you prepared the rock garden in any special way to accomodate the Galanthus.  When growing in pots do you have a special mixture - they are obviously thriving. 

Plenty of leafmould, but apart from that, nothing special. My potting mix is 50% grit and 50% JI3.

[Diane Whitehead]

I am visiting Portland, Oregon, in the U.S.  The weather is wonderful
so I've been doing a lot of walking, admiring snow-covered volcanoes
and peering at gardens.  I also went to the big park that has the noted
Rose Test Garden.  They go in for a scorched earth policy here.  Lots
of privet hedges, rhododendrons and camellias, witch hazel in several
shades of yellow, but the earth is covered with pulverized bark.  Very
dismal.  I saw snowdrops in only one big old garden.

[Diane Whitehead]

I have a green-tipped woronowii that I bought about 30 years ago as
'Viridapice'.  It has always been common here for local gardeners to
occasionally sell plants to garden centres, or to sell them from a stand
along the sidewalk, with a tin for the money.  There was another clone
of woronowii from an old garden, that was passed around to neighbours
and friends.  Other than that one year, woronowii was never sold here.

Recently, woronowii has been imported in quantity, and sold at garden
centres as "nivalis",  because colourful labels are available for nivalis.
I found some more green-tipped ones, so now I can pollinate them with
each other, and perhaps produce ones with larger green marks.

[KentGardener]

Hi Anthony

thanks for the photos - I especially like the 'hololeucus'.

I have no idea what an 'Australian spider beatle' is - but I now feel rather itchy!

My 'stupid nurseryman' story (or perhaps 'crooked nurseryman'!?).  We went into a garden centre in Sussex last Saturday to look for any unusual snowdrop flowers.  There were 3 trays full of tiny woronowii that were far too small to be flowering size - this I have noticed a lot this year.  I asked the nurseryman if he had any other stock of galanthus that I could look at the flowers on.  His answer "Those ones haven't flowered yet - I can give you a discount on a trayfull - they will flower for you next month".  I pointed out these ones will not be flowering until at least 2009 or 2010!!

John

John

[ArneM]

Special or not I like this foundling with its elongated ovary.

[Maggi Young]

Special or not I like this foundling with its elongated ovary.

Yes, Arne, it is the same feature that makes Anthony's hololeucus stand out. I like it.

[Brian Ellis]

Arne it is a nice snowdrop, one of those that you would recognize from a distance with such a large ovary.

[ArneM]

Nice to hear that  . I hope it will show this feature next year, too.

[Paddy Tobin]

Nice one, Arne. Well spotted.

Nice overall shape also, nice line to the outer segments.

Paddy

[Diane Whitehead]

Here are some pictures from an 1860 churchyard in Victoria B.C.

The snowdrops are all elwesii.  I don't know when they were planted.
They are mostly on the hillside behind the graves, as the plots are
family plots that keep getting reopened and added to.

[KentGardener]

Aren't graveyards great places for snowdrop spotting in the spring.

My work colleagues must think I am a little mad when every Monday recently I say "we had a great weekend.  Walked around another couple of graveyeards!"

John

[Martin Baxendale]

Diane, the one you call "yellowish" is a particularly nice shapely monostictus.

[ichristie]

Hi everyone, here at last are some pictures showing the galanthus at Brechin castle, I plan another visit on Monday with Ian the Young kind he has now got the dreaded white fever, cheers Ian the Christie kind.

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    casle plicatus fine 01 20 sec_resize.jpg
    Castle Lady Lorna close_resize.jpg
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    DSCF4588_resize.JPG
    DSCF4592_resize.JPG
    DSCF4607_resize.JPG

[ichristie]

A few more pictures, I am sure Mr Bulb log will post more after Monday, cheers Ian the Christie kind.

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    DSCF4621_resize.JPG
    gal plicatus Castle green 06_resize.jpg
    plicatus snoopy_resize.jpg
    Plicatus wood 1_resize.jpg
    Resize of plicatus castle two eye's 01 21_resize.jpg
    Resize of Plicatus castle white_resize.jpg

[Brian Ellis]

Some very nice selections Ian, I particularly like Castle White and Castle Lady Lorna, what will Maggie do now that 

Ian the Young kind he has now got the dreaded white fever

tee hee