Galanthus: January 2008

[mark smyth]

Thomas how does fosteri grow for you outside? Is it OK? I'm planning of putting mine out in the garden this year

[Thomas Huber]

This one grows good outside after two years, but I have another form, which didn't get any
flowers after 3 years. It would be best just to try yours and see what happens!

[Maggi Young]

Friends, I feel it is I who must apologise, since I began all this by saying, in response to a photo of G. Mrs Macnammarra, that she was a fine big goodlooking  woman. Thus all the following comments can  be firmly laid at my door and so, I beg forgiveness of you all for any offence and  for starting this fracas.

I must say that I believe, and I am constantly told this, that one of the joys of this Forum is the friendly and jovial banter which enlivens the purely plant based comments. I would be loathe to lose that aspect but I am sure that no-one here wishes to cause upset and so I, for one ,will try to  be more circumspect in future.

I quite appreciate your comments about your deadlines, Martin, but I hope that you will soon return to us, since we value your input greatly.


Galanthus 'John Gray' is a fine plant, but would be more  useful if self-supporting....more work for someone's breeding programme, I hope

Good to see the snowdrops beginning with you, Thomas.

[Anthony Darby]

Your fosteri outside is a few days ahead of mine in the greenhouse Thomas. I don't have enough to try outside.

[Thomas Huber]

I don't have a greenhouse to try it inside 

[snowdropman]

Thomas - nice, healthy looking, plants.

I grow my g. fosteri outside, under the canopy of a Horse Chestnut tree, which seems to give it the really dry period that it needs in the summer and that extra bit of protection against the worst of the weather, particularly the frosts, in the winter - it has flowered consistently for me in this location.

[Alan_b]

Some more pictures of my 'drop of the moment.  I tried, not entirely successfully, to clean it up before taking the photographs.  Both shots are the same flower from much the same angle but in the first picture the flower was back-illuminated by sunlight and in the second picture the flower had moved into the shade. 

[Hans J]

I grow too my Galanthus fosteri outside - since 7 years ....it is not a problem in my climate .
In my collection I have one form from near the syrian border and the other is from the middle of Turkey
My plants flowering also in this time...

[Diane Whitehead]

I find all this a little difficult because I have moved in a plant world all my life where propagating difficulties species was one way of spreading them around and they have always been given freely and without obligation.If this was not the case as most are not available commercially we would all remain beginners.

'A spare is one to share'

Tony's remark started me thinking about which plants are freely shared
and which have become "collector's plants", with high prices and theft.

I wonder about the reasons.  Maybe the plant needs to be rather slow at
increasing, and grow as "singles".  No one is going to steal something that
forms a mat or gallops across the ground with runners.  Fancy Japanese
hepaticas are grown in pots and fetch enormous prices. I don't know whether
they get stolen.  I think they have reached the market fairly recently as
before that the owners preferred having the only specimen.

There are lots of forms of Anemone nemorosa and Ranunculus ficaria,
and collectors of them, but I don't know of anyone making a living selling
them.  Maybe they increase too fast and therefore remain among the
plants that are freely given.

[Gerard Oud]

Tony it is no problem when you give my emailaddress to your friend, like you said there wont happen anything if you take no action. I let you know when and if  i can get it off my wantinglist.Thanks anyway.

Martin would you please stay on this forum, because i would like to share information about snowdropbreeding etc on this forum with you, so that others who are interested dont have to reinvent the wheel again.

This is what this forum is for, to help everyone who needs information etc about the things we are growing. So lets just trust each other, because that is what friendship and peace is built on.

About snowdrops Martin, after chipping when the chips refuse to form leaves, give them a week -1 celsius( in a adjustable fridge, most are, and check with a thermometer)and if they still dont, repeat this. They will certainly start now.
Next spring i will take some leave samples from several species to find out about there ploiditylevel.
I let you know the results, because i would like you to stay on the same level of development.

[Gerard Oud]

Yes Maggi, i dont know it in fahrenheit, it was a reaction on the difficulty of the Big boy chips, to get them started because they tend to stay dormant after chipping.

[annew]

Hmmm, how to get the -1 degree place to put them?

[mark smyth]

Do what Brian Duncan has done and bought himself a chiller cabinet for the shed

[Carlo]

For just a week? Stick them in the freezer...or in the fridge near the freezer. My guess is they don't NEED to be frozen, just kept cold--the fridge itself should do.

[mark smyth]

Here are some photos from today
elwesii 'Elmley Lovitt' - not sure of the spelling - she's a tall elegant beauty
elwesii 'Natalie Garten' like a wee birds egg
DB's early byzantinus