Galanthus April 2016

[Alan_b]

Drove to Truro, Nova Scotia ...  to check out a reported snowdrop wood in northern NS.

Out of reciprocity, where can I see a wood full of Trilliums in England?

[David Nicholson]

Out of reciprocity, where can I see a wood full of Trilliums in England?

I don't know about 'a wood full' but I've seen goodly quantities at Knightshayes and in Beth Chatto's garden

[johnw]

Leena  - Yes these bulbs are escapees from a former garden, the very small foundation of the former house was quite visible.  In pictures it appears the house was not tiny, perhaps only one part had a foundation, regardless the house likely collapsed into the basement about 35 years ago.  The entire property is 35 hectares, the bulbs are in about 2 hectacres.  Those 2h are in serious need of branch and tree-thinning, the understory has a good deal of brambles and blackberries and it wasn't until we got to the restaurant and looked at one another that we realized we looked like we'd been in a cat fight or two.  Still picking thorns out.

The tommies unlike the other bulbs were concentrated on the sunny roadside of the property as one might expect.  One can only imagine what an incredible woodland garden this could be with not too much work, as long as that wasn't goutweed coming up; especially perfect for Primulas, Shortias, Epimediums etc..  I'd bet there's a darn good smattering of Trilliums waiting to erupt.

I wish I had taken more and better pix but we lost track of time and reason.

john

[Hoy]

......  The entire property is 35 hectares, the bulbs are in about 2 hectacres.  Those 2h are in serious need of branch and tree-thinning, the understory has a good deal of brambles and blackberries and it wasn't until we got to the restaurant and looked at one another that we realized we looked like we'd been in a cat fight or two.  Still picking thorns out.
........

john

Nobody owns it   Seems to be an extraordinary place to make a gardeners heaven!

Maybe the brambles are an advantage, not many venture a trip into them

[Hoy]

My last galanthus singing the last verse. No name though

[johnw]

Nobody owns it   Seems to be an extraordinary place to make a gardeners heaven!
Maybe the brambles are an advantage, not many venture a trip into them

The Province was bequeathed it but they've done nothing with it.  I intend to look into the matter.  And yes the brambles are certainly a help.

john

[Leena]

Well 'Green Light' has not been widely distributed so I bet you have the most northerly example of that particular snowdrop.

I'm surprised that Barnes has proved quite so difficult.  One might imagine that it would flower and then fail to survive the winter but not to appear at all after being planted in the green seems just wrong.  Slugs and snails will attack autumn-flowering snowdrops here in the UK; could that be your problem?   

Yes, thanks to you Alan.

About slugs and snails, we have them but not much and I doubt they could have destroyed 'Barnes', and not in both places. I have kept close eye on those places since last autumn and no sign of them. At the same time I planted three G.reginae-olgae's and they all came up, the first in October and the other two in November and all of them have still now leaves.

[johnstephen29]

Could they have rotted away Leena?

[Leena]

Could they have rotted away Leena?

Yes, I think that is what has happened. Why this particular cultivar is prone to it here, I don't know.

[johnstephen29]

Another though Leena, what is the soil like where you are planting Barnes? If you do try again it might be an idea to improve the drainage so it survives the winter, grit or sharp sand something like that and mix it in with the soil.

[Leena]

Thanks John  , but I planted them in my best places. The other one beside 'Mrs Macnamara' (and others) and the other one in a bed where for instance 'Ray Cobb' does well and also 'Rosemary Burnham' came up ok.  I'm glad that 'Barnes' is not something extra special which I really wanted to grow, so it doesn't matter if it doesn't like it here, it is just curious and also interesting.

[Leena]

My most expensive snowdrop, but worth it.
'E.A.Bowles', one bulb planted last summer and many flowers now
But I also like common G.nivalis. These have grown here the longest and produce seedlings as you can see in the picture.
And I also like G.nivalis 'Flore Pleno'
And 'Gerard Parker' -  what snowdrop I don't like I don't know..

[Alan_b]

I've just had my best ever year for snowdrop losses, or lack of them to be more precise.  I have only lost one that I am aware of and that looked unhealthy when I potted it up last year.  This might be good fortune or it might mean I am getting better at caring for my snowdrops.  One thing that I did last year was to cover the majority of my snowdrops, the ones where it is possible, with a fine insect-mesh netting from the end of May to the beginning of September.  If that worked then it means that many losses in previous years were down predation by insects that arrived from above and were blocked by the mesh netting. 

[johnstephen29]

It's a mystery leena that's for sure.

[Leena]

I've just had my best ever year for snowdrop losses, or lack of them to be more precise.  I have only lost one that I am aware of and that looked unhealthy when I potted it up last year.  This might be good fortune or it might mean I am getting better at caring for my snowdrops.  One thing that I did last year was to cover the majority of my snowdrops, the ones where it is possible, with a fine insect-mesh netting from the end of May to the beginning of September.  If that worked then it means that many losses in previous years were down predation by insects that arrived from above and were blocked by the mesh netting.

One good thing about my cold climate is that we don't have so many pests, but personally I would rather have them and warmer and shorter winters.
I don't think we have narcissus fly here, and the end of last December with very little snow and very cold was hard on snails, too. I have found now empty shells.