Galanthus March 2008

[mark smyth]

I posted a photo of Yaffle


edit by M : see this page
 http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=1381.msg33036;topicseen#msg33036

[Brian Ellis]

Brian if one is sold for Ebay prices just think of what you could spend with it.

Yes I take your point Mark, but as I said "I don't have it"

[Brian Ellis]

...and come to think of it, I'd rather swap with someone than profit from their state of health (ie the fever).

[Gerard Oud]

Maybe it has not been noticed, i found last weekend maybe the first poculoform double, or are there already some forms known?

[mark smyth]

Gerard it's one of those snowdrops that are liked or hated. I quite like the oddities

[Hagen Engelmann]

I had feared, also a lot of fun Hans;)Maggi

[andré B]

John,
Coming back on the virus issue i noticed that the two Galanthus bibles deal differently with virus. In the 'big' Snowdrops  bible it is said that some cultivars/hybrids almost always seem to have a virus and can live happily with it. In the 'smaller' bible The Genus Galanthus (Davis) it is said dig them up and burn them. I refer to this because it would appear that at the present prices, galanthus are sold at, it is hard for growers to bin a virus plant if they could also sell it to the hopefully uninformed customer. After trying to get hold of 'Primrose Warburg' for a long time i finally saw one at one of the few sales here in Holland of 'special' Galanthus. Once home i saw that it was not only nice and yellow but suffered from virus as well. The seller, when contacted referred to the Snowdrop bible and said that a lot of Galanthus had virus and it was nothing to worry about.
At the present state of play of the galanthus world with lots of people chasing rarities and willing to pay any price asked it is inevatable that a lot of disease/virus is spread very rapidly amongst collectors

[Paddy Tobin]

John,

High demand and ready money seem to cover many vices.


Perhaps swapping of snowdrops is the better way to go for enthusiasts. Enthusiasts will do their best not to pass on inferior quality bulbs to swapping friends as this will give them a bad reputation and they would then be unlikely to be asked to swap again.

Of course, it is also much cheaper!

Paddy

[Gerard Oud]

Mark, i don't like them, i love those odd things.

Not to make you worry John,
 But there are many virusse's in plant's that we don't even know of.
With micropropping you can get from a ill plant, healthy breed. But like with the gladiolus they tried to microprop, the special markings and sometime's even the special coulor changed or vanished.

[carolesmith]

Relating back to G. 'Yaffle", I managed to buy one from Colin Mason at the Gala this year (I seem to remember £15) so he could be the one to watch next year.

[ArneM]

What about G. 'Augustus'? It has got a virus and is sold very often but is it possible to put it by the side of non-virus-infected snowdrops? (I am very sorry if this question was already asked many times.)

[Martin Baxendale]

What about G. 'Augustus'? It has got a virus and is sold very often but is it possible to put it by the side of non-virus-infected snowdrops? (I am very sorry if this question was already asked many times.)

Arne, most 'Augustus' do, as you say, have virus. Anyone who feels they must grow it anyway should keep it well away from other snowdrops.

Interestingly I have 'Augustus' which came from The Snowdrop Company, whose stock is said to be virus free. Earlier in the year it did look clean and healthy, but now, as the weather warms up and the leaves develop more, it's starting to look a bit streaky!! A perfect example of how a snowdrop can look very healthy at the (colder) start of the season and end up looking virused. It's no wonder growers sometimes have trouble making up their minds if their snowdrops have virus or not.

[Gerard Oud]

They could look virused, but they don't have to be it.
 Because like you said Martin, the cold weather cause's a certain condition, that plant's are unable to obtain enough nutrient's from the soil they need for the fotosynthese.
 Especcially in Irisses this is a problem, when the weather is rather cold for spring, they all look green with yellow striping.
So make sure the structure of the soil is good, and put every year enough organic stuff on top of it. The drainage will be better and there will be plenty of the basic elements the plant needs. Besides the better drainage the soil will warm up easier and this will give less problems with the yellow/green plant appearance.

[Anthony Darby]

Has anyone noticed Palepink of Ebay fame is now advertising for a snowdrop. If only I had Yaffle!

Don't rate 'Yaffle' as anything special. Am I getting fussy? I suppose with 70 plus varieties and species in the garden I am.

[Anthony Darby]

Talking of 'Baxendale's Late'. Mine has either kicked the bucket or it is very late this year?

Fingers crossed Anthony, I thought I had lost mine but it made an appearance last week, and as you are that further to the North I should imagine it may still have time to make an appearance

Spot on Brian. I raked around in the clump of Sedum album that had overgrown the spot and found two healthy shoots. Not sign of Galanthus angustifolius which should be nearby.