Galanthus in January 2017

[Maggi Young]

Yes, my bulbs from Paul were also of super quality. Maybe in the spirit of publicly encouraging good-quality suppliers we should mention that Paul is trading as Edulis; I checked on the web and it seems to be just Edulis without Nursery after it.

Quite so - http://www.edulis.co.uk/   - full details in the SRGC links pages.

[Cfred72]

Is Galanthus plicatus 'Bill Clark' difficult to flower? I bought a bulb in the fall of 2015. I planted it in a glasshouse pot. He made foliage but did not bloom.
In September 2016, I replenished the bulb in a new mixture. There were five in the pot.
This year, while G. plicatus "Trumps" and G. plicatus "Diggory" will flourish, "Bill Clark" is still only leaves.
Is there anything to do to bring it to bloom next year?
I cultivate it like the others with mould leaf, gravel and garden soil and bone powder for repotage. Afterwards I put potassium when the foliage is well developed.

[YT]

Galanthus plicatus ‘Colossus’

A generous formist in Scotland sent me the bulbs last autumn. I'm so happy

[Alan_b]

Galanthus plicatus 'Bill Clark' originates from Wandlebury Ring, close to Cambridge and near where I live.  The soil here tends to be chalky, certainly alkaline,  so perhaps that is what this snowdrop likes?  Also from this area are 'Wendy's Gold', Wandlebury Ring' and 'Madeleine' so if you can grow any of these successfully then 'Bill Clark' would probably like the same treatment.   

[Cfred72]

Is it for all G. plicatus alike or just the ones you quote. We live in our area on blue stone resources. This stone is limestone and I can access without problem to a granulometry that I want. I could add in the pot if needed. Here are three photos taken in the glasshouse just now.
1) Bill Clark 


2) Trumps


3) Diggory

[Gert G.]

Castle Green Dragon almost in flower.

(edit by maggi to rotate  picture )

[Alan_b]

The ones I quote all come from a large and well-established colony of G. plicatus.  Assuming the original snowdrops arrived there about 1860 then there will have been many generations since and it seems fair to assume that what is there now has undergone a process of natural selection so that it is well-suited to local conditions.  Although I do not know this for certain, it is very likely that the local conditions are of alkaline soil. 

[Cfred72]

The ones I quote all come from a large and well-established colony of G. plicatus.  Assuming the original snowdrops arrived there about 1860 then there will have been many generations since and it seems fair to assume that what is there now has undergone a process of natural selection so that it is well-suited to local conditions.  Although I do not know this for certain, it is very likely that the local conditions are of alkaline soil.

Thank you, Alan. I'll try the approach in an alkaline way. We may see a change next year.

[Matt T]

A few snowdrops out here:

Ailwyn
Godfrey Owen
John Gray
Gray's Child

[Tim Harberd]

Five days later, having weathered a couple of storms (I did hear of 60mph gusts locally), that little clump of Mrs Macnamara got to see some sunshine!

Tim DH

[annew]

Galanthus plicatus ‘Colossus’

A generous formist in Scotland sent me the bulbs last autumn. I'm so happy

Only Tatsuo could grow such a compact Colossus!

[Alan_b]

Truth be told, 'Colossus' is not aptly named.  The leaves may have grown long by the end of the season but at flowering time it is much the same size as any other snowdrop and there are other snowdrops with larger flowers or taller scapes.  Perhaps there should be something in the ICNCP rules to prohibit names that might not not stand up to scrutiny or pass the test of time?   

[François]

As rain is falling, Snowdrops are finally growing here...
The 'Faringdon Doubles' I received from Anne last Summer have been blooming for about a month. 8 bulbs, 8 flowers. (Anne, thank you they're beautiful !) The ones already there last year are only beginning... but this little clump is already easy on the eye.

[Leena]

Is Galanthus plicatus 'Bill Clark' difficult to flower?

My experience with 'Bill Clark' is that I planted one bulb in summer of 2013. It came up early in January 2014, and got damaged but the frosts and suffered because of that. Next year it came up later (I have noticed now that all newly planted snowdrops come up earlier here than then following year, it is like the first year they come up at the time they were used to in the UK, and then they adjust to our climate and come up later in the following years) and flowered in 2015. Last spring 2016 it also flowered but it hasn't multiplied at all the same rate as 'Mrs Macnamara' or 'Diggory' which I also planted in summer 2013. 'Wendy's Gold' grows close by, and it has been a little better increaser, but not as good as MM or D. This picture was taken last year April 10th of 'Bill Clark', in the background there is 'Mrs Macnamara', also planted one bulb in 2013 and now a good clump. So for me 'Bill Clark' has flowered, but not multiplied, so it seems to be not so easy as some others. Maybe I should also add more chalk to the ground to see if it helps.

[mark smyth]

A generous formist in Scotland sent me the bulbs last autumn. I'm so happy

I was thinking the mark is too big for Colossus