Yellow Snowdrops

[Brian Ellis]

... they do strike me as being very much (essentially) the same unless you experts can convince me otherwise. Would this be true of the others in this group and if so what are the merits of having a whole host of plants that look the same all with different names?

I agree with Alan, and that is one of the reasons for grouping them together, one or two are much more golden, have yellower scapes or whatever but who is to know when starting a collection?  At least if you know they are Galanthus nivalis sandersii you won't keep buying things that are very similar, unless of course you wish too!

[David Nicholson]

Thanks for the replies chaps. It was a serious question I was asking and not a joke. Doesn't the whole situation cry out for a properly recognised (by growers, breeders and nurseries) registration process. The National Auricula and Primula Society will only invite members to name their plants if they have been entered in a seedling class and won a first prize. Of course the drawback to that is it doesn't stop every other Tom, Dick , Harry and Jill who are not members of NAPS naming their plants and results in the situation now that we have umpteen allionii plants that all look the same.

[Alan_b]

Doesn't the whole situation cry out for a properly recognised (by growers, breeders and nurseries) registration process.

There is a registration process.  It is operated by the KAVB in the Netherlands.  I have used it, as has Anne Wright.  But otherwise I think it's fair to say that it is ignored in the UK.

You just came back from a meeting with 4 snowdrops for £11.  Did you ask if they were registered?  Until Joe Punter snowdrop buyer regards it as desirable to be purchasing a registered snowdrop then few people will bother to register.     

[David Nicholson]

Well I don't usually buy them and certainly not at the ridiculous prices that pertain in the current market, I have friends who give them to me on occasions. I wouldn't have bought these if I hadn't wanted a few other than nivalis to fill a space and I was amazed when I was told that one of them would have cost between £24 and £30 from a specialist. I normally won't pay more £5 for any plant or bulb.

[Brian Ellis]

Well I don't usually buy them and certainly not at the ridiculous prices that pertain in the current market, I have friends who give them to me on occasions. I wouldn't have bought these if I hadn't wanted a few other than nivalis to fill a space and I was amazed when I was told that one of them would have cost between £24 and £30 from a specialist. I normally won't pay more £5 for any plant or bulb.

Well it is certainly an education to watch the prices on eBay, unfortunately they seem to have had the effect of encouraging some suppliers to put their prices up too...

[Leena]

I agree with Alan, and that is one of the reasons for grouping them together, one or two are much more golden, have yellower scapes or whatever but who is to know when starting a collection?  At least if you know they are Galanthus nivalis sandersii you won't keep buying things that are very similar, unless of course you wish too!

For me this is good to know, thank you. I wonder if all would grow over here the same way or if there are difference in that respect..

[Josh Nelson]

This is my yellow:

- first two photos are from yesterday
- third from 31 December 2016 showing golden colours of new, emerging shoots
- fourth showing mature plant from February 2016, showing silver channeled light green leaves

Not sure if worthy of a name as not got enough comparators but it is particularly notable for foliage and a good yellow to the ovary and inner.  Found last year with three flowering bulbs (two with smaller flowers) and two small bulbs.  This year the larger three bulbs are flowering again and each of these has a daughter shoot emerging.

I will keep it under review but, if name worthy, I would suggest Imogen's gold, as it was found as the tail end of Storm Imogen was passing through and was clearly a bit battered!

[Josh Nelson]

nb the green nivalis in the pot this season was included in error on re-potting but serves well to show the colour by comparison!

[Brian Ellis]

It'a a good strong yellow inner mark judging by the photos - but it is difficult to tell online.  I'd compare it to others that you see at events, grow or see in other growers gardens before naming it if it were mine.

[Brian Ellis]

I have just added Galanthus nivalis sandersii group 'Alan Clark' to the list, Paul Christian says:

A taller and more strongly growing form of the yellow Northumberland Snowdrop which arose in the garden of the eponymous gardener, as a variant of the 'normal form', which in turn he received from a garden '20 miles from Alnwick' many years before. .....
 Released 2012 for the first time though a few left our garden in 2009 unbeknown to ourselves! It is also possible that other plants were gifted elsewhere when we received ours.

This illustrates nicely why it is good to hold fire on naming, this could have been named in the first garden in which it was found and then named for Alan Clark.  It is also possible that if some were taken (?) in 2009 they could also have been named!

...and the reason to grow it??

The yellow colouration seems, if anything, a little brighter and more intense than 'plain' Sandersii and the flowers spread open nicely in warm sun, however it is for the larger flower size, broader, greyer leaves and stronger constitution all on a plant 25% taller, that this clone was selected.

[Alan_b]

But in a way it also illustrates why it's NOT a good idea to hold fire on naming.  If the owner of the garden where it was initially found did indeed gift it elsewhere then it could also be circulating under a completely different name, possibly several different names.  My opinion is that if you start to circulate a bulb you have to give it some sort of designation so that it can subsequently be traced back to its point of origin.   

[steve owen]

At random I've just picked out two pictures of snowdrops from this group, ...and they do strike me as being very much (essentially) the same unless you experts can convince me otherwise. Would this be true of the others in this group and if so what are the merits of having a whole host of plants that look the same all with different names?

David, I have a good deal of sympathy with your point. It could also be applied to a host of greentips whose main differentiation is the number of noughts on Ebay prices. Poculiforms are the same (literally). The growers and breeders are not the problem here, rather it is the mania amongst buyers for chasing after the latest must-have plant regardless of its garden-worthiness or whether it has some positive differentiation over existing plants. The nurseries must make profits to exist, so cannot be blamed for providing fresh fuel in the shape of exotic new varieties, for which the initial selling prices have crept up from £30 to £40 to £60 to £80 each year.

At yesterday's Open Day, visitors here were invited to take part in a vote for the snowdrop variety they were most impressed with. The winner by a distance was a clump of G. Whittallii, which dates back to 1898, and I suppose that if anyone were to sell it on Ebay it would go for £1 a bulb.

It is all of course unsustainable. A National Collection Holder in five years time will need a garden the size of the Isle of Wight to grow them all.

[Hagen Engelmann]

my best "yellow" under glass in the greenhouse.
Would say it looks like gold ...no name so far

[Mariette]

This is my yellow:

- first two photos are from yesterday
- third from 31 December 2016 showing golden colours of new, emerging shoots
- fourth showing mature plant from February 2016, showing silver channeled light green leaves

Not sure if worthy of a name as not got enough comparators but it is particularly notable for foliage and a good yellow to the ovary and inner.  Found last year with three flowering bulbs (two with smaller flowers) and two small bulbs.  This year the larger three bulbs are flowering again and each of these has a daughter shoot emerging.

I will keep it under review but, if name worthy, I would suggest Imogen's gold, as it was found as the tail end of Storm Imogen was passing through and was clearly a bit battered!

Your yellow is certainly distinguished by it´s leaves, at least. My prefence is for yellows with (dark-) green leaves, so this one may be a step in the right direction?

[David Nicholson]

David, I have a good deal of sympathy with your point. It could also be applied to a host of greentips whose main differentiation is the number of noughts on Ebay prices. Poculiforms are the same (literally). The growers and breeders are not the problem here, rather it is the mania amongst buyers for chasing after the latest must-have plant regardless of its garden-worthiness or whether it has some positive differentiation over existing plants. The nurseries must make profits to exist, so cannot be blamed for providing fresh fuel in the shape of exotic new varieties, for which the initial selling prices have crept up from £30 to £40 to £60 to £80 each year.

At yesterday's Open Day, visitors here were invited to take part in a vote for the snowdrop variety they were most impressed with. The winner by a distance was a clump of G. Whittallii, which dates back to 1898, and I suppose that if anyone were to sell it on Ebay it would go for £1 a bulb.

It is all of course unsustainable. A National Collection Holder in five years time will need a garden the size of the Isle of Wight to grow them all.