Galanthus in February 2018

[Mariette]

Thank You for the comparison, Anne! This makes Your hybrid much more desirable!

[Tim Harberd]

I think I’ve commented before on here about what a nice stable snowdrop vase you can lash together out of three 28ml Universal Jars.
By way of illustration, here is a selection of flowers on the way to my parents. They are photographed sat on the top deck of the 36 bus going over Harewood Bridge!

Tim DH

[annew]

Enhanced by the scenery!

[Leena]

Anne, Dryad Gold Sovereign looks really good, congratulations!

Here it is still winter, very mild though. So far no true deep freezing, almost no snow, absolute minimum temp about -10 C; no winter at all I would say. Today sun, 0 C, no snow.

I was just wondering what winter is like in Poland, if it is cold, but lucky for you it isn't. Here it is snow and cold, no snowdrops yet, and most likely not for some time looking at the weather forecast.

Not love at all - G. woronowii - from local garden center. I do not like the green leaves and the flowers are not elegant enough. On the top - it is not hardy enough. I observe some damage almost every year. Not this year as we are not having true winter, yet.

This was interesting to read because also here G.woronowii is not the easiest snowdrop to grow. It is sold cheaply by supermarkets so many gardeners have tried it and even when the bulbs start to grow they are not vigorous and it seems that they are not as hardy as G.nivalis. I have one (sandy) bed where it grows well, but in other more moist woodland beds where G.pliatus does well, G.woronowii has disappeared.

[Jacek]

This was interesting to read because also here G.woronowii is not the easiest snowdrop to grow. It is sold cheaply by supermarkets so many gardeners have tried it and even when the bulbs start to grow they are not vigorous and it seems that they are not as hardy as G.nivalis. I have one (sandy) bed where it grows well, but in other more moist woodland beds where G.pliatus does well, G.woronowii has disappeared.

There are two ways my G. woronowii is tender:
1. They start growth much earlier than G. nivalis, always in autumn, and the above-surface growth is always cut by frost whenever it is strong enough and no snow. I do not know what is the borderline temp, certainly below -10 C. But this is not enough here. This is in contrary to G. elwesii, which is also an early grower, but is never affected.
2. The bulbs are not hardy enough, either. When we had the last truly severe winter (?? - 2012, close to -30 C and no snow) - most of the bulbs were lost despite my deep planting. It does produce seeds, however - so no final loss. Other snowdrops were not affected.

Otherwise - a good grower and increasing well here.

[Alan_b]

I was lucky enough to be able to visit Turkey and Georgia last year.  I saw huge swathes of woronowii growing in the grounds of the Batumi Botanic garden which is directly on the Black Sea coast only (maybe) 30m above see level.  These had flowered some time before we got there.  I also saw woronowii growing on mountain and hillside cliffs in Turkey that were only recently emerged from under snow and were in full flower.  It would not surprise me if these two different woronowii populations showed quite different degrees of hardiness.   

[Edgar Wills]

I was lucky enough to be able to visit Turkey and Georgia last year.  I saw huge swathes of woronowii growing in the grounds of the Batumi Botanic garden which is directly on the Black Sea coast only (maybe) 30m above see level.  These had flowered some time before we got there.  I also saw woronowii growing on mountain and hillside cliffs in Turkey that were only recently emerged from under snow and were in full flower.  It would not surprise me if these two different woronowii populations showed quite different degrees of hardiness.   

Did you see anything like this variation in the colour of the flowers?:
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12824.0

[Blonde Ingrid]

Full sun for this morning's patrol!

First up Dryad Gold Ribbon. This lovely drop is still going strong. The Dryad Gold Series contain such a variety of yellows, they are a delight. Additional shoots alreadt emerging so it looks like another good grower from Anne, in line with the others.

Next, another of my favourite yellows, Elizabeth Harrison from Ian Christie. This has bulked very well for me. Last season I was able to pass some on and I expected a flowering hiatus as it recovered. Not at all, flowering well again.

Next Chrome Yellow which has been a great surprise. Bulking well, normal from a Thorps sourced plant. More yellow than I had expected.

Next Gestrichelt Pulk. a gift from a friend, 'King of the Green Tips' Neil Parker! Apart from the fact it is a very fine example of the green tipped drops and it bulks well, I have been able to find out nothing about it's origins.

Finally, Carolyn Elwes, a wonderful drop that is always a surprise. Last year there was a far greener core to the markings, this year more yellow.

[Maggi Young]

I've rotated  'Carolyn  Elwes' for you, Ingrid

I know you tell me she often has this yellow foliage and grows and bulks up well - I remain unconvinced!
 

[Alan_b]

Did you see anything like this variation in the colour of the flowers?:
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12824.0

In a word, no.  All the ones I saw had the conventional woronowii markings.  But far and away the largest population of woronowii I encountered had finished flowering before I got there.

[Edgar Wills]

hmm, that's a shame. Would've been nice if there were a hidden cache of woronowii variety there in Georgia.

[annew]

It does, thank you so much Anne! 
I will post pictures of them later in spring (after all the snow melts).

Hi Leena, update from Taavi, who saw our posts:
The plants in catalogue Sulev Savisaar 2011 (Tuulik 6 and are not the clones you have. I can not find the clones Tuulik 2 and 9 in any Sulev's catalogue, so I do not know what exactly they are. Sulev uses his own numbering if I have not given the code.

[Leena]

It would not surprise me if these two different woronowii populations showed quite different degrees of hardiness.   

It could be that there are differences in hardiness! The ones which do well for me are quite late flowering, many times they are one of the latest snowdrops to flower in my garden, and they don't suffer from frost because of that. I think I remember someone here in Finland having said that her woronowii is earlier than mine.

Hi Leena, update from Taavi, who saw our posts:
The plants in catalogue Sulev Savisaar 2011 (Tuulik 6 and are not the clones you have. I can not find the clones Tuulik 2 and 9 in any Sulev's catalogue, so I do not know what exactly they are. Sulev uses his own numbering if I have not given the code.

Thank you Anne and Taavi!
The ones Sulev sold are described here in his catalque from 2011, scroll down after the peonies. From no 87 on. They seem to be good snowdrops also here, of course when they originate from so close to Finland.

[Leena]

Full sun for this morning's patrol!

Wonderful yellow snowdrops, I always look forward to you morning patrols, and especially that you also tell your experiences with them.

[Mariette]

It could be that there are differences in hardiness! The ones which do well for me are quite late flowering, many times they are one of the latest snowdrops to flower in my garden, and they don't suffer from frost because of that. I think I remember someone here in Finland having said that her woronowii is earlier than mine.

In my garden, where G. woronowii from different sources grow,  flowering time differs 6-8 weeks, though they´re all in te same border and look all more or less the same. Those which started flowering early in January will be more vulnerable to frost than those which start into growth just now, of course.