Galanthus January 2007

[Paddy Tobin]

 Hi Chris,

First time ever, never saw it happen previously. An odd one!

Paddy

[Paddy Tobin]

Hi Fermi,

If it would not put you to much bother I would like to hear more about this from you. It's just of interest to me at the moment as I have this G. fosteri doing it at present.

Paddy

[snowdropman]

Hi Fermi - both 'Kite' & 'Mrs Thompson' often produce two flowers on separate pedicels, from the same scape - but I think that you will find that Paddy's fosterii seems to be throwing two flowers from a single pedicel.

[mark smyth]

here are two examples. elwesii 'Selbourne Greentips' and elwesii 'Kite'

[Paddy Tobin]

Fermi,

As Chris said, in this case with G. fosteri the two flowers are from one pedicle and are actually fused together. Is this referred to as being 'bifocal' or am I confusing the term with a type of spectacle?

The outer segments of both flowers are together giving an outer ring of six segments; then the two inner sets of segments are inside this but not fused. The ovaries are also fused.

Paddy

[Joakim B]

Could this be coused by a physical problem when arising like a insect bite a  disturbance of some sort. Sometimes these things couses strange things to the plant and flower. I do not know if it has ever been the cause of this.

Interesting and interesting to see if it repeats next Year.
Patiente is a virtue  !
Joakim

[mark smyth]

Joakim with the stable twinned varieties it is a genetic defect that affects the flower bud. This fosteri may just a had a genetic hiccup

[Paddy Tobin]

It eventually dawned on me what the term to describe this condition was. I have heard it referred to as the plant being 'bifoci' and that term had stuck in my mind. The correct term is 'fasciation'.  Here is a quotation from the Royal Horticultural Society's website:

"fasciation, a condition that may randomly affect a diverse range of plants. Round stems are flattened, suggesting many stems have fused together. True fasciation is the product of a single, normally dome-shaped growing point that has become abnormally broadened and flattened. Any side shoots usually remain small and undeveloped.

The condition may be caused by random genetic disruption or infection by the bacterium which causes leafy gall disease. It can also be initiated chemically or mechanically by, for example, frost action, insects, or damage by chance when hoeing or forking.

Plants commonly affected: delphiniums, euphorbias, forsythia, foxgloves, lilies, primulas."


Back to something normal. Here are two photographs of Galanthus 'Lavinia' from the garden today.

Paddy

[snowdropman]

Hi Paddy - thanks for the details on 'fasciation'. It will be interesting to see is if this is repeated next year, or if it was just a one off occurence - are you going to separate out this g. fosterii plant?

I really like the photo's that you have been posting - the light is obviously very good in your part of the world & your photo's are very clear & detailed.

[Paddy Tobin]

Chris,

I hadn't any intention of separating out this G. fosteri. It is one of a small group growing in a pot in a cold glasshouse and so is unlikely to be lost. Really, I think the chances of a repetition are unlikely but one never knows.

Re photographs: many thanks for your compliments but the good photographs are more a credit to digital technology than any expertise on my part. First of all, when taking photographs of a flower I take a multitude and then later on I select one I like. Also, modern cameras have a very high resolution so that the original photograph can have part of it selected and effectively enlarged and still remain quite clear and sharp.

I have read you comment that you must get a camera - you really must! It adds an extra dimension to the enjoyment of the flowers. Also, I find it directs my attention to look more carefully at the detail of the bloom. Of course, it also allows people to share images easily.

[snowdropman]

Paddy - I think that you are being modest - the technology is not much use unless the person pressing the button has an aptitude for taking a good photo/selecting the best shots!

John Finch has been quietly trying to encourage me to go digital but, as I told him, I am a bit of a technophobe - still, if Thomas can get me interested in Crocus, who knows!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

G. lavinia is a real stunner Paddy ! Beautiful !!

[snowdropman]

Luc, you are right - these Greatorex Doubles are classics but, with the ever increasing number of newly named snowdrops, are in danger of being forgotten & considered old fashioned.

[Paddy Tobin]

Luc,

I agree with you, G. 'Lavinia' is a lovely plant both in the detail of the individual plant and as a group. It holds itself well and looks well as a group. I am not the greatest fan of the double snowdrops as I feel some of them can look a bit 'disorganised' in the inner segments but, as Chris says, they are to be treasured for their connections and it would be a frightful shame to see them lose popularity in the face of newer introductions. They were such a development in their day and really no such leap forward has been made since with the exception of the yellow snowdrops. They were and remain excellent garden plants.  Re double snowdrops, I am looking forward to G. 'Hill Poe', an Irish double snowdrop which I think is the neatest and most perfectly formed of the doubles and a real treasure.

Chris, go on treat yourself to that camera. It really is great enjoyment.

Padd

[snowdropman]

Paddy - I agree with you about 'Hill Poe', which also has the merit that it is very vigorous - my initial planting has increased at an amazing rate - the clump does not get congested, as the new bulbs seem to push away from the mother bulbs (fortunately I planted mine where this 'spread' does not cause problems of intermingling with adjoining snowdrops).

It sounds as if your 'Hill Poe' might be at the same stage as mine - which is very close to flowering - I am always struck by this particular form where virtually the first thing to emerge is the flower bud & this opens before the scape/leaves have really got going.

I am thinking about a camera - honest!