Galanthus December 2023

[Stefan B.]

It was supposed to bloom two weeks after 'Barnes' but it bloomed a whole month after him, just now.

Elwesii ssp hiemalis Group




Here is another snowdrop that is blooming now, I bought the bulbs from a big hypermarket a few years ago. I assume it is from the hiemalis group?

[Mariette]

Very nice with that large mark, Stefan!

In my garden, flowering-time depends on the situation where a certain clone is planted. I grow ´Barnes´ in several places, and they do not flower always at the same time, nor at the same time of the season.

The Galanthus elwesii You bought at the hypermarket will be a potted bulb of imported G. elwesii. If You buy such a mixture, there may be 5-6 % of autumn-flowering snowdrops among them, like those flowering here.

[Stefan B.]

Very nice with that large mark, Stefan!

In my garden, flowering-time depends on the situation where a certain clone is planted. I grow ´Barnes´ in several places, and they do not flower always at the same time, nor at the same time of the season.

The Galanthus elwesii You bought at the hypermarket will be a potted bulb of imported G. elwesii. If You buy such a mixture, there may be 5-6 % of autumn-flowering snowdrops among them, like those flowering here.

5-6% it's like winning the lottery The snowflakes in the picture are so lovely.

[Leena]

It is so nice to see flowering snowdrops!
I have also bought dry G.elwesii couple of times from garden centers, and once got bulbs which started to flower right away in December, so they must have been autumn-flowering, but unfortunately they all died during the winter here.

What a beautiful combination with snowdrops and cyclamen leaves!

[Stefan B.]

It is so nice to see flowering snowdrops!
I have also bought dry G.elwesii couple of times from garden centers, and once got bulbs which started to flower right away in December, so they must have been autumn-flowering, but unfortunately they all died during the winter here.

They didn't last because autumn elwesias should be planted earlier than later blooming ones, it wasn't the winter's fault. 

[Leena]

They didn't last because autumn elwesias should be planted earlier than later blooming ones, it wasn't the winter's fault. 

Okay, so you mean that they didn't get enough time to root and didn't survive because of that? I planted the dry supermarket bulbs that time in late September I think, so it is possible.

I have tried 'Barnes' twice here. The first time I planted it in August I think, it was many years ago, and it never came up.
I remember that it has started to form a shoot already when I planted it, but no roots.
Then another time I got it in spring, and planted first in pot and then later in the ground, and that year winter came early again, and it didn't have time to come up before winter,
and the next spring there was no sign of it and when I dug where I had planted it, I couldn't find anything. I don't know what happened.

Many times earlier (spring) flowering snowdrops like 'Bess' or 'Mrs Macnamara' are already peaking in December before the winter, and then they just wait for weather to warm up and flower properly in March/April, but this year cold came so early, that there were no snowdrops showing yet.
There is now about 10cm snow and last night was the coldest so far, -22C, but it is now going to be warmer (between -5- -10C), and maybe more snow by the end of the week.

[Stefan B.]

Okay, so you mean that they didn't get enough time to root and didn't survive because of that? I planted the dry supermarket bulbs that time in late September I think, so it is possible.

I meant that traders should not mix up autumn blooming snowdrops with spring blooming ones. This mixing and almost always disastrous for autumn bloomers. For me, out of several bulbs, only one sprouted and it bloomed in the third year after planting.

[Leena]

I meant that traders should not mix up autumn blooming snowdrops with spring blooming ones. This mixing and almost always disastrous for autumn bloomers.

Ok, I understand and agree.

[ashley]

'Three Ships', multiplying only very slowly so might prefer replanting elsewhere.

[Mariette]

Very nice scenery, Ashley! With me, ´Three Ships´ bulks up like mad - I wonder why it doesn´t do it for You? Most of them are growing in my borders on heavy clay. The compost of my heap, where I grow some potted in, contains a good deal of clay as well. There was no difference between dry and wet years. This year we are up to 1000 mm of  rainfall, 2018 there were only 450 mm.

[ashley]

Thanks for your interesting feed-back Mariette.
I'm in two minds, whether to leave them undisturbed & perhaps bulk-up faster now, or to try another situation in the garden.
From what you say, they shouldn't be fussy, and other plicatus do fine here.

[Jeffnz]

Being a newbie to growing snow drops I would like to determine how important solid type is to successful growing.

[Mariette]

From what you say, they shouldn't be fussy, and other plicatus do fine here.

In my garden, not all G. plicatus do grow as well as ´Three Ships´. ´E.A. Bowles´, for instance, hardly produces any new bulbs, but does very well on sandy or better drained soils. ´Trym´is another one, which doesn´t bulk for me, though it did very well with the kind friend from whom I got it. Perhaps some clones require drier conditions during summer to split than my garden offers?

[Stefan B.]

The 'Three Ships' myths are visible on the horizon...

Galanthus plicatus 'Three Ships'

and look more like the ships from Star Wars

[Stefan B.]

This year the flowering was delayed by more than a month.


Galanthus corcyrensis