Galanthus February 24

[Mariette]

I have never seen such a yellow woronowii, I like it. This light line on the leaves, is it from the play of light or does it really exist, it is not characteristic of the species.
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Stefan, there is no light line on the leaves - the leaves are very shiny and reflected the sunlight when taking the pic.

´Elizabeth Harrison´ is a yellow G. woronowii of stronger growth, it´s the one to the right of G. ikariae, also later flowering than my chance seedling.

[Stefan B.]

Interesting to learn that there are tall forms, too! Mine are rather dainty snowdrops, this one bought from Avon Bulbs in Oirlich, where the late Günter Waldorf had organized the Schneeglöckchentage. I ordered it in advance, and obviously, it was a small clump dug fresh from their garden. Fond memories of events and people sadly gone by.

Is this a picture of your Galanthus rizehensis? They seem to me to be quite tall plants. Galanthus rizehensis is a small plant 10-15 cm tall and the green markings on the inner petals are wider. Is it possible that Avon Bulbs made a mistake?

[Stefan B.]

Galanthus reginae-olgae ssp vernalis

Only 5 cm tall I had to get really close for it to get that big.

Galanthus fosteri 


Elwesii without a name which I really like.


Another unnamed elwesii, this one is bigger.

[Stefan B.]

Galanthus 'Alpha Green Peacock'

[Mariette]

Your snowdrops and You enjoy a lot of sunshine -  here it´s all storm and rain.

Is this a picture of your Galanthus rizehensis? They seem to me to be quite tall plants. Galanthus rizehensis is a small plant 10-15 cm tall and the green markings on the inner petals are wider. Is it possible that Avon Bulbs made a mistake?

Stefan, this snowdrop is less than 15 cm tall, the outers hardly 2 cm. As Avon Bulbs´ galanthus-specialist Alan Street sadly passed away and the nursery is about to close, there will be hardly an answer to Your question.

[Maggi Young]

Stefan, this snowdrop is less than 15 cm tall, the outers hardly 2 cm. As Avon Bulbs´ galanthus-specialist Alan Street sadly passed away and the nursery is about to close, there will be hardly an answer to Your question.

 Sad news indeed - https://thedaffodilsociety.com/2023/12/avon-bulbs-plan-for-the-end-of-an-era/
 and  https://www.avonbulbs.co.uk/blog

[Leena]

Not all snowdrops do well in my garden, Leena - for instance, ´Godfrey Owen´hardly flowers or increases, with ´E.A. Bowles´ it´s the same, though it flowers regularly. On sandy soils these varieties grow like mad, yet obviously dislike my heavy, wet soil.

For some reason also here 'Godfrey Owen' is doing poorly, and hasn't flowered after the first year. I thought I lost it, but last year there were some leaves. I bought another and planted it to a different spot, but neither that one is growing well. I have thought that maybe it is a too early variety to grow here and that is why it suffers. I will try and move to yet another bed.
'E.A.Bowles' did well for five years and then I divided it in 2020. After dividing it went downhill, except one bulb in another bed flowered last year and seems to increase, but the one in the original spot disappeared all together last year. I'm glad it is still alive in another spot.

[Leena]

It is good to see a comparaison picture of woronowii and ikariae, the colour of the leaves are very different. Thank you.

From the collection of the late Barbara and Eberhard Fluche I got this hybrid  G. nivalis x ikariae, bred by Nicolas Top.

This is very nice. It's leaves seem more green than nivalis which has blueish green leaves. Do you see ikariae in it's leaves?

Stefan, I like especially the nameless G.elwesii with round flowers and strong green inner marking, and how it's leaves are still short when it flowers.
Both your elwesii seem as good as any named ones.
Many time (at least my nameless ones) elwesii has big leaves giving the impression of a very "leafy" plant.

[Leena]

Galanthus 'Alpha Green Peacock'

This looks different! I hope it clumps up well and then it will be something different.

[Leena]

Yes, strong light helps with selections which may be greenish-yellow otherwise, but soil is also important, as well as the variety: some are better "yellows" than others.

I agree with Mariette, and I've also been wondering if in cold weather yellows get better colour than in warmer climates. Here all yellows which I have grown show good colour and they are my favourites.
Mariette, congratulations for your yellow woronowii-seedling.
I have had mixed results trying to grow G.woronowii. I have lost some in hard winters, and that is why I haven't yet dared to try 'Elisabeth Harrison'. Now I'm looking forward to seeing how woronowii bulbs planted last summer are going to flower this year. If they do well, then maybe I will try EH also someday.
I have bought G.ikariae 'Emerald Isle' in 2016, and it flowered the next year, but hasn't flowered since. It is alive as there have been leaves every spring, but it is not doing well.

It is a long winter this year, February seems to be colder than normal (like January was), and I think it will be April before snowdrops flower.
Ground frost is deep this year. It is now -9C, but tomorrow it will be -20 again.
Some of the snow melted last week when it was above zero, and this is what it looked like yesterday in my garden. Snowdrops are still asleep.

[Stefan B.]

I'm so glad to have this snowflake, finally. 

Galanthus plicatus 'Wendy's Gold'

[Jeffnz]

Leena
I recall seeing on a US blog site, Carolyn's Shade Garden,  a comment that the yellow intensity was more in her garden compared to the same varieties grown in the UK, she had visited many UK gardens growing galanthus.
This was put down to light intensity but maybe there is another explanation.

[Mariette]

Most galanthophiles in the USA garden on a latitude far south of the UK, which means their snowdrops enjoy much stronger light than in Britain. New York, for instance, shares the latitude with Rome.  Also, snowdrops flower very early in the year in Britain, when the sun is rather low on the horizon. I was interested to read about Carolyn´s experiences, and that is what I thought might be an explanation.

[Kole]

Is this G. elwesii unusual?
It came with a package of bulbs I planted last fall. All of the others look different (their green markings).
I don’t have much experience with snowdrops…
Several pictures attached.

[Mariette]

It is good to see a comparaison picture of woronowii and ikariae, the colour of the leaves are very different. Thank you.
Mariette, congratulations for your yellow woronowii-seedling.
I have had mixed results trying to grow G.woronowii. I have lost some in hard winters, and that is why I haven't yet dared to try 'Elisabeth Harrison'. Now I'm looking forward to seeing how woronowii bulbs planted last summer are going to flower this year. If they do well, then maybe I will try EH also someday.

Leena, the G. woronowii on the right to G. ikariae is ´Elizabeth Harrison´, a stouter plant than my seedling and later flowering. In this country, the later flowering ones are more reliable in colder areas. Though gardening in one of the mildest parts of Germany, there were some setbacks regarding G. woronowii in my garden in earlier years when winters were colder.

This is very nice. It's leaves seem more green than nivalis which has blueish green leaves. Do you see ikariae in it's leaves?

Yes, to me it looks like a hybrid, though I once asked for it just for the lovely green leaves. These are broader than those of G. nivalis usually are, it´s a very sturdy plant bulking and flowering prolifically in my garden. My clone of G. ikariae spent several years in the green-house and is now about 10 bulbs, yet just one flowering for the first time. I wonder whether it´s  shy flowering or maybe should be treated in a different way.