Galanthus February 24

[Stefan B.]

A beautiful snowflake by Gregor Jentsch.




Galanthus gracilis DD Virescent

[Leena]

I think they were just restricted from sunlight, they will soon turn green. They look like G. 'Flore Pleno' to me.

I agree with Stefan.
Here it is very common that many snowdrops come up and start yellow, and this is mostly because of the cold weather when they are coming up. Later they will turn green as usual.
In warmer springs the same snowdrops are green like they should be.
Also if they are restricted of light by thick mulch or other vegetation (like in your picture), they can come up yellow.

If you follow this patch you will see it turning green in time.

[ashley]

A beautiful snowflake by Gregor Jentsch.

Yes very beautiful, and so well photographed like all your snowdrops Stefan

[Leena]

Here are two examples from my garden last spring when normally green snowdrops come up yellow or olive green.
This is 'Trumps', 100% right plant, but yellow because of circumstances.


This is 'Rosemary Burnham', also wrong colour last spring due to weather or mulch.

[Stefan B.]

Yes very beautiful, and so well photographed like all your snowdrops Stefan

Thanks ashley, I really enjoy watching the plants.

[Leena]

This is ordinary G.nivalis in spring 2022 which was very cold here, and with this plant the colouration couldn't be because of mulch, so cold is the only explanation. Last spring the same snowdrops were green like they were before 2022.

[Gail]

Really interesting, and lovely photos Leena. I've had yellow due to mulch/mole activity but not I think cold, although Norfolk cold is probably not the same as yours...

[Jeffnz]

Any chance that light levels/intensity at a critical time would influence developing the yellow colour?

[Leena]

Really interesting, and lovely photos Leena. I've had yellow due to mulch/mole activity but not I think cold, although Norfolk cold is probably not the same as yours...

Thank you Gail.
I thought about it more over night, and it can't be the cold in the air, because not all snowdrops turn yellow in cold weather,  though maybe snowdrops here are more olive green than in more south. However, this yellowing is more after very cold and long winters when ground frost is very deep and ground stays frozen for a long time. Snowdrops come up even from frozen ground, and they come up yellow/yellowish and turn green later. So I started thinking that maybe cold in the soil is one factor, and it may depend also at which stage the snowdrops are coming up. Funnily when I look at pictures not the earliest (normally green) snowdrops turn yellow in some years, but a bit later ones like the ones in the pictures.

I can't say why this phenomenon is here in cold and late springs with deep ground frost, but I have experienced it many times, and some can be because of deep mulch (which I add to protect from ground freezing as deep as it would without it), but like G.nivalis in the picture, there is no mulch.

Jeff,
I don't know about light levels, how they are here compared to more southern countries, but actual yellow snowdrops are always good yellow here every year. I'm just talking about the yellowing of normally green snowdrops.

[Robert]

Although I do not know much about the genus Galanthus; I hypothesize that the yellow pigmentation exhibited by some of the plant tissues might be the result of protective measures taken by some Galanthus species and hybrids when temperatures are very cold. The photoactive portion of the photosynthesis process is highly reductive: during the photoactive segment of photosynthesis chlorophyll molecules use light energy to reduce H2O to a flow of electrons (used in the NADPH production process), a gradient of protons (used by the ATP synthase), and oxygen molecules. If temperatures are too low for the electrons to be processed for the eventual production of NADPH, then the excessive energy needs to be dissipated in some way to protect the plant from tissue damage. In addition, the excessive oxygen needs to be released into the atmosphere through the stomata. Carotenoids (the yellow pigment) are imbedded in proximity to the chlorophyll molecules to protect plant tissues from damage during the photoactive segment of photosynthesis process. During cold weather some plants produce anthocyanins, especially on the bottom side of the leaves to dissipate excessive energy from the photoactive process as heat. This is easy to observe in species such as Phacelia stebbinsii during the early spring. In some Galanthus species and hybrids, chlorophyll production might be temporarily limited to protect the plant until temperatures begin to rise. I see this process take place with some plant species in the Sierra Nevada Mountains when they first emerge from the ground in the spring as the snow is melting but temperatures are still cold. Anyway, this is a very simplified explanation, however might be another idea worth considering.

[Leena]

Although I do not know much about the genus Galanthus; I hypothesize that the yellow pigmentation exhibited by some of the plant tissues might be the result of protective measures taken by some Galanthus species and hybrids when temperatures are very cold. The photoactive portion of the photosynthesis process is highly reductive: during the photoactive segment of photosynthesis chlorophyll molecules use light energy to reduce H2O to a flow of electrons (used in the NADPH production process), a gradient of protons (used by the ATP synthase), and oxygen molecules. If temperatures are too low for the electrons to be processed for the eventual production of NADPH, then the excessive energy needs to be dissipated in some way to protect the plant from tissue damage. In addition, the excessive oxygen needs to be released into the atmosphere through the stomata. Carotenoids (the yellow pigment) are imbedded in proximity to the chlorophyll molecules to protect plant tissues from damage during the photoactive segment of photosynthesis process. During cold weather some plants produce anthocyanins, especially on the bottom side of the leaves to dissipate excessive energy from the photoactive process as heat. This is easy to observe in species such as Phacelia stebbinsii during the early spring. In some Galanthus species and hybrids, chlorophyll production might be temporarily limited to protect the plant until temperatures begin to rise. I see this process take place with some plant species in the Sierra Nevada Mountains when they first emerge from the ground in the spring as the snow is melting but temperatures are still cold. Anyway, this is a very simplified explanation, however might be another idea worth considering.

Robert, wow!
The science went a bit over my head, but seems a very likely explanation to what I have experienced. Thank you so much!

[Leena]

Any chance that light levels/intensity at a critical time would influence developing the yellow colour?

I thought about this today, and still don't know the answer, but when snowdrops flower here in April, the day length here is 14,5 - 15,5 hours (April 1st - April 20th).
When snowdrops flower in London in February the day length there is 9 hours, I think.
So the day length is longer here when snowdrops are in flower.

[arisaema]

These were sold at a local grocery store for some £1.40/pot, labelled as Danish produced Galanthus nivalis... They're obviously not that, so what are they? Wild collected G. elwesii?

[Stefan B.]

They're obviously not that, so what are they? Wild collected G. elwesii?

Yes, these are G. elwesii. But I don't think they are wild collected plants. You may notice that the green markings are different on individual plants. I am interested in the mechanism of this business, I hope it does not destroy nature...

[Alan_b]

Turkey is allowed to export a prescribed number of Galanthus elwesii.  These most probably go to Holland where they are potted and sold to retailers.