Autumn-Season 2008 begins

[Hagen Engelmann]

Brian, my first twin-scaling is on the way. In four of five bags I can see the miniballs of new bulbs. It`s crazy, I`m happy. I`m thankful for the help of srgc-forum-members

[Hagen Engelmann]

Mark, fingers crossed for this year! We have a good translation of the snowdropbook. So I`m reading more in german as looking in english. Thank you for your tip, I believe you means a Jackie Murray`s G r.o. My snowdrops have a peshmenii-background.

[Gerard Oud]

Hagen i forgot to tell that those fields were on the right Trym, South Hayes and Primrose Warburg, the middle all Lady Elphinstone, and the one on the left all Elwesii Big Boy 

[mark smyth]

Hagan that truely is a stunning snowdrop

[Martin Baxendale]

Speaking of twin-scaling/chipping, thanks, Mark, for the tip about putting the tops of the cut bulbs in the chipping bag along with the chips (I think it was you said that someone you know has been doing this successfully).

I popped the cut-off tops (throughly cleaned-up) of the bulbs in with the chips, and (out of about 40-50 bags done this year) it looks like about half have made little bulblets on the severed bulb tops as well as the chips.

The bulblets on the bulb tops are all much smaller than on the chips with basal plate material (in fact, usually quite tiny) but nonethless will give an extra bonus crop of bulblets in due course.

It seems that some snowdrop clones are more prone to producing these non-basal bulblets than others, as one bag of particular clone will have a high success rate while the next bag of a different clone will have none at all. Maybe (I haven't looked at the possibility too closely yet) the clones that readily produce non-basal bulblets are ones that are genetically more inclined to split and divide naturally?

[snowdropman]

Speaking of twin-scaling/chipping, thanks, Mark, for the tip about putting the tops of the cut bulbs in the chipping bag along with the chips (I think it was you said that someone you know has been doing this successfully).

Martin - Colin Mason & Rod Leeds have been bagging the 'tops' for a number of years now but, to the best of my knowledge, neither of them has then potted up the 'tops' separately from the rest of the chips.

I am keen to prove beyond doubt that the 'tops' do actually produce viable, flower producing bulbs so, as I think that I mentioned earlier this year, it would be good to have you pot up some of the tops separately and to monitor their performance. Colin is kindly experimenting in this way for me with a few snowdrops.

By the way, you mention that the bulblets on the bulb 'tops' are usually quite tiny - Colin always refers to them as 'pips', rather than bulbils/bulblets, which I think aptly describes their much smaller size.

[Brian Ellis]

Chris I'll keep an eye on some of the tops that I did too and let you know in due course.

[snowdropman]

Brian - many thanks - it would be good to keep a record of how many pips there are on the 'tops' when potted up, so that they can be compared later with the number of bulbs which, hopefully we will prove, that they generate.

[Gerard Oud]

If you don't cut of the tops, the extra energy in it can be used for the new to form bulblets, they will grow even bigger. And the succesrate is also higher.

[Martin Baxendale]

Rob, I think Gerard was joking about all those rare snowdrops. I think the beds are full off crocus.

Chris, I'll try to remember to pot some tops with pips (good word!) separately and make a note of the number of pips, check on development and let you know the results. Was it you that originally mentioned bagging the tops? I thought it was Mark, but the memory's not what it used to be!

[art600]

Rob

My Eleni is also just up - will be interesting to compare the flowers.

[Hagen Engelmann]

 Martin, Rob
My english isn`t the best, but I think Gerard hasn`t told us the whole truth. When he has such fields of rarities, than he has also at least one line of ECUSSON DÒR. 

[snowdropman]

Chris, I'll try to remember to pot some tops with pips (good word!) separately and make a note of the number of pips, check on development and let you know the results. Was it you that originally mentioned bagging the tops?

Martin - it would be good if you (and Brian) monitored the development of some of your 'tops'! Yes, it was me 

[Martin Baxendale]

Yes, it was me 

Apologies, Chris. Memory playing tricks on me. Thanks for the tip. Previously I just threw away the bulb tops. Which demonstrates a distinct lack of logical thinking on my part, as I had noted tiny bulbils forming halfway up scales, so had realised you didn't always need basal plate to get a new bulbil - but hadn't made the lateral jump to bagging the tops. Stupid, eh?!   

[Gerard Oud]

Oh no Martin they are Galanthus, flore pleno, viridapice and single nivalis, maybe in the near future this will change.
I do have some succes with twinscaling, in the laboratory we do have a average of 20 from 1 bulb, and that is not a yoke.
Hagen if you want some Ecusson,( about 20), just send me one!