Galanthus mid February to March 2007

[KentGardener]

Hi All

have just found this webpage whilst having a browse on the net.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/main.jhtml?xml=/gardening/2007/01/26/gfront26.xml

I had heard of the £71 for a Diggory - but does anyone know what snowdrop bulb was purchased for £150?

cheers

John

[Anthony Darby]

I would guess 'South Hayes'?

[mark smyth]

I heard today that one man bought practically everthing being auctioned at the Mid Anglia AGS bulb day last August. I've booked my flight for this year's day and report what I see.

[Alan_b]

There were snowdrop auctions held at the Galanthus Gala in 2006 & 2007.

In 2006 the lack of a P.A. system made it difficult to hear what was going on.  I wonder if some people at the back of the hall mistakenly thought they were participating in a charity auction?  If my memory is correct, the last item in the auction went for £70-£80 but I'm afraid I cannot remember which snowdrop it was

In 2007 the P.A. system was working perfectly and I don't recall that anything in that auction raised as much as £50.

Are we sure these reports of huge sums paid for a single bulb are genuine?  Just because it was reported in a newspaper does not mean it is true.

   

[Maggi Young]

I wonder if some people at the back of the hall mistakenly thought they were participating in a charity auction? says Alan b 

Well, Alan, that is what the seller of the bulbs must have been feeling! Can't have believed their luck..laughing all the way to the bank!

[Thomas Huber]

Anthony, I don't know exactly from whic part of Turkey my snowdrop is.
But I also think it's koenenianus.

Mark, both grow outside, unprotected in a shaded area, in light, sandy soil.
Received last summer.

[mark smyth]

looking around my garden yesterday after work I see the snowdrop season is almost over . It's been too warm here this spring for snowdrops. The worst night this year was -6c. Yester was another day with double figure temperatures +12c. Only one snowdrop still to come and is only just above ground now. It's the green tipped Czech snowdrop nivalis 'Green Ibis'. Even though it is now growing in western Europe it has an eastern Europe inner clock

[Alan_b]

Maggi, thank you for your reply to my earlier question.  We had a power cut yesterday so I took myself off to see a local area where there are a large number of naturalised snowdrops, all apparently nivalis.  There is a tremendous degree of variation there, including snowdrops with green markings on their outer petals, snowdrops with green leaves (like 'Anglesey Abbey'), some with unusually elongated flowers, long pedicels (a la 'Magnet') and several 'Gloucester Old Spot' look-alike snowdrops.

I have come to the conclusion that a 'Gloucester Old Spot' look-alike would not be worthy of a name unless it had a really strong feature that would distinguish it.  All such snowdrops still have extensive green markings on the inside of the inner petals, unlike the pure white snowdrop I found earlier this month.

[mark smyth]

here is the snowdrop I found in the garden centre last weekend. A  much better photo than I showed at the weekend

[Anthony Darby]

I'm curious to know how John Morley's (North Green) auctions work? If he has say, as last year, 5 bulbs of 'South Hayes' and asks for annonymous bids, do the five highest bidders each pay what they've bid, or pay the lowest of the five winning bids? I know that £36.50 (or thereabouts) failed to win one last year.

[Martin Baxendale]

Anthony, as I understand it, each of the winning bidders pays what they bid, as if they'd each bid for an individual bulb in five separate auctions. I'm not going to say what I think about such bulb auctions (I might get censured by the powers that be). Except to say that it doesn't seem like the best way to ensure a plant gets firmly and widespreadly established in cutlivation, to auction off just 5 bulbs that would b e better employed for propagation. Much better, if your main aim is to get a beautiful new variety established in gardens, to chip those 5 to get 30-60 bulbs, sell half at a more affordable price, chip again and get a hundred or more...until gardeners can afford to buy 3 or 4 bulbs to ensure success. Single bulbs on their own in gardens can be such a gamble.

[Martin Baxendale]

I should probably say that the obvious exception to what I've just said would be where a cultivar is unstable when repeatedly chipped from previously-chipped bulbs, and does not reliably come true; so that to be sure of getting bulbs for sale true to the original, the grower can only chip bulbs produced naturally by division from the original clump, which slows things down a lot.

In such a case, the problem should be made very clear to potential customers and the gardening world, so that everyone's fully aware that if they chip a bought bulb they may not get flowers true to type, and also that they need to see bulbs in flower before buying, to be sure they're not buying bulbs chipped from chipped bulbs, which may vary from the original.

[David Nicholson]

Maggi, all this talk of chips does me no good at all.

[Maggi Young]

I know, David, makes you peckish:  I've just shared a pizza with Ian!
Martin's comments re said chips are valid, as, in my opinion, are his comments re sales of single bulbs!

[Thomas Huber]

I've tried to make a better photo, but due to dull weather this
is the best I could get:

- Leaves of Galanthus koenenianus
- Galanthus krasnovii