The ebay season begins....... ( includes ikariae/ woronowii comparisons)

[Brian Ellis]

Before anyone goes chopping Big Boy the resulting bulbils have a low survival rate. So say Wol and Sue.

and others!

[Martin Baxendale]

Before anyone goes chopping Big Boy the resulting bulbils have a low survival rate. So say Wol and Sue.

Sounds like Gerard did okay with chipping 'Big Boy'. Maybe he can tell us what his success rate has been so far.

Mark, did  they say at what point in their development the bulbils tend to fail, or hazard a guess as to the reason? Any such further info could be helpful.

[Martin Baxendale]

I recall Alan Street telling me years ago that 'Big Boy' is one that tends to take a rest after chipping, making bulbils but then not making leaves and roots during the next season. In that scenario, it may be tricky keeping the dormant bulbs just moist so they don't shrivel but not so wet as to cause rot.

Does anyone know at what point or why Rosemary Burnham is a poor chipping prospect? Chips won't form bulbils, bulbils won't grow on or tend to rot?

[Jo]

Joe Sharmon commented yesterday that when chipping it is important to pot the bulbils as early as possible and by early September because otherwise they rest and may take one or two years to start into growth.
He said chip in May and pot v early Sept.

[Brian Ellis]

Yes Jo that is the best timing, although it has been earlier this year and can be done at any time without as much success.

[Martin Baxendale]

Joe's timing is probably the ideal, but I've chipped later and potted later with no problems. Once, as an experiment, I chopped some Arnott bulbs in October and potted in early January and they caught up with all the chips done earlier and by the end of the growing season were just as far advanced.

[steve owen]

Should one lay the scales + bulbils on the surface when potting or cover them? If cover, how deep and with what medium?

[Martin Baxendale]

Should one lay the scales + bulbils on the surface when potting or cover them? If cover, how deep and with what medium?

They should be covered, so the tops of the chips are just below the surface of the (well-drained) compost, and then a layer of grit (not too deep and not to coarse).

[Martin Baxendale]

I see 'Big Boy' went for £139 on ebay in a last minute burst of high bidding. Something that occurs to me is (and I'm not having a rant, just speculating) whether these high auction prices will affect how prepared people (generally speaking) will be prepared in future to give away bulbs of rarer snowdrops when they know they could fetch huge sums on ebay?

I'm pretty sure that say last year someone with a good clump of 'Big Boy' might, if asked by a garden visitor with some snowdrop growing experience might well have parted with a small bulb as a gift. Would people now feel less inclined to give away something that has had such a high (if rather arbitrary) value put on it? I.E. could the sale of one bulb for a very high price affect how much that cultivat gets passed around in future? I would imagine at the very least, people may be more inclined to want something equally valuable in return.

What made me think of this (apart from the ebay auctions) is that a nurseryman told me a few years ago that the introduction of the Plant Breeders Rights, useful as that is for breeders, was making gardeners far less likely to offer a nurseryman a new plant for them to bulk up and distribute, out of concern that it might be worth a lot at some point and they could lose out. One side-effect could, she said, be that fewer new plants get into wide circulation as people hang onto them, perhaps losing them eventually to disease, pests, etc so that they never get into a lot of gardens.

 

[Michael J Campbell]

Rob,take a look at the sellers "other items for sale"

[Martin Baxendale]

The seller is offering 'Flocon de Neige' which doesn't look right and is in Edinburgh. The last not-Flocon was also in Edinburgh.

[Anthony Darby]

Looks like a groath exaggeration?

[Gerard Oud]

The average of twinscaling normally is 6 to 8 bulbils and in the laboratory 20 to 22 bulbils from just one bulb. Unfortunately i got the Big boy a little late(September) and twinscaled it in September and after that i got a fungus infection which i got rather well away with chloride luckily still there did stay 4 to 6 left to grow. For the coming season i do get from a colleage here in holland, who has several clumps another one.

[Paddy Tobin]

Martin,

Referring to your question above re the high prices some snowdrops achieve on e-bay and the possible effects of this of people being willing or not to part with bulbs in a purely friendly manner, i.e. not in a commercial arrangement:

I certainly share your sentiments that this would be an unfortunate state of affairs. Over the last few years, since I have taken an interest in snowdrops, I have found it marked by generosity and a willingness share among enthusiasts. Even this season I have arranged a number of swaps with forum members and I am absolutely sure that there was no comparisons made re the value of the various snowdrops involved, simply as case of 'I have some of this to spare and I would like some of that' and I have no doubt that this will continue; hope sincerely that it will continue and intend to continue with it myself. As the recipient of so much generosity from other snowdrop growers I could not but be willing to share whenever possible. This is a part of snowdrop growing, indeed gardening in general, that has always been important and should continue to be practiced.

By the way, to save me sending a PM, I have bulbs of G. 'Compton Court' to spare - you expressed an interest in having some a few days ago but I didn't get round to contacting you.

Paddy

[annew]

I potted my twin-scaled bulblets half-way down the pot in a layer of sand as I do all my mature bulbs, as I think was suggested by Ian. It certainly works well for seedlings, and the bulbils that are through so far look very strong. I'll let you know if any don't make it up from the depths!