Galanthus January 2009

[mark smyth]

Ian, some plicatus produce twin scapes and I suppose pass the genes to the hybrid. Most of my plicatus 'Wendy's Gold' produce twin scapes.

[johnw]

Alan  - You're right, what a world of detail in a flower. I went back to her original email from last year to check if it was a nivalis she found and she said it was.  She sent me a few and the only one that bloomed had no exterior markings (might have been a regular one dug with the group). I'll check at noon if the others have buds. Also will send her a note to keep the photos coming especially when they are full open. It will be interesting to see how they all compare.

johnw

[Maggi Young]

Paddy, thank you, no problem to help, I had time today.
Cold wet and dark here today so the flowers are very welcome.

The green Dancer is distinctive.......very cute.

[KentGardener]

Alan  - You're right, what a world of detail in a flower. I went back to her original email from last year to check if it was a nivalis she found and she said it was.  She sent me a few and the only one that bloomed had no exterior markings (might have been a regular one dug with the group). I'll check at noon if the others have buds. Also will send her a note to keep the photos coming especially when they are full open. It will be interesting to see how they all compare.

johnw

Hi John

I have just been looking at the photograph again.  I really like the way that the petals seems to curve outwards at their tips.  Please do ask your friend to keep the photographs coming as I am interested to see the shape as the flower ages.

many thanks

John

[Hagen Engelmann]

JohnW - GREEN DANCER is real a G. nivalis? It seems that this galanthus has much green color near the base of the inner segments. Very unusual for nivalis(there is some other blood in?!?!)

[Anthony Darby]

JohnW - GREEN DANCER is real a G. nivalis? It seems that this galanthus has much green color near the base of the inner segments. Very unusual for nivalis(there is some other blood in?!?!)

It certainly looks very nice.

[Martin Baxendale]

Some quick pics of my (very small) cream Galanthus nivalis taken today, including a couple of pics of it beside a white-flowered seedling to show the difference and that it's not just a trick of the light or the camera.

When first found, it was a single bulb and nit much bigger than this, which is tiny. Hopefully I can breed the cream colour into larger seedlings. The inner mark is yellow and so are the lines inside the inner petals.

[KentGardener]

Martin,  that is a pretty little snowdrop (and I can definately see that it is cream and not a trick of the light).

Such a shame that it is a S>L>O>W> grower. 

Good luck with the pollen (you have soooooooooo much more patience than me (and I have have a lot of patience  ))

Best wishes

John

[johnw]

JohnW - GREEN DANCER is real a G. nivalis? It seems that this galanthus has much green color near the base of the inner segments. Very unusual for nivalis(there is some other blood in?!?!)

Hagen - Good thing this was brought up again.  I went out to find my few of this green Dancer to double check.  It is definitely not a nivalis.  Leaves in the photo are the big ones centre and left fore. Definite big pleat in the oldest leaf.  I will have to inform my friend of the error. sorry for the false alarm.

johnw

[johnw]

A few in bloom here today:

Silver Wells (thanks to a prominent forumist)
nivalis Appleby
Latifolius group ex Don Armstrong (may be a named cultivar - to date unidentified) (identified as straight elwesii var. elwesii by Mark - thanks)
elwesii Doris Page (not officially named, just a good doer in Victoria and from her garden, a very special lady now departed)

johnw

[johnw]

And a few more

nivalis ssp. Imperati (ex Germany)
elwesii Rosemary Burnham
plicatus ex SRGC#1639 seed
Compton Court

The camera works better when the F-stop has now been engaged properly, no idea how long that has been set wrong. And I have been blaming the snow.

johnw

[mark smyth]

'Compton Court' has reached Nova Scotia already!?

[KentGardener]

'Compton Court' has reached Nova Scotia already!?

Hi Mark

looking at the clump in the phototgraph it seems to have been there for a while.

Best wishes

John

[johnw]

Whoops missed posting Compton Court (or did I wipe it out accidentally while editing?). It 's there now. 

John, got three or four last autumn, ordered one.

johnw

[Paddy Tobin]

Rob,

Prompted by your question I had a look at my snowdrop record and have the following after G. 'Desdemona':

Potterton & Martin. 3 for £14.40, Feb 2003 Thank you Bob!

That seems a very good increase. I reckon, from the photograph, that there are 50 - 70 flowers open at the moment and I'm sure there are a few more to come yet. If you look closely, you will see that the bulbs are spread out a bit as I split up this clump last season as I felt it was becoming congested and because I prefer to see snowdrops in drifts rather than in circular clumps.

Other photographs posted early this morning show 'S. Arnott', 'Ophelia' and 'Magnet' which are in far greater number and would again have started off from a purchase of three bulbs. A drift of G. plicatus 'Warham' is just opening and covers about 3 metres X 1 metre after being spread out last season.

Paddy