Galanthus January 2009

[KentGardener]

I was just checking pots in the unheated greenhouse, and discovered
19 neglected ones under the bench. 

19!   

I had a pot that was pushed over by a cat about 8 months ago - nearly all its soil was gone but it too is trying its upmost to flower - though I must admit it is still sitting in 1cm of soil even as I write.   

Note to self - give the poor thing some soil!

Regards

John

[Anthony Darby]

I found a pot of 'Viridapices' dug up from my mum's lawn in September and dumped in a pot outside with no soil. Loads of flower buds, so I just plonked them in a hole in front of the hawthorn hedge near the front gate. They should be fine.

[Paddy Tobin]

Dreadful weekend weather here, particularly on Saturday; telephone line and electricity both out; local flooding but no damage to house.  So, not much going on in the garden but I made a dash outside and collected some snowdrops which I brought inside to photograph.

G. 'Brocklamont Seedling' is from a garden in Northern Ireland. I have had it for a few years and it seems to be a good garden plant, bulking up well etc and is a pretty thing.

Paddy

G. 'John Long'
 G. 'Anglesey Abbey'
 G. 'Atkinsii'
 G. 'Brocklamont Seedling'
 G. 'Compton Court' 

[Paddy Tobin]

A few  more.

By the way, I think these are as well viewed as thumbnails as I saved them at the lowest quality and they do pixellate when expanded.

Jenny Scott's Straffan came to me from Northern Ireland and is reputedly an earlier flowering form of G. 'Straffan'. It is certainly ahead of other clumps of G. 'Straffan' in my garden this season.

Paddy

[Paddy Tobin]

A few more.

I have posted two "Unknowns" below and would welcome suggestions as to their identity. I believe the first is G. 'Atkinsii'. The second came to me labelled as G. 'Barbara's Double' but it certainly is not double and is the first time it has flowered here. Suggestions welcome.

Paddy

[art600]

Paddy

Thanks for posting photos of your snowdrops.  I have several just about to flower and they help to confirm/or not my labels.

[David Nicholson]

Very nice selection there Paddy.

[Maggi Young]

Rob.... don't add perlite to your potting mix, add gravel......3 to 6 mm gravel 

[Martin Baxendale]

Rob.... don't add perlite to your potting mix, add gravel......3 to 6 mm gravel 

Or pumice grit - light weight, porous and great for snowdrops (mops up excess moisture in containers and also improves drainage). If orchids love it, it's good enough for snowdrops. I use it in  my mix for growing on twin scales and hardly ever lose any.

[Jo]

I thought I might venture out and see whats surviving in the garden.
 
First John Gray, enjoying last nights weather.
Next Rizehensis showing two scapes per bulb.
Third Diggory going over
And last Limetree showing healthy leaves for Rob who wondered about the health of this variety.' I'm not sure if all stock of limetree are virus-ed, '

And a question, Does anyone grow Cyril Warr and is that the correct spelling because I can't see it in the book and want to do its label ?

[Jo]

OOOOpps heres John Gray

[Brian Ellis]

From Desirable Plants website Jo

G. 'Cyril Warr' (£5) is one of those good, larger snowdrops which get handed around, in this case in the south west, simply because they look great and perform well. I rate it for the powerful fragrance.

I don't grow it as they had run out of stock!!

[KentGardener]

Great pictures showing an interesting selection of 'drops Paddy.  Did you notice a strong scent on any while they were indoors?  The flower on Richard Ayres filled my kitchen when I took it in over the weekend.

Regards

John

[mark smyth]

Paddy the last one is 'Ding Dong'


 pic copied here:

[mark smyth]

Maggi, I'm not worried that the snowdrops are in a fish box but I'm worried about the collection being in one or more troughs. Stag is known to move around snowdrops when we have very wet summers like we just had. Matt Bishop lost many of his because they were at the bottom edge of a wet slope. A lurker who is watching the Galanthus thread says virus may spread by root contact. One virused snowdrop in one trough could spread to them all.