Galanthus season 2009 in the Southern Hemisphere commences!!

[Paul T]

Paddy,

It multiplies the best of any that I have, starting as a single bulb about 10 years ago and counting those I've given away and their offspring etc there would probably be over 100 by now.  This is unusual for Galanthus in my garden, believe me.  It flowers very well, although not as much this year after a bit of a disturbance, even in the ground.  I'm very pleased with it.  I'm assuming the sharlockii types are fairly common overseas?  This one was in a packet of 10 I got from a mailorder nursery (very, very few sell Galanthus here in Aus) and I was very surprised to find this green tipped one amongst them.  It has done way better than the others I got at the time!!

[Paul T]

Galanthus 'Merlin'.

[Paddy Tobin]

Paul,

A beautiful shot of 'Merlin', caught it perfectly, good light and the patterning on the outer petals is crystal clear. Although it is almost de rigeur the fashion to now photograph snowdrops against a black background, and this method has many benefits, there is a delight in a snowdrop photographed in nature that is hard to surpass.

You are lucky to have a snowdrop which does well for you. While we all like to have the many, many different cultivars which are now available there is nothing to compare with a drift of snowdrops in the garden. The very best and most beautiful individual snowdrop will never look as good as good clump.

Paddy

[Paul T]

Paddy,

You're spot on.... nothign in a pot for me has ever looked as good as a good clump in the garden, but I don't have THAT many that I have out in the garden.  I find so many of them just don't multiply for me in the ground, which is why this green tipped one is such a wonder.  It will be interesting to see how well it does next year after it has settled back in from the disturbance.  That little area of garden has become "Otto's Garden" as it contains some of the treasures that appear unexpectedly in the mail from Otto from time to time.    There are various Galanthus leaves coming up thoughout the garden, so I obviously missed some bulbs when I lifted them all before digging the garden area over...... I'm going to retrieve them all later in the season.  At least I know for sure there are no other Galanthus in that garden so they all must be that one.  There's probably about 40 bulbs there, plus some more in a pot, and the ones I have mentioned giving away to friends.  If only they ALL did that well.

[Ragged Robin]

I find so many of them just don't multiply for me in the ground, which is why this green tipped one is such a wonder

I find the same thing here that bulbs don't multiply much, even in my bulb bed, and I am wondering what I'm doing wrong?
Paul, I do hope you wonderous green tipped one has offspring as it is really is exceptional 

[Paddy Tobin]

Robin,

I think the greatest difficulty for snowdrops is presented by wet and heavy ground. They certainly prefer a soil with plenty of leafmould, open and fertile, which stays dry during the dormant summer period. Now is the time to remember that with autumn approaching you can collect leaves and store them for use in the following autumn. Leaves collected here last year are now completely rotted down and I have been using them to top-dress the snowdrop beds.

Paddy

[johnw]

Robin,

I think the greatest difficulty for snowdrops is presented by wet and heavy ground. They certainly prefer a soil with plenty of leafmould, open and fertile, which stays dry during the dormant summer period. Now is the time to remember that with autumn approaching you can collect leaves and store them for use in the following autumn. Leaves collected here last year are now completely rotted down and I have been using them to top-dress the snowdrop beds.

Paddy

Paddy -  Great advice, I must shred and compost more oak leaves next year, such a wonderful top-dressing.

Having repotted most of the Galanthus I have a great appreciation for microbes, bugs and worms in the garden. They do a fantastic job at cleaning up the bulbs - dead roots, tunics, old basal plates and bases of last year's shoots.

I had a note from a friend in Germany who said he grows krasnovii in a peat block, I was amazed. Yet I saw healthy Lewisias in peat blocks in Denmark, we'd never get away with that here.

It would be interesting to list all the Galanthus species and get forumist's feedback on their peculiar requirements in their gardens - ie very summer dry etc.  G. gracilis I have never quite mastered and baffles me.  I assume, if they have any hardiness, ikariae and reginae-olgae might require planting against a south wall here to get a good baking or at least under a vigorously rooted tree that would assure summer dryness.

Despite the heat and dryness here over the last two days the giant banana slugs are out in full force at night. For the last week there has been an evening single file lineup into the potting shed, all heading for a potted Tropaeolum sp.  Two huge ones halfway up the greenhouse screen door last night.

johnw

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks for your practical advice Paddy, I will have to do some lateral thinking as the only leaves here in our garden are from wild cherry and pine needles... we do of course get very wet when the melt starts and then hot and dry in summer but the raised bed is dampish under the stone chip top dressing i put on this year, may be that will help?

I plan to plant many more bulbs this September/October and have had gleaned some great ideas from the Forum 

[Paddy Tobin]

Robin,

Cherry leaves and pine needles would be perfect. Why not collect them this autumn, leave them to rot down and use them as compost or top-dressing next season?

Paddy

[Ragged Robin]

I certainly will Paddy 
Sounds like it could work then....
I was also thinking, from your previous comments, that may be the soil is not fertile enough - at least in the wild parts of the garden - so perhaps i should at least try sprinkling some bone meal where the bulbs are this autumn and hope for more than one snowdrop 

[Paul T]

Howdy All,

A couple that are in flower for me at the moment......

Galanthus 'Hoddles Creek' is very large, with good substance.  It's an Aussie selection.
Galanthus nivalis is in full flower here right now
And lastly.... Galanthus 'Trym', flowering for the first time.  Has been on my "Holy Grail" list for years since I first saw it.  I only got it this year, so I am very pleased to have it flowering.  Small flower (I don't know whether this is standard or not), but so distinct.  Very cool. 

[Paddy Tobin]

Paul,

Snowdrop season is progressing well for you. Your G. nivalis and G. 'Trym' are looking well and G. 'Hoddles Creek' is perfectly charming. I particularly like snowdrops with long outer petals; they give a very attractive shape to the flower. Good to see a nice Australian selection. I'm sure you see so many cultivars from the northern hemisphere and it is very good to see a nice selection with you. A good snowdrop. Increase well? Makes a good clump?

Paddy

[Paul T]

Paddy,

It's not doing too bad clump-wise.  It is in the ground, so I find that few in the ground multiply particularly well for me I must admit (except that green tipped one I posted recently).  That said, it IS forming a clump.  The flowers are large, and even with just a few flowers on the clump it is still very noticeable.  Also very late for an elwesii, the latest to open this year.

[Stephen Vella]

Hi paul. some nice galanthus there, particularly Trym. very nice markings.  So where does one get this from, Otto?

How tall is it?

Cheers

[Paul T]

Stephen,

I have been badgering Marcus for Trym for years, and he finally gave in.  Has been right at the top of my "holy grail" list for a number of years.  I don't think he has many, and I think I am very lucky that he agreed to sell me one.    It's maybe 6 inches tall, but relatively small in flower, at least this year.  Never having seen it in person before, I have nothing to go by to know whether it is smaller than it will end up.  It was a small bulb and I honestly did not expect it to flower, so I was thrilled when I discovered it was going to.