Galanthus 2006

[mark smyth]

just now no. Maybe when the flower opens. I can tell you it's not an elwesii like you have already said nor ikariae, fosteri or woronowii. These come above ground with one leaf wrapped around the other like elwesii. I dont think the leaves are folded back like a plicatus. Are the leaves grey or shiny green?

Is it in a  potted in a peat based compost? It looks very wet

[vanhouttewim]

The leaves are shiny green, not grey or glaucous like nivalis
and not at all folded back.
they are fine , not like an ikariae or woronowii.


it's wet because it has just rained .
he uses Geranium peat .
i tell him all the time that it's not good , but he don't want to listen.
He even use it for the expensive snowdrops .

i allways prefer to plant them out in the garden , with my own compost.
for all this reasons i keep a collection for my own , he keeps it all in P9 and then everything is frozen 

[mark smyth]

Some nivalis have non glaucous leaves. We'll have to wait. I edited my post above.

[Paddy Tobin]

Mark,

As a general rule I plant my snowdrops where they are in shade during the summer but have plenty of light at this time of year, under deciduous trees, for example. One bed with snowdrops is completely out in the open as the tree which is to provide summer shade is still very small and severely delayed by being struck by a football last year when the leader was severed. It will come in time and make a fine tree - the Kentucky Coffee-bean tree.  Even the snowdrops in this open bed are not yet in flower - G. 'Paradise Giant' and G. 'Fred's Giant' are nearest to opening here.

Elsewhere in the garden, G. caucasicus (yes, I know it has been renamed years ago but that was the name with which I started, so...) and G. fosteri are nearest to opening. Otherwise, I am waiting and waiting.  Next month should bring lots of others in flower.

The garden slopes gently to the north; it is at the bottom of sloping ground and wet because of the run down of drainage from highter ground; it is close to the river bank where fog and frost are common and perhaps this gives a later season than a garden with a more southerly and open aspect. 

On the positive side, the soil is a good rich loam, wet in winter but drains and dries well in spring; it is slightly acidic and rhododendrons and its likes grow well here.

Paddy

[mark smyth]

caucasicus may be brought back at some stage but who now has a real one? Janis Ruksans and ?Chris Brickell say they should be seperate. I'll ask both in February and report back

All those eagerly waiting for the new photo pages on the web site will be happy to know I've just this minute naming all the snowdrop photos, adding a nice background and a no right click programme. My eyes and fingers hurt!

[KentGardener]

Hi All

my garden doesn't get a single ray of sun at this time of the year - next door has a large garage creating a lot of shade, and the one next door to them have a high leyland cyprus - the sun is so low in the sky that it never quite reaches the soil of my small walled garden    I have considered fixing some mirrors to reflect light onto certain patches of ground if any plant really does sulk - but it hasn't been necessary so far....)

Yet in full flower for the last week are Elwesii Comet, Elwesii Yvonne Hay and Caucasicus green tips (the later two are pretty well slug munched!).

Some others have white showing above ground but are a way from flowering (Lady Beatrix Stanley, Colossus, Lyn).  Everything else is either just breaking through the ground or they are still hiding under the surface.

with my kind regards

John


(showing my garden walls taken on 18 March 2006)

[snowdropman]

Janis Ruksans and ?Chris Brickell say they should be seperate. I'll ask both in February and report back

I hope that Janis is fully recovered by then - he tells me that had a fall on Christmas Eve and broke his left hand

[snowdropman]

As a general rule I plant my snowdrops where they are in shade during the summer but have plenty of light at this time of year, under deciduous trees ..................

Paddy - thanks for your stimulating posts on this subject. I too have long been interested in the great variation in flowering times etc noted on the Forum (I am in the south of England).

Clearly there are quite a number of factors at play here viz geographical location, aspect, soil type, shade/light, year round climate, feeding regime and of course how all of these factors in turn compare with the natural habitat of the snowdrops that we are trying to grow.

I have been trying to mimic at least some of the conditions in their natural habitat so, for instance, I grow the autumn flowering g. reginae-olgae out in the open, so that they will get the full benefit of the Autumn/Winter sun (the same with g.peshmenii, which seem to need this extra warmth to really survive in the garden, as opposed to being grown in cold frames) - the downside to this of course is that because of the more exposed aspect they can be more prone to damage from Autumn storms but so far, on balance, I get better results this way, particularly with the peshmenii (which only push up leaves elsewhere in the garden).

Some species, like g. krasnovii, are a bit more challenging! In his book, 'The genus Galanthus', Aaron Davis pictures g. krasnovii in full flower on the edge of melting snow! Here in the south of England we do not see much of this particular white stuff, so I have planted out bulbs in several different parts of the garden, looking for a position that is cool & wet/retains the wet during the flowering period, but is dry in the summer, and will be carefully monitoring results.

Many of the yellow nivalis sandersii group have been found growing on large Estates in Northumberland & Scotland where the soil is mainly peat & very wet, so I am experimenting with growing some of them both directly in my peat bed and also in lattice baskets containing my standard 'mix' which in turn are plunged in the peat bed.  I have also created a small bed to which I have added peat to the natural sandy soil & lastly I am growing some forms, including 'Ray Cobb' (but not exclusively yellows), directly below my Camellia 'hedge' (to which I regularly add peat & feed with sequestrated iron). I am only in the 3rd year of this experiment, so it is too early to tell whether there are any noticeable differences, either in colour, flowering times, rate of increase in bulbs etc, but at least I can report that all of the snowdrops are still alive and well!

I have long since run out of room for g. nivalis forms, under the canopy of my Horse Chestnut/my neighbours Holm Oak, which seem to prefer shadier/damper conditions - I am now planting them in a more open north facing bed, at the foot of a hedge (of native species) and they seem to be thriving, with a good rate of increase noted.

With elwesii, plicatus & hybrids it seems to be more a question of moving them around the garden and finding where they thrive best - to this end I am indebted to Janet Lecore, of Judy's Snowdrops, who introduced me to planting snowdrops in lattice (aquatic) baskets. These baskets make it so much easier to lift the bulbs, greatly reducing the risks of, damaging roots, not replanting properly, the inevitable set back caused by disturbance etc.

Just to add my three penny worth on what is flowering, I have the following forms flowering in my garden at the moment, with many more not far behind

- reginae-olgae ssp reginae-olgae 'Mette'
- reginae-olgae ssp reginae-olgae 'Maria'
- reginae-olgae 'Christine'
- elwesii hiemalis group ex Broadleigh Gardens
- 'Faringdon Double'
- elwesii 'Mrs McNamara'
- elwesii 'Kyre Park'
- 'Bess'
- 'Ding Dong'
- elwesii green tips
- elwesii 'Sickle'
- elwesii 'Fieldgate Prelude'
- elwesii 'Spring Greens'
- elwesii 'Amberglow'
- plicatus 'Three Ships'
- elwesii 'Yvonne Hay'
- elwesii 'Fenstead End'
- elwesii var. monostictus 'Sir Edward Elgar'
- cilicicus
- elwesii ex Dumlugoze
- reginae-olgae ssp vernalis JRM 1239
- rizehensis
- fosterii
- elwesii 'X files'
- plicatus 'Colossus'
- plicatus 'Florence Baker'
- elwesii var. monostictus 'J. Haydn'
- elwesii var. monostictus 'G. Handel'
- 'Castlegar'

[snowdropman]

thanks for the picture of carolyn elwes - I must admit that I am rather disapointed at the 'yellow' colour. 

Hi John - do not give up on 'Carolyn Elwes' - as a result of being twin scaled, this classic seems to have been re-invigorated & mine certainly exhibited the very characteristic yellow colouring both of the upper spathe and the marks on the inner segment.

[Paddy Tobin]

Chris,

Many thanks for a very comprehensive account of your trials in growing snowdrops. Leaving aside the details, I am especially pleased to read of someone who is set on growing all snowdrops out of doors. This is an approach I particularly admire and to which I aspire. The only snowdrop I grow inside is G. fosteri and this only because I have only a few bulbs at present. When it bulks up I will put some out and keep one or two as a safeguard.

When I came to this garden 20 years ago it had not been gardened previously. I planted trees and shrubs as soon as possible and wished to fill in under these with perennials. These I grew from seed and this allowed me to try each of the perennials in various locations around the garden and thus see which situation most favoured them. Having plenty of plants meant I could discard those which were not doing so well.

I don't suggest or imagine for one moment you are discarding those snowdrops which are not doing quite as well as hoped for in a particular location. Snowdrops are rather expensive plants and not to be condemned to the compost heap too easily.

Your comments on the yellow snowdrops are particularly interesting and, of reflection, make perfect sense. I'd be delighted, as I'm sure would the other members of the forum, to hear of your results from these trials.


As regards your 'three penny worth' list of what is flowering in your garden I must say that 'three penny worth' hardly does you justice. What a great list of snowdrops you have. I am deeply jealous and wish I had the half of them. Snowdrop interest here started with  my wife who began buying a few new snowdrops each year. These were added to by the generosity of some gardening friends so that we now have enough to give us an interest in snowdrops and we add to our selection each year with a few more cultivars.

Your comments on G. nivalis and its cultivars is very accurate, indeed accurate of very many of the cultivars available. These can be very expensive to purchase - supply and demand sets the price - but quickly bulk up in the garden.

The lattice basket idea is a very good one. I have used it with particularly treasured narcissus in the garden, the smaller ones in particular. What I found most successful about them is that when you went to lift a clump for division you were sure you had them all and were not leaving  the odd one behind. They also prevent the mixing of bulbs of different cultivars when these are planted closely together. Altogether a good idea.   

Looking forward to further reports.

Paddy

[mark smyth]

I have to disagree with no root damage when planting in lattice pots. The roots go through the holes in the base and sides and over the top. Lifting a pot at any time except over the summer breaks the roots. The only difference is you're still left with a lot of roots in the pot.

The Galanthus Gallery is now open for business http://www.snowdropinfo.com/gallery2007.htm. I have added  photos of the garden during the last four years http://www.snowdropinfo.com/garden_make_over.htm

[Anthony Darby]

I notice a lot of bark in the garden John. That would destroy snowdrops in my garden as they definitely do not like it. Bark, snowdrops and high rainfall do not mix.

[vanhouttewim]

Mark , the pictures on your website are very impressive! great!

[Lesley Cox]

Mark, on your website, in the My Collections section, there's no underline to click on for the two lists. Is that right?

[KentGardener]

do not give up on 'Carolyn Elwes' - as a result of being twin scaled, this classic seems to have been re-invigorated & mine certainly exhibited the very characteristic yellow colouring both of the upper spathe and the marks on the inner segment.

Hi Chris

thank you for the info - can I just check - do you mean that the twin scaling (and subsequent heavy feeding no doubt) has caused the green colouring?

Is it the case that your Carolyn Elwes is a bit older so that it has had time to settle down more naturally to the yellow colour or do you think the opposite, in that the good yellow colouring is as a result of recent twin scaling?

With many thanks for your thoughts.

cheers

John