Galanthus Autumn 2009

[ian mcenery]

G.cillicius is tender isn't it ian? have you found it difficult?

Yes it is reputed to be a little tricky but it is in a pot in a frame so we will see. My source grows this outside. Once it bulks up I shall do the same I don't like them in pots if it is not absolutely necessary

[Gerard Oud]

Its unbelievable how the warm weather is stimulating the snowdrops Three Ships and almost Colossus are flowering now! Lots others are showing large sprouts!

[Diane Whitehead]

How long should it take for a bud to open?

I have had a bud on a long stem for a bit over two weeks
now, and it is still tight and pointing up.  I brought it into
a cold greenhouse which is the same temperature as it is
outside - 7 C.

I didn't mean that hyphen to be a minus sign.  The temperature
is plus 7 C

[Alan_b]

Did anyone contact Wisley? I can find no reference on the internet for the people who sold the bulbs to Wisley.

Yes, Mark, I wrote to Wisley but haven't heard from them yet.

Hello everybody, my first post of the season.

In the context of the Plant Centre at R.H.S. Wisley and their bulb supplier,  I bought a "Galanthus platyphyllus" there last year but began to have doubts as soon as I got it home and compared what I had with the description in the book (see my post here http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2604.225 ).  The considered opinion of the forum members was that the snowdrop I had bought was not platyphyllus, so in due course I returned it to the Plant Centre and was given a refund.

[ian mcenery]

Here is G Barnes flowering now. Sorry about the coffee stains but am trying coffee grains to keep away the slugs 

[Maggi Young]

Are the coffee grains having any effect, Ian ? These plants seem unchewed.... 

[ian mcenery]

Are the coffee grains having any effect, Ian ? These plants seem unchewed....  

Maggi I am trying this because I always get a lot of nibbling or even cutting of flowering stems with very early bulbs. It seems to work and time will tell but with some of the plants where I have single bulbs (and Helleborus thibetanus) I have used a belt and bracers approach applying coffee grains and a drench of Slugclear (a liquid slug killer) which seems to be the only thing which will deal with those small soil born varieties  

[johnw]

Here is G Barnes flowering now. Sorry about the coffee stains but am trying coffee grains to keep away the slugs  

Ian

A nice clean - well save for the coffee grounds - elwesii selection.  Have you tried organic slug pellets? They are reasonably effective and made by Safers (Woodstream)-  http://www.woodstreamcorp.com/canada/garden.asp#Slug%20&%20Snail%20Solutions   Strange they show old packaging on their website as they are now in a plastic box with a flip lid.  Last I looked they contained iron phosphate but the formula may have changed with the new packaging. Still they are pet and bird safe.

About 90% of the snowdrops here have surfaced in their pots.  This is alarmingly early.  So far none outside have surfaced despite very mild temperatures.  We are promised ( ) a good frost late next week.

In flower - Cambridge and almost out Alex Duguid, Fieldgate Prelude and Tilebarn Jamie.

johnw

[johnw]

Galanthus reginae-olgae 'Cambridge' (1&3) and Galanthus reginae-olgae 'Alex Duguid' (2) in flower here.

johnw

[Hagen Engelmann]

John, CAMBRIDGE look very nice in frontlightning. But why you are so stingy? 37 KB are too few for a good  pic. Look to the background
I don`t know the other. Where it does come from? Never heard the name.

[michael broadhurst]

Hello Michael,
First glad that Eleni, Mette and Sofia are looking good and especially that the second flower on Sofia is looking better than the first.
Lyzzick is not a Galanthus reginae-olgae selection and more likely a plicatus nivalis cross. It was originally found near a hotel of the same name in Cumbria and is a very strong grower in the garden.
It will flower February/March.
This is an image of the flower.

Thanks for the info Melvyn.
I think you gave a number of reginae-olgae to Anglesey Abbey last season and I assume also Lyzzick as that was another new one in the collection. We were wondering what it was like. The fact that it's not a r.o. explains why it hasn't come up yet! Was it named because it flowers late as well as being a good grower? In the picture it looks nice but doesn't look particularly distinct from lots of other single marked hybrids. However, pictures don't always tell the whole story. How big are the flowers? Is it tall?

[johnw]

John, CAMBRIDGE look very nice in frontlightning. But why you are so stingy? 37 KB are too few for a good  pic.

Hagen

The big version is on its way to you.

johnw

[johnw]

I don`t know the other. Where it does come from? Never heard the name.

re: Alex Duguid

Maybe others can tell us something about it as I know nothing.

johnw

[Maggi Young]

Quote from: Hagen Engelmann on Today at 06:34:16 PM
I don`t know the other. Where it does come from? Never heard the name.

re: Alex Duguid...
Well, I can tell you nothing about the snowdrop that bears his name, but I can tell you a little about the late Alex Duguid. Last year I was singulalry unsuccessful in tracing a decent photo if the chap... so he will remain a mystery in that senses... unless a good phot turns up now....  


Alex was the gardener to the Misses Edith and Molly Logan Home, who began Edrom Nursery in the Border country of Scotland and England. The ladies had a goodreputation as plantswomen but when Alex  took over and began to show at RHS events in London and so on, the name of the nursery became better known and lauded for its unusual plants. Alex handed over the nursery in due course to Jim Jermyn, and now it is in the capable hands of Cath and Terry. When Alex Duguid retired from Edrom he and his wife moved up to Aberdeenshire , where he continued to grow plants and have a great interest in the Scottish flora. He died some years ago, and I was lucky enough ( or stubborn enough) to buy a great many of his gardening books at auction in Aberdeen, including his entire bound set of AGS bulletins .

Many plants have varieties named after  Alex Duguid.... Antennaria, Gentiana and so so. He was a great  grower and propagator whose showmanship skills were rewarded by his exhibition successes at the RHS.

Alex wrote for the SRGC Journal, here are some references:
DUGUID, A.: Calceolaria darwinii, 45/329

Raising Alpines from Seed, 39/137

The Cultivation of Hardy Primulas.. 16/227

Simple Propagation. 42/15

Propagation from Seed. 18/62

The Hills of Home, 38/70

The Season’s Ups and Downs, 26/71

Propagation by sphagnum, : 72/259

And on the Edrom website........

http://www.edromnurseries.co.uk/shop/pc/About-Us-d3.htm


Information about the snowdrop is given on page 132 of the Bishop, Davis and Grimshaw monograph.

[johnw]

Maggi - Thanks for the Alec Duguid info.  It's always nice to know the face behind the name and such a distingushed plantsman of whom I knew nothing though I probably read his articles.

Now I have to ask should it be Alec or Alex as per the label that came with the bulb?

johnw