Stagonospora infection - collected threads

[Maggi Young]

Going back to Rob's pic on the previous page: Reply #618 on: Today at 06:20:28 PM »
Does anybody else see the face of a Cossack in that snowie? He's wearing a big fur hat and has a huge droopy moustache. Fab!

[Maggi Young]

While searching (for Tony's pix of the roadside with the hybrids crocus) on the Old Forum, I was struck by how many wonderful pags there are ther forthis most dleightful of plants... for those of you who are new to this forum  the (archived/read only) pages for Crocus can be found here:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/5012/5012.html?1163445358
The main topic index page is here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi?pg=topics

[Anthony Darby]

I'm still with Martin's chocolate chickens. Surely they will have hatched from Easter eggs?

[Paddy Tobin]

Maggi,

I chocolate fine - my hen run will be run in by my wife. They are her hens (and one duck, she hopes).

Paddy

[Martin Baxendale]

Maybe I'm just not getting enough chocolate, Maggi. I think there's a box of dark French chocolate truffles in the cupboard...

[Diane Whitehead]

when they have 2 original bulbs for example , and it doubles each year , after 10 years you can have 2000 bulbs.

The grower of a rare snowdrop will only get the highest possible increase
by not selling any.  Every bulb sold is lost as a producer of new bulbs, unless
it was bought by someone who also sells bulbs. If we all want the chance
to buy new snowdrops, the original owner should never sell any till he has
enough to flood the market.  Meantime, cut flowers of it will be exhibited
and photographs published, guards and guard dogs will patrol the garden,
and people will sell their favourable positions on the inevitable waitlist.

I read an article a long time ago about daffodils.  The writer did the math
about buying one new daffodil for ? $250 ?  (this was a really long time ago
so I just remember the general idea, not the actual numbers).  This turned
out to be a good idea, as by the time that daffodil had dropped to the normal
price, the value of the bulb's offspring exceeded its original price,and meanwhile,
the forward-thinking person had had years of pleasure.

This helped form my philosophy of buying, but whoever wrote the daffodil
article obviously lived in an area that didn't have narcissus fly.

 

[Maggi Young]

Paddy, why only ONE duck?

Martin, I KNOW there are dark chocolate French truffles in my cupboard I should get to them some time next week  

[Maggi Young]

This turned
out to be a good idea, as by the time that daffodil had dropped to the normal
price, the value of the bulb's offspring exceeded its original price,and meanwhile,
the forward-thinking person had had years of pleasure.

I  mostly agree with this theory, Diane but can give a personal instance of it NOT working out so well... I paid about £6.50 each for three Tulipa neustreuvae (spelling?) bulbs...... this was quite some time ago... felt very rash at paying so much... they were quite pretty, but some years later when the price had dropped to a fraction of what i paid , I still only had about eight bulbs.... as bad as the falling stock market!

[KentGardener]

I was most impressed with John's drops, they are whiter than white!

And I didn't even have to wash them!

John, do I remember that you recently got a new camera? Your shots are great, whatever. I have to admit that a snowie can be very photogenic  

Hi Maggi - yes, got a new camera early last year.  It is not an SLR but takes good enough pictures for me.  I still get loads of rubbish blurred overexposed pictures - but with the memory card that is in it I can take well over 1000 photos - then I load them on the laptop and delete the 900 that are rubbish!

Your G. 'John Gray' looks to be staying sturdy, John...everyone elses' seem to flop...

John Gray has spent the last 2 weeks lolling about in the dirt - then yesterday it stood up perfectly.  It wasn't sunny but was about 13c - it must have been what they needed to stand up proudly.   

____________________________________________________________________
John

[Alan_b]

The grower of a rare snowdrop will only get the highest possible increase
by not selling any.  Every bulb sold is lost as a producer of new bulbs, unless
it was bought by someone who also sells bulbs. If we all want the chance
to buy new snowdrops, the original owner should never sell any till he has
enough to flood the market.  Meantime, cut flowers of it will be exhibited
and photographs published, guards and guard dogs will patrol the garden,
and people will sell their favourable positions on the inevitable waitlist....

I agree with what you say but of course the grower of a rare snowdrop does not want to get the highest possible increase; he/she wants to make the most possible money.  Cut flowers and photographs are all very well but people will want to see the thing for themselves so if the grower sells (or swaps) a few to some influential and much-visited collections I'm sure this will further stimulate demand.  And the last thing the grower wants is for people to know he/she has enough to flood the market because they are not going to pay as much!   

[KentGardener]

The grower of a rare snowdrop will only get the highest possible increase
by not selling any.

I agree with what you say but of course the grower of a rare snowdrop does not want to get the highest possible increase; he/she wants to make the most possible money.    

Hi All - my two pennies worth (or is that penneths worth?). 

I still have faith in human nature and hope that not all growers of a rare plant are out to make vast amounts of money.  Personaly, if I have enough of a plant to pass some on, I don't charge people money even if does cost £30+ in the first place.  If they want to swap something in return that's great - but not esential.

John


p.s. - an afer thought....

Of course, I wasn't considering poeple who make their living at selling plants - and that is the topic that started the conversation in the first place.  I think I shall just shut up at this point and get back to planning what to do for lunch.   

[Brian Ellis]

Martin, if Colin is able to throw any more light on the origins of 'Penelope Ann', I would appreciate knowing, so that I can update my records.

Ann says that it was originally from Colin and labelled as Caucasicus all green inner.  Ann, and Mike Smith, grew it on and subsequently Mike started selling it as such.  On the way back from a show one day Mike suggested it would be good if it was named for the customers.  Ann then got in touch with Colin and asked him if he'd like to name it, his opinion was that there were too many named varieties but didn't mind if they named it it was then named after Ann.  Subsequently of course there have been far more names given.  She thinks of it as either an elwesii x elwesii or as elwesii x monostictus.  Hope that helps, and perhaps Colin can throw more light on it's original breeding.

[Paddy Tobin]

Maggi,

Why one duck? I don't know really; Mary has just signalled her intentions of getting four hens and one duck and I am just preparing the run for them.

Re these rare snowdrops and the extravagent prices: when people are in the business of making money it is to be expected  that they will wish to make as much money as possible and if they are doing nothing illegal we have no reason to complain. They offer their snowdrops for sale and we can purchase or decide not to purchase.

Paddy

[mark smyth]

wee duck or a lovely Muscovey

[Brian Ellis]

They offer their snowdrops for sale and we can purchase or decide not to purchase.

Quite so Paddy, so I did.  Godfrey Owen is one of the expensive ones and I hope it will settle down by next year.  You can see the six outers well from the back and there is one photo looking up his trousers!  I am pleased with Wasp, but didn't think it would be quite so tall...another expensive one.
So obviously I need a fierce guard, here is young Tibbs - not as fierce as he looks as he is eating a bit of stipa tenuissima!