What is the chance of snowdrops in May

[scatigaz]

     Hi everyone. I am a newbie. I went to the doctors last week and was diagnosed as having the early stages of white fever (lol). I have just started collecting snowdrops and only have about 15 varieties but hope to increase this substantially in the next few years.  I work at Wentworth Castle Gardens near Barnsley in South Yorkshire. In the gardens i have noticed one particular variety.  In early April a clump of around 12 to 15 plants had two flowers and one in bud with the other flowers well over. Today, {16th April} one flower was over one was almost over but the third was still rather fresh. I think it is some sort of elwesii but dont mind being corrected. The leaf colour is glaucous. My snowdrops (in my own garden} finished around 3 weeks ago. I just thought this was rather unusual. I think this snowdrop will make it until late April or even early May if we get a cold spell. It grows in a partly shaded site at nearly 600 ft above sea level. Is it unusual to have snowdrops flowering so late? Do you think this is a stable plant or maybe a rogue flowerer. This particular clump was planted 2 years ago in the green. I would be interested to know which varieties normally flower late and when.

[Alan_b]

Well some of the rarer species snowdrops flower quite late but they are so rare I think we can discount that possibility.  If anything, elwesii as a species tends to flower early rather than late. There are a few snowdrop cultivars that have been selected for late flowering but not this late where I am.  I went for a walk in a local snowdrop wood on 8th April and found 3 (out of hundreds of thousands) still in flower and I wouldn't expect to find any if I went back now.

So yes, your snowdrop is unusually late.  I think it is more likely to be an one-off rogue than a stable plant but the only way to find out is to see what it does next year (and then in other locations if it seems to be stable).

Any chance of a photograph?   

[Paddy Tobin]

Gary,

Your description of the plants each having two flowers, one going over while the other was still in bud, puts G. 'Straffan' in mind and there is still the odd stray flower on that cultivar here in the garden.

Paddy

[vivienr]

Hi Gary
Interesting to know that there are snowdrops at Wentworth. It's a few years since I have been there so I shall have to try to visit next year.
I had some S.Arnott that started putting up two scapes a few years ago with the second flowering after the first. I potted them all up last year so of course this year they just produced singles

[Alan_b]

Yes, Paddy makes a good point about 'Straffan' - I had not read your description carefully enough to grasp that what you had was a second, later, flower.  Whilst many snowdrops produce two flower scapes, I think Straffan is particularly notable for the delay between the first and the second.  That's not to say that you have necessarily found Straffan, just a snowdrop that exhibits similar behaviour perhaps.   

[scatigaz]

     Sorry i appear to have worded it wrong. I meant out of a total of around 12 to i5 plants there were two flowers and one in bud all on single scapes. I will try and get a photo today.

[scatigaz]

     For some reason i am having difficulty uploading a photo but i am able to send photos via e mail. If anyone could send their e mail address i would gladly post a photo of the snowdrop and they could perhaps put it on this site some time tomorrow. In the meantime i have asked a couple of gardeners at Wentworth Castle Gardens to find out the planting plans of the different varieties of galanthus that were planted in the last 2 to 3 years. Hopefully i will then find out the variety but as Alan said i very much doubt if it is any sort of rarity. Had another look today and one flower is still going strong.

[Maggi Young]

Gary, I'll send you by email some tips on loading photos  

[scatigaz]

     Thanks Maggi for the info.

[Maggi Young]

My pleasure, Gary... it worked, eh?!!!! 

[scatigaz]

     Sure did but is this photo enough to identify it.

[Maggi Young]

     Sure did but is this photo enough to identify it.

Don't ask ME!   :-[It's all I can do to tell you it's snowdrop....
There'll be a Galanthophile along in a while to give an opinion, I hope........

[Alan_b]

Well it has a fairly minimal green mark on the inners - which makes me think of nivalis - and the leaves look to be narrow, which would fit.  But then if that leaf in the front centre of the photo belongs to it I would say it is almost certainly elwesii.  Second opinion, anybody?   

[scatigaz]

    The leaves are rather broad and definitely glaucous in colour and most have two vertical lines down them.

[partisangardener]

G.plicatus?