Galanthus in October

[bulborum]

Galanthus corcyrensis
this is an old collection made by the late Ole Sonderhousen in Sicily
probably now a G. reginae-olgae
I just keep it under this old name
to separate this clone
from the ones I collected in Sicily

Roland

[Anthony Darby]

It's doing really well Roland, and all the better for it's history.

[Oakwood]

Ahaaaaaa, so, the snowdrops still grow in Sicily!!!!!!! 

[steve owen]

Shhh! Omerta!

[Oakwood]

Shhh! Omerta!

а че молчать-то? секрет 

[bulborum]

My Russian isn't good enough

but the place is secret
I found two unknown new places
where I collected a few bulbs and seeds

I gave Melvin a few bulbs
to be sure they don't get lost
They are the ones without the blue label

Roland

[Gerard Oud]

Molto Bella Roland

[Alan_b]

Are these the types of snowdrop that usually flower in october and november? What species do grow at this time of year naturally?

There are autumn-flowering snowdrops.  The most common species in cultivation is Galanthus reginae-olgae, which is native to Greece (although not exclusively).  Technically, there are also some spring-flowering forms of this species so the autumn-flowering forms are classed as Galanthus reginae-olgae ssp. reginae-olgae.  In my Cambridgeshire garden they come into flowers around the beginning of October and the flowers last for around four weeks.  I bought mine over 10 years ago from Avon Bulbs and the pattern of growth has been that they have flourished for a while in the right spot but then gone into decline or suddenly disappeared from one year to the next.  But by lifting and dividing I have managed to keep up so I have a lot more than I started with and they still grow well in a few locations.  One problem with all autumn-flowering snowdrops is that they are prone to attack by slugs and snails (which are still active).  The best location seems to be under a deciduous shrub where it is too dry for anything to grow in summer (and unattractive for slugs and snails to venture)  but where there is plenty of light in winter.

Other autumn-flowering species are Galanthus peshmenii and Galanthus cilicicus, both from Turkey.  Neither are readily obtainable so not worth considering as garden plants.

The other garden-worthy autumn snowdrop is selected forms of Galanthus elwesii.  This usually flowers in January and February, there are quite a few selected forms that flower in December, a smaller number that flower in November and just a handful of recent discoveries that flower in October.  Over the years this species has been imported into the UK in large numbers so there are plenty around from which these selections have been made.  As far as I know, autumn flowering forms of this species have not been recorded in their native habitat.  Galanthus elwesii tends to be a vigorous snowdrop when grown in the UK, so the early-flowering selections generally make good garden plants.         

[Gerard Oud]

Alan the first elwesii's flowered here on September the 1st! I do have 4 different selections at the moment which flower from September till November! And i think i can find some new ones in November and perhaps December too because its from a wild population in Turkey

[Alan_b]

Alan the first elwesii's flowered here on September the 1st!

Wow, that seems incredible!  There does seem to be some variation from one location to another, however.  As a point of reference, when do your first reginae-olgae flower?

... its from a wild population in Turkey

Do you have any idea when they flower in the wild?

[Gerard Oud]

Alan the first ro's flowered 15th of September, Hyde Lodge,Tilebarn Jamie and the ssp ro.

These elwesii's origine were Turkey where they flower in the wild at the same time. These were from a import over 20 years ago! A colleage kept several apart for his garden and they still flower every year from September till February! I am selecting them out now because there are quite some different ones.

From the earliest i have a few spares, so if someone would like to swap!

[Oakwood]

My Russian isn't good enough

but the place is secret
I found two unknown new places
where I collected a few bulbs and seeds

I gave Melvin a few bulbs
to be sure they don't get lost
They are the ones without the blue label

Roland

aaaaaa.. very interesting info and a photo, thank you, Roland!

[johnw]

The first Galanthus have just surfaced, G. corcyrensis. They're seedlings sown in April 2009 and are already stout little fellows. Normal flowering date is the first week of November.

johnw

[Gerard Oud]

From today;

The first one from the early flowering elwesii's already with seedpots!!! Flowered first week of September!

Faringdon Double with flower and the chips from Faringdon!

[freddyvl]

Today a beautiful day: 17°C and sun !
Picture 1: G. reginae-olgae
Picture 2: G. elw. Hiemalis Group 'Barnes'
Picture 3: G. elw. 'Peter Gatehouse'