Galanthus January 2012

[Hagen Engelmann]

Hello Anne,

your plant look like gracilis:

leaves are applanat - OK
leaves twisted - no - not important
basal and apical mark - OK
the lower edge/fringe of the inner petales looks outside - no - not important
globular flowers - no - not important

The natural area of this species is wide + wide. So it can differ a lot!!

[Martin Baxendale]

A nice pot of mixed seedlings of G. gracilis. It's short and stout. I got the originals from seed exchange seeds some years ago, and I know you are all going to say it doesn't look like gracilis, but I was told by an eminent botanist that it was. Any other ID ideas welcomed, though.

They look like broad-leaved gracilis to me, Anne. The crucial test is whether they have applanate leaves (flat against each other) and not wrapped around each other (in which case they'd be elwesii). They look applanate to me though I can't see the leaf bases. Of course whether gracilis and elwesii are actually two separate species or not is another matter.

[Martin Baxendale]

Hagen, you beat me with the answer by six seconds 

[Tim Ingram]

And a few examples of individual varieties - 'Gerard Parker' is definitely one of the finest forms in the garden, robust, and with softer green markings than most; 'Ivy Cottage Green Tip', a nice short stemmed little plant, just beginning to bulk up; 'Hippolyta', well known and excellent double; and the famous 'Trym'. This is another variety that sets seed well and throws up interesting seedlings (in our case it seems to have crossed with 'Augustus' and produced a Trym with broad green leaves). 'Augustus' itself has thrived under a Medlar and is making a great planting after being divided up a couple of years ago. I have few really special varieties, as prices have reached silly levels, but hope steadily to introduce more distinctive forms into the garden in the next few years.

[RichardW]

thanks for the compton court answers.

sun was just too late to reach the borders today so more from the G/H

recently moved Wendy's Gold looking very dodgy
Green Necklace
Daphne's Scissors
Mighty Atom
Little John
Anglesey Abbey
John Gray
Bill Baker's Early
long pedicel find

John took a photo of my bed of newly planted Mighty Atom chips at last years snowdrop & cake, most now flowering 

[johnw]

Wonderful clumps Tim and your 'Trym' is downright lusty.  Now I must yank the label from my Gerard Parker which I received years ago as Warham and was later id'ed as GP.  When comparing photos from the Forum it seems Paddy's Warham appears to be Gerard Parker!

johnw

[Brian Ellis]

A nice pot of mixed seedlings of G. gracilis. It's short and stout. I got the originals from seed exchange seeds some years ago, and I know you are all going to say it doesn't look like gracilis, but I was told by an eminent botanist that it was. Any other ID ideas welcomed, though.

I particularly like the one dead centre Anne, they have that lovely gracilis flare, may simply be hybrids with a gracilis parent?

[Maggi Young]

A nice pot of mixed seedlings of G. gracilis. It's short and stout. I got the originals from seed exchange seeds some years ago, and I know you are all going to say it doesn't look like gracilis, but I was told by an eminent botanist that it was. Any other ID ideas welcomed, though.

Nothing cuter than a pot of short stout mixed widgets. 

[Webster008]

Wonderful clumps Tim and your 'Trym' is downright lusty.  Now I must yank the label from my Gerard Parker which I received years ago as Warham and was later id'ed as GP.  When comparing photos from the Forum it seems Paddy's Warham appears to be Gerard Parker!

johnw

Indeed lovely clumps, really like the Ivy cottage green tip.

Wish I had this much space

[Hagen Engelmann]

Martin,

my answer was only faster
it was for Anne
and
if we have the same content
it is a good sign for our competence and helpfulness too .

Together we did  it for AnneW!

[Paddy Tobin]

Wonderful clumps Tim and your 'Trym' is downright lusty.  Now I must yank the label from my Gerard Parker which I received years ago as Warham and was later id'ed as GP.  When comparing photos from the Forum it seems Paddy's Warham appears to be Gerard Parker!

johnw

Tell me more, John.

Paddy

[Armin]

I was quite surprised to see this on G. elwesii "Yvonne Hay" on January 22 nd !! 

Temperature rose to 10°C !

Luc,
are you absolutely sure it is not a narcissus fly? 

That was my thought, Armin 
It may seem too early for narcissus fly.... but I think it is  too early for lots of the flowers we are seeing... so why can't those pesky narcissus fly be out early as well?

I'm definitely not a "connaisseur"...  ...  I was told (by a belgian Galantophile) it's a hoover fly...  also called the "blind bee" out here.   

Hi Maggi & Luc,
I was trying to fool you a little bit. Please forgive me.  
Luc is absolutely right with his identification of a 'blinde bij' Eristalis tenax. They appear also in winter times...
Both species look quite similar but a narcissus fly sound is unique.

[Maggi Young]

Oh, thank goodness for that    There is enough to worry about in the garden without early n/flies!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Thanks Armin !

I didn't find a smiley with a sigh of relief... this will have te do !

[johnw]

Paddy    - I may have named the photo incorrectly. Does it look familiar?  It was posted 20 January 2009.

johnw