Galanthus January 2012

[Jo]

That looks fun Tony,  it looks like the inner segments are entirely green, like Merlin ? and the flower looks quite globular like Augustus.

You definately should be excited , all snowdrops are exciting 

[mark smyth]

I would like to see it in a normal position without fingers and a photo of the leaves. Are the leaves pure plicatus?

[Alan_b]

 ...It has appeared near to where I used to grow G. 'Trym'...

Trym is well-known for passing-on its character to the next generation, hence the proliferation of Trym-alikes.  So this is very probably a Trym seedling. 

[tonyg]

I would like to see it in a normal position without fingers and a photo of the leaves. Are the leaves pure plicatus?

In the dark, in the rain and in my slippers!  Must be a serious attack of Galanthomania
I would not know 'pure plicatus' but hopefully a picture will help.  
'Merlin' also grows nearby.
Hope you can see the small green mark at the top of each outer petals that marks it down as very special
Also you can see leaves and floppy habit.
All we need now is a unique name ... err Mergustry  
Eeeee .. in't it exciting

[emma T]

very 

[Martin Baxendale]

Merlin is a virtually sterile triploid hybrid and I've never managed to get any seed at all from using it as either a seed parent or a pollen parent. So it's highly unlikely (verging on impossible) that it would be one of the parents. Also, from the leaves it looks like pure plicatus, so as Alan says we can surmise that it's a seedling from Trym.

[tonyg]

Merlin is a virtually sterile triploid hybrid and I've never managed to get any seed at all from using it as either a seed parent or a pollen parent. So it's highly unlikely (verging on impossible) that it would be one of the parents. Also, from the leaves it looks like pure plicatus, so as Alan says we can surmise that it's a seedling from Trym.

Thanks Martin.  It had to be Trym x something.  The crimping in the petals reminded me also of Augustus, is that a likely cross?  If so, then Trym is the most likely seed parent as Augustus is quite a bit further away.  Pity it's so 'floppy' as it's 'Trym-ness' does not mean much if it's always going to be so lax stemmed.

[Martin Baxendale]

Augustus isn't very fertile either and may be a triploid plicatus, but it's more likely to be a parent than Merlin as pure species triploids are more fertile than hybrid triploids like Merlin where the fertility drops to almost zero.

[Martin Baxendale]

Sorry, meant to say that the seed parent is sure to be Trym rather than Augustus. Apart from the distance from the seedling, Trym is very fertile and seeds freely while Augustus virtually never seeds. If Augustus is involved in the parentage it's much more likely that it's the pollen parent (species triploids can be virtually sterile as seed parents but still be capable of pollinating the odd ovule or two in a fertile seed parent  like Trym).

[KentGardener]

In the dark, in the rain and in my slippers!

How well I know that!   

[Alan_b]

It had to be Trym x something.  

How about Trym x Trym?  Or do we know Trym comes true from seed?

[Brian Ellis]

In the dark, in the rain and in my slippers!  Must be a serious attack of Galanthomania
Eeeee .. in't it exciting

I'm not surprised it's rubbed off considering our AGS membership!  Very nice Tony

[Martin Baxendale]

It had to be Trym x something.  

How about Trym x Trym?  Or do we know Trym comes true from seed?

Snowdrops are not generally very self-fertile and don't tend to self-pollinate readily, but it can happen and Trym seems to have high fertility so that might help. So it could be either a self-pollinated seedling from Trym or a cross from Trym, possibly with Augustus.

[mark smyth]

Very nice Tony.

[johnw]

Martin -  Shortly I will have pollen from my Trym imposter. This snowdrop, whatever it is, is one of the few that has produced seed in the past.  Can you recommend other hybrids or speciess that might possibly cross with it both ways?  I presume it will behave as Trym.

johnw -  +10c and heavy rains at times.