Growing Galanthus

[JoshY46013]

Hi Guys

   I was really curious about wintering over Galanthus grown in pots, I would love to grow a few bulbs in pots.

Josh

[Maggi Young]

You're in the USA, Josh... what is your local climate like?

[JoshY46013]

I am USDA Zone 6, we usually get to -17c and sometimes lower.  We get lots of precipitation all year round as well.

Today is almost 21c, we have had very screwy weather this winter!

[Sean Fox]

Not sure where to place this so here seems as good a place as anywhere.
Seems that Carolyn has a happy customer.......

http://pamsenglishcottagegarden.blogspot.com/

[Maggi Young]

Not sure where to place this so here seems as good a place as anywhere.
Seems that Carolyn has a happy customer.......

http://pamsenglishcottagegarden.blogspot.com/

Yeah! Good one!

[Carolyn Walker]

Not sure where to place this so here seems as good a place as anywhere.
Seems that Carolyn has a happy customer.......

http://pamsenglishcottagegarden.blogspot.com/

Sean, You are so nice to post this.  Thanks, Carolyn

[JimF]

Josh:

I grow mine in pots in Washington state which is a milder climate then yours, but the key for both of us is to keep the pots from freezing. Once the growing root tips are killed they don't re-grow. Other delayed roots from the basal plate may, but the plant will be weaker.

You can plunge them for the winter in soil, sand, etc., and cover with a mulch or cold frame to moderate temperature fluctuations. When they show growth or the temperatures warm towards normal timing, uncover and enjoy.

If you can't plunge, as I can't, into a garage they go until the freeze passes by. A greenhouse that won't freeze would work, too, but I would still plunge the pots in sand to provide a bit more protect.

When I was first started growing snowdrops in pots I was told by one of our "experts" that "Galanthus don't like being in pots!" That was neither encouraging nor true, having seen many snowdrops at AGS and Scottish shows in the UK. Now I have nearly 150 pots and they do fine with proper protection from freezes and narcissus fly. I use a soil mix of with good organic matter, bark/wood fines, and pumice for draining: about 2:2:1. E.B. Stone's Cactus mix is a very good premixed brand. I never let them go completely dry in summer, storing in light shade or under benches once dormant.

Depending on the cultivar or species vigor, I re-pot every other year. They are feed with liquid fish or kelp fertilizer once flowering commences. Prior to that they get an occasional half strength dose of Miracle-gro for roses or similar when the nose poke through the soil.

Have fun!
Jim

[Maggi Young]

You are obviously getting to grips with the culture of snowdrops in pots, Jim.... what measures do you take to protect them against Narcissus Fly?

[JimF]

You are obviously getting to grips with the culture of snowdrops in pots, Jim.... what measures do you take to protect them against Narcissus Fly?

I move the pots into dappled or light shade, usually by mid to late March. That about the time the fly species emerge here. They don't like shade - apparently (I say with caution) needing sun on the eggs to hatch so the grublet can then nose down the along the leaves into the bulb.

If I can't find shade or am getting nervous, I cover with a spun white, lightweight, agricultural row cover called Remay. It's used over crops to keep many insects out, while letting light and rain through. However if you have NBF already in a bulb, you've trapped it in paradise. This is why I re-pot at least every other year and inspect every new bulb I get, looking for nibbled basal plates. I also give a gentle but firm squeeze to the bulb to make sure it's firm and solid like a good onion. If infested, the grub and it's frass (polite word for grub manure) oozes out the top of the bulb instantly. Yuck! Into the trash instantly. Tears shed later.

Cold frames covered with window screen made covers, or little hoop houses of Remay work very well, too, if one has no shade at all.

Jim

[Maggi Young]

Thanks Jim. I think it is worth taking these precautions.... terribly hard to see a precious bulb turned to smush.

[gote]

Thanks Jim. I think it is worth taking these precautions.... terribly hard to see a precious bulb turned to smush.

Not precisely galanthus but when I started to pot up my Hippeastrums I had narcissus fly in three of them     They had been outside with Dahlias and such stuff in the summer to fatten up and spent the winter in the basement.

A question: I grow some snowdrops fairly well outside in the ground - mostly nivalis. They are frozen solid every year. I should imagine they got at least -10°C at the roots this year since we had no snow. No harm whatsoever. What would be the difference to a pot potted plant?     


Göte.

[JimF]

A question: I grow some snowdrops fairly well outside in the ground - mostly nivalis. They are frozen solid every year. I should imagine they got at least -10°C at the roots this year since we had no snow. No harm whatsoever. What would be the difference to a pot potted plant?     

Göte.
[/quote]

From my experience in Alaska and now here, and discussing the same topic with soil scientists and plant pathologists, this is what I understand is the difference: Plants in the ground in cold climates harden off to deep dormancy, something that rarely happens in pots which are always exposed to air temperature fluctuations. Plants in the ground have more a stable insulating environment.

Our soil in AK froze to 10-15' deep (15' - that's about 4.75 meters?- is how deep we buried water and sewer lines). Many non native plants thrived there including meconopsis - even in pots if buried in snow then covered with a foot of hay. Yet many native plants left out in a pots died. From dehydration, I'm told, and the fluctuation in temperatures.

A plant in a pot is like a person constantly being woken up during the night. No true dormancy, so the plant exhausts its food supply. That's one of the problems trying to grow high alpines which enjoy full bright sun that burns us in the Alps, yet we must grow them in some shade at lower levels to keep their roots cool. Even in Alaska many sea-level "alpines" found at 66 degrees latitude wouldn't grow at 500' elevation at 62 degrees latitude because of lower light levels and inconsistent snow cover at the latter latitude. They didn't stay dormant.

Basically, it's just that the earth is a better insulator then the air.

Hope that's of some help.

[mark smyth]

"The Narcissus fly not like shade" - rubbish. I've lost bulbs to them in full shade cold troughs.
"The Narcissus fly doesnt fly high" - rubbish. I've seen them fly over the house after I try to kill 'em and miss.

I can tell you they do love to sunbathe. In my garden they like to sit on Colchicum leaves, rocks on the rockery and the edge of raised beds.

Their favourite plant for nectar is hardy Geraniums. Such a good feeling to quickly fold the petals around the fly and squeeze - evil LOL

[johnw]

Mark - Jim is more than 6 degrees of latitude south of you and I am 10+. Perhaps the NBF behaves differently as you go south. 

johnw

[johnw]

A question: I grow some snowdrops fairly well outside in the ground - mostly nivalis. They are frozen solid every year. I should imagine they got at least -10°C at the roots this year since we had no snow. No harm whatsoever. What would be the difference to a pot potted plant?      Göte.

Göte  - I would think -10c would be unusually low for soil temperature even without snowcover.  As mentioned before we have plenty of cold weather with no snowcover here in NS and our native Tsuga canadensis is reported to be only root hardy to -7c.  Nurseries here store their potted nursery stock in hoop houses covered in white poly and sealed tightly. That way temperature descends very slowly and rarely fluctuates widely.  One year a nurseryman friend had stored his magnolias (and they are not very root hardy at all - perhaps -5c) in such houses. One house had a 50cm hole in the poly and he lost most of the magnolias in that house whilst the ones in the other house were fine. If they had been outside above ground they'd have been dead for Xmas. In record winters they lose all their stored magnolias and yet pots sunk into the ground will survive.

I remember a hort researcher once telling me that the ground temps are surprisingly high if the ground is moist but the temp can drop severely if the ground is very dry. 1990/91 was such a winter here, no precipitation from January to March and damage was amazing on certain perennials south to Virginia as I recall.  Even peonies were damaged, crocosmias were wiped out.

I guess tha damage in UK alpine houses in the past two years confirms the fact that even hardy potted bulbs cannot withstand minor cold.  But why is still a mystery to me. Rapid dessication or whatever....

Hope your wonderous garden pulls through okay.

johnw