Galanthus November and December 2007

[mark smyth]

Back to snowdrops. I was home early enough tonight to have 10 minutes in the garden before dark. A lone G. rizehensis is in flower with 4+4 petals

[Gerdk]

Here is Galanthus cilicicus, flowering in a shady part of my garden

Gerd

[mark smyth]

Martin don't you owe us a photo?

[Martin Baxendale]

Martin don't you owe us a photo?

My Castlegar haven't opened yet with all this cold, and the flower on the elwesii seedling went over quickly from being brought indoors so I couldn't get a decent shot of the inner mark like you asked for. Nothing else flowering yet - all standing still  thanks to the freeze (down to -3c and -4c the last few nights - not as low as north of the border, but still pretty chilly).

[mark smyth]

OK next year.

elwesii 'Haydn' is now in flower, 'Castlegar' and 'Castlegar' lookalike. 'Colossus' has now decided to put it's heads up. Like you the advance has been held back by recent cold days and nights. Daphne 'Jacqueline Postill' is fully out

[mark smyth]

A group of 'Castlegar' look-a-likes

[Paddy Tobin]

Mark,

Is it that you grew these from seed of 'Castlegar' that you refer to them as "Castlegar-look-alikes" or is there another story to them?

Some years back a snowdrop was being passed around with the, to me at any rate, very off name of "Not Brenda Troyle". What an odd name under which to pass a snowdrop around.

However, I have a snowdrop here which we refer to as "Not Bill Baker's Green Tipped" because we were given it as 'Bill Baker's Green Tipped' but found when it flowered that it was not in fact that cultivar at all. As we didn't know what it was we refer to it as "Not Bill Baker's Green Tipped." I can see the sense in using such a name within the garden and family but not of passing a snowdrop around with as such.

Paddy

[mark smyth]

I suppose I better show a couple of decent photos of it. I was trying to rouse some comment with the rubbish photo.

It flowers earlier than 'Castlegar', the ovary is a different shape and the inner mark is different

[Martin Baxendale]

Whatever it is, Mark, it's very nice for this time of year (if it continues to flower this early).

[mark smyth]

They are early every year mostly tail end of November

[Brian Ellis]

Is this a scene we can still look forward to in Clivedon Woods?

[mark smyth]

most likely provided bulbs robbers havent been in

Did you read that Eurobulbs in Wisbech has been fined £5000 for digging wild Bluebells? The farmer who allowed them to be dug has also been fined.

[Martin Baxendale]

Did you read that Eurobulbs in Wisbech has been fined £5000 for digging wild Bluebells? The farmer who allowed them to be dug has also been fined.

Trouble with some of these fines for digging wild bulbs is that they may seem large but when you divide the fine by the number of bulbs taken it often only amounts to a few pence per bulb!

[mark smyth]

here's an ordinary early flowering G. plicatus and a leaf shot to show the pleats in the leaf

[mark smyth]

Here is what I grow as 'Castlegar', bought from Avon Bulbs, and reliable at producing a second scape. The look a like is below again for comparison

According to the book 'Castlegar' has a deep notch and a pedicel that grows above the tip of the spathe. I'll report back in a week or so as these flowers mature. It was only introduced in 1999 so the garden I got mine from couldnt have the stock they have now in 7 years assuming it was freely available in the first few years

Just to comment now you can see the look a like does stick out beyone the spathe while the real one doesnt. Time will tell