Progress with twinscales.

[steve owen]

How are people's twinscales looking? My Joy Cozens is very slow to produce bulbils, having been bagged up in mid-May.

[Hagen Engelmann]

Hello Steve, this weekend I put my twins in pots. Most of them were OK. I lost only two bulbs of 28.
Here is GRAKES YELLOW. A fine yellow from Valentin Winen. You can see it is a vigorous plant!!!

[Hagen Engelmann]

Here is one of my new greens. Also a very vigorous plant.

[Hagen Engelmann]

But I had also zero results with G. elwesii . And Your JOY COZENS is a G. elwesii!

[steve owen]

Hagen
If its not too personal, I do like your bulbils!

[loes]

Last years chips were fine but were killed in winter in the glasshouse and this years chips are shriveled away

Next year I'll try again

[kentish_lass]

I love the photos of the bulbils on the twinscales and I want to try my hand next year.

Tonight I got out a few new bulbs which have been in the fridge far too long in slightly damp vermiculite.  The bulbs are fine and are growing new roots and I also noticed that several have begun to grow bulbils on the main bulb.  Is this because they have been in damp vermiculite?

Jennie

[Hagen Engelmann]

Hello Jennie, I never had my twinscaled bulbils in a fridge, only in a dark and "cool" drawer. But now the season (to take roots) begins. Bulbs and bulbils know it.

Here is a pic of a destroyed bulb (narcissus fly grub) I put it out of ground in early spring. The rests also were waiting in damp vermiculite in my drawer. And look!

[Anthony Darby]

That is amazing Hagen.

[kentish_lass]

It shows Hagen that you should never give up on a bulb!  I will not be throwing anymore away after seeing your photo.

[Hagen Engelmann]

There is always a hope!!!

[Anthonyh]

Hello, This is my first post... and although they're a bit later than usual... they have been slow, and I was a bit late doing them...  I thought I'd upload a picture of my Mrs McNamara twin and tri-scales! This is the most I've managed from a single snowdrop bulb this year. They were potted up with a few other bulbs a week ago...  That's a nice green Hagen... and my elwesii/hybrids have been ok. I haven't done any that are special this year... and my biggest problem was with some of the plicatus types that I bagged up while still sticky... and I lost a few scales.

[Anthonyh]

Maybe this is better...  Twin scales Mrs Mrs McNamara.jpg 2.pdf (490.98 kB - downloaded 141 times.)

[annew]

Does anyone know of any research which explains the variability of markings on twin-scaled reverse poculiforms (Trym etc)? Since the progeny should be genetically identical, I can only think it must be variation in gene expression. Also has anyone any experience in whether the variation is permanent?

[Sean Fox]

Does anyone know of any research which explains the variability of markings on twin-scaled reverse poculiforms (Trym etc)? Since the progeny should be genetically identical, I can only think it must be variation in gene expression. Also has anyone any experience in whether the variation is permanent?

Hi Anne,

I do believe there was a discussion on this earlier in the year, but I can't remember where it would be. Someone had been doing research on various types of virus affecting Galanthus.
One hypothesis is that the green outer markings on types such as Trym are caused by virus. These are present to lesser and greater amounts throughout the parent bulb and depending on where each individual twin scale comes from will dictate how much virus (if any at all) is present in the new infant bulb. If a twin scale comes from an area free from virus then the green outer markings will be absent and vise versa for areas affected by virus (or a combination of virus types creating this
anomaly)
I think the research was in its infancy and more work was needed to be carried out to be able to prove/disprove this theory.

I'm sure some kind person will be able to point you to the thread relating to.