Galanthus in December

[JimF]

This caught my eye in the garden today. It is the tips of G. 'Atkinsii' pushing through a fallen leaf. What puzzles me is why the leaf wasn't simply pushed out of the way rather than the snowdrop making its way through it. Is there a drilling mechanism on the growing tip?

Just looked at the many noses of galanthus poking up in pots. They all have a white, pointed, very hard tip perched on the slightest curved end of the outer leave. It's white and looks like the egg tooth chicks, ducklings, and other fowl have on their beak tips to chip their way out of the hard egg shell.

Perhaps this hard point on the galanthus does the same thing, using the strength of the arch of the curve and this hardness it to exploit any weak spots in the tree leaf if that latter is held down in some way and can't be pushed aside.

Many of the flat leaved narcissus species and hybrids have a similar hard white tip on the first leaf to emerge and they too pierce through leaves instead of pushing them aside.

[Lina Hesseling]

Carolyn, I am happy to help. My knowledge of snowdrops is nothing compared with everyone else's on this forum. That's why I know my way in my books. 😃😃

Lina.

[Melvyn Jope]

A time of change with Galanthus for me with G.peshmenii finished and G.elwesii taking their place.
G.Peter Gatehouse is looking good at the moment both on the garden and under glass and also two G.elwesii seedlings, both of these flowered in November last year so a little later this time.
I have a lot of Galanthus reginae-olgae in flower now, the G.r-o seedling from Corfu is from seed which I collected in April 2008 and one of many seedlings flowering for the first time.
Finally G.r-o Heracles, a John Fielding selection.

[krisderaeymaeker]

A time of change with Galanthus for me with G.peshmenii finished and G.elwesii taking their place.
G.Peter Gatehouse is looking good at the moment both on the garden and under glass and also two G.elwesii seedlings, both of these flowered in November last year so a little later this time.
I have a lot of Galanthus reginae-olgae in flower now, the G.r-o seedling from Corfu is from seed which I collected in April 2008 and one of many seedlings flowering for the first time.
Finally G.r-o Heracles, a John Fielding selection.

Very beautiful Melvyn    They al look very good but the reginae-olgae seedling from Corfu is my favourite .
Thanks for sharing them.

[JimF]

I agree with Kris, Melvyn: the Corfu G. reg.-olg. is very nice especially flowering this late.
The G. elwesii. 1a is sweet with the delicate marking - and early, too. 
Thanks for sharing all of them.

[Hagen Engelmann]

Oh Melvyn,
you will have really a "White" Christmas.

[Paddy Tobin]

Wonderful plants, Melvyn.

[Martin Baxendale]

A seedling flowering now, plicatus 'Three Ships' x reginae-olgae.

The leaves are similar to reginae-olgae but with some narrow plication from the 'Three Ships' seed parent. Looks like a strong grower and increaser, already producing three side-bulbs at first flowering.

[KentGardener]

Wow - for the flowering time of season and the potential increase rate - that sounds like it might be my kind of bulb.   

[johnw]

Martin - Very nice.  How did you protect the stigma after pollination?

I am tempted to repeat that cross here using 'Cambridge'.  Last year 'Cambridge' flower here about mid December and were still good in mid-January despite being snowless.

This year it was a month or more earlier and last Friday night we dropped to -9c and it barely got to -3 by day.  The 'Red Sensation' cordylines genuflected and the 'Cambridge' flowers flopped but the 'Cambridges' stood right up again Monday morning.  So I'd bet your hybrids will brave much of the worst of UK winter weather.

johnw - heavy rain approaching.

[Martin Baxendale]

John, I don't try to protect the stigma after pollination. I do so many crosses (because I get so few seeds from each pollination, if any) that it'd be impossible to protect all the flowers afterwards. There just wouldn't be time. I just depend on the fact that there are generally few pollinators around at that time of year, plus catching flowers as soon as they open and pollinating them before open pollination can happen (self-pollination or open crosses). It's not a fail-safe system but the best I can do with the time I have.

This cross definitely took as the seed was from the plicatus parent but has leaves very like reginae-olgae except that the leaf edges are distinctly partially plicate.

Unfortunately 'Three Ships' does not set seed freely, whatever I've pollinated it with in the past. So I only got a very few seeds from this cross, despite pollinating a number of flowers, and this is the only one to flower so far out of (I think) three or four surviving seedlings.

[Brian Ellis]

Unfortunately 'Three Ships' does not set seed freely, whatever I've pollinated it with in the past. So I only got a very few seeds from this cross, despite pollinating a number of flowers, and this is the only one to flower so far out of (I think) three or four surviving seedlings.

At least it looks as though it will make up quickly itself Martin.  A good sign

[Martin Baxendale]

I am tempted to repeat that cross here using 'Cambridge'.

John, maybe better to use 'Three Ships' as the pollen parent and reginae-olgae as the seed parent. As I said, I get very little seed by pollinating 'Three Ships', but I get good seed set using its pollen on other snowdrops, and the various reginae-olgae forms set seed quite readily here when crossed.

[johnw]

Martin  - Maybe I have some very late reg-olgs in the greenhouse, otherwise I may be forced to use Three Ships as the seed parent.

I hope with your cross you have added hardiness and retained the ability to riise from the flop.

Have you worked on peshmenii crosses yet?

johnw

[Martin Baxendale]

No, I don't grow peshmenii. Never bothered to get hold of it as I was told that it could be less hardy than reginae olgae, and there didn' seem much point in breeding from a less hardy version of r-g.