Hello, so glad I've found you all :)

[Alan_b]

Will I be able to buy Snowdrops from the Chelsea Physic Garden?

I don't know about this year but in past years Joe Sharman (a well-known nurseryman with a snowdrop speciality) has supplied snowdrops to the Chelsea Physic Garden for sale.

[Maggi Young]

I don't know about this year but in past years Joe Sharman (a well-known nurseryman with a snowdrop speciality) has supplied snowdrops to the Chelsea Physic Garden for sale.

Try contacting  Lynn Scrivener   : lscrivenerATchelseaphysicgardenDOTcoDOTuk   (changing the AT and DOTs as appropriate) - or  telephone  020 7349 6472 -

 she should be able to help.

[JacquelineJ]

Joe is speaking at the CPG so hopefully he'll have a few treasures with him.  I'm going to be there on the thursday 7th Feb painting Snowdrops with Gillian Barlow so all the best will surely be sold. Still there are plenty more opportunities 

[Maggi Young]

Okay, Jacqueline, time to introduce you to the dreadful sense of humour that abounds in the forum : 

I'm going to be there on the thursday 7th Feb painting Snowdrops with Gillian Barlow....

 Sounds fun - what colours will you be painting 'em? I fancy some pink ones, personally! 


I know, I know, it's terrible,  but you'll read worse in time, I'm sure!!

[JacquelineJ]

If they turn out half decent I may post the picture of the painting Maggie

[Maggi Young]

If they turn out half decent I may post the picture of the painting Maggie

But of course! We'd hope for nothing less!

[scatigaz]

Welcome Jacqueline. I am also relatively new to snowdrops and the forumists here are so friendly and welcoming. If I want to know anything I just ask and someone is always at hand to give advice.

[Sean Fox]

A warm welcome from me too Jacqueline.

Just a quiet warning, snowdrops can be quite additive and should come with a health hazard as they can drive some to complete madness!

As others have said, I would stay away from eBay until you get a grasp of the real market values of the snowdrops on offer, it's all too easy to get drawn in on a bidding war and you end up paying way over the odds for a snowdrop.

There are a lot of good sellers out there, and even then you'll be surprised at how the price of the same varieties can vary quite significantly from seller to seller. Shop around and be patient. The newer a variety is, the more it will cost, but the price does come down over time!

Just wish I'd listen to my own advice sometimes 

[ChrisD]

Hello Jacqueline - and welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have a bad case of snowdrop fever, like the rest of us. I kid myself that mine is only a mild infection.

You will find lots of advice on the forum, as well as so many pictures of desirable drops that however many you buy there will always be more you crave.( It is beginning to sound more like and addiction than a disease).

So here is some rather boring advice from another novice...

   You will lose some snowdrops, even the experienced growers seem to occasionally lose varieties they have had for years. Probably most of the drops you lose will be when they are new, they will fail to establish properly. As you become more experienced you (hopefully) will lose less  I would recommend that you start with cheaper varieties, in general these aren't cheaper because they are inferior, it is just that they have lost the rarity premium and you usually get the bonus that they are proven by lots of growers. (they dont tend to be the fickle and difficult to please ones).C
   
     Try to visit Colesbourne Park (or several different snowdrop gardens) at slightly different times during the season. Not all snowdrops flower at exactly the same time and you will probably want to try and purchase some of the earlier and later varieties too. As it is close to your new house the soil conditions should be quite similar and hopefully varieties that thrive there may also like your garden.

    Try to see the drops you are interested in growing before you decide on whether you want to buy them or not, (sometimes they look quite different in photographs - I work on the principle I will accept any that are offered grow them for a couple of years and then make my mind up if they are ones I want to keep long term or am happy to donate/swap with other people). That isn't to say I don't have a wish list!

    Finally use this forum as a reference book. Have you found Ian Young's bulblog yet? Despite his occasional teasing of galanthophiles it is highly recommended. I also enjoy John Grimshaw's blog........

Hope you enjoy all the events you have planned.

Chris

     

[JacquelineJ]

Thanks for the advice Chris.
It's pretty much what I'm doing. 
I have found the blogs and have also bought the "bible' but I'm looking forward to visiting the gardens and some events and seeing the different drops in the flesh. 

[RichardW]

I kid myself that mine is only a mild infection.

denial is a powerful thing 

[Alan_b]

ChrisD gave some good advice.  One of the hardest lessons to learn about snowdrops is that they are far from immune to pests and diseases.  It's not a bad idea to keep new acquisitions in quarantine, even when the come from the most reputable growers.  If they come in pots perhaps keep them in the pot for a year.  In the green, pot them up or plant them away from the bulk of your collection.  There is some evidence that treating with Trichoderma hazarium helps to ward-off fungal diseases http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=6697.0 .       

[kentish_lass]

  There is some evidence that treating with Trichoderma hazarium helps to ward-off fungal diseases http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=6697.0 .     

I still have my pot of Trichoderma unopened and Alan's post just jogged my memory.  Is it too late to use it now and what was the dilution?  I only have the small 10gm pot.  Thanks

[Brian Ellis]

Also meant to say, there is a good article on yellow snowdrops in this weeks Country Life magazine! It's by Mark Griffiths

I don't suppose anyone has a scan copy of this please?

[Alan_b]

Jennie, I recently revisited the issue of Trichoderma availability here http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=6697.msg263138#msg263138 .  Perhaps if you contacted one of the suppliers they could tell you the shelf life?  It's a good question.  I'll try to find my information on the dilution you should use and post back.