Snowdrop Varieties - Where Are They Now?

[Martin Baxendale]

Tuesdays Child is still around.

[evolutionplantsman]

From your list I once had but have lost Ermine Oddity, Kersen and Linnet Green Tips. I still have Two Eyes. So far as I know, Lady Buchanan's Late and Mr Spoons are still in cultivation.

Presumably snowdrops that don't increase well or which are fussy in their cultivation requirements die out relatively rapidly, which is no bad thing. For example, I had Linnet Green Tips from Basil Smith, who named it from a batch of imported bulbs. He told me when I bought it that it is hard to grow and he was right.

Respectfully I disagree with Lesley Cox. Snowdrops that ought not to have been named will rapidly disappear from circulation because no-one will want to propagate them or sell them. On the other hand, those that survive the competition deserve a name and are really distinct - Mrs McNamara, Wendy's Gold, Diggory, Godfrey Owen, etc.

[Brian Ellis]

I have Fatty Arbuckle and have seen it elsewhere.  
No 'Eva Turner' were ever distributed under this name so it does not exist, it was identical to 'Chadwick's Cream'
Ismail  was on Colin Mason's list this year but the crop failed so it must exist somewhere  
Little Joan   I have seen
Poseidon   I have
Ragamuffin  exists
Raveningham  also exists
Squire Burroughs  I'm not sure of - it may have seeded out but Cliff Curtis would know
Valerie Finnis   I grow the early form

[steve owen]

Excellent, as Donald Rumsfeld said "we have known unknowns". But only a few so far and several of them apparently in Canada. How to we in the UK get to grow Canadian snowdrops, JohnW?

[johnw]

Steve

I think Snocus will make it across the pond as Al will have the necessary long term documentation of its lineage and cultivation and I assure you plenty of witnesses to back it up.

I spoke to him a year or more ago and he said he'd release it in a "couple" of years.  I've been waiting since about 1992 but think he's getting close.

johnw

[Lesley Cox]

Respectfully I disagree with Lesley Cox. Snowdrops that ought not to have been named will rapidly disappear from circulation because no-one will want to propagate them or sell them. On the other hand, those that survive the competition deserve a name and are really distinct - Mrs McNamara, Wendy's Gold, Diggory, Godfrey Owen, etc.

I'm entirely happy that you should disagree with me, but in fact you do the opposite and reinforce my point which was that only the very best survive more than a few years and the mediocre or overly similar vanish without trace.

[RichardW]

someone on here sent me Snow White's Gnome (a long time ago) but it didn't survive more than a year.

[steve owen]

There's been a good response here and in PMs I've received. I'll give it another day or two and then edit and re-present the list.

[emma T]

I have 'greenpeace' Its flowering now....will pop out today and get a picture 

[art600]

Two Eyes is definitely alive and well - Wol & Sue were selling it this month - restricted to one per person 

[KentGardener]

Hi Steve

'Amberglow' I saw in 1 garden a few years ago.  

'Fatty Arbuckle' - I have seen in 2 gardens'

'L. P. Short' & 'L. P. Long' - I saw what I wrote down as 'J. P. Long'  & 'J. P. Short' at an event last year (Photo here http://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6670.msg185423;topicseen#msg185423 )

'Ragamuffin' - I grow

'Snow Whites Gnome' - I am at work right now so can't check in the garden - but I think someone sent me this last year.

'Squire Burroughs' - At work so can't check the description in the book - but took this pic last year ( http://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6670.msg189772;topicseen#msg189772   picture number 7 ) that I had forgotten the name of.  Something in the back of my brian is telling me it could have been 'Squire Burroughs'

[Brian Ellis]

Something in the back of my brian is telling me it could have been 'Squire Burroughs'

[evolutionplantsman]

I'm entirely happy that you should disagree with me, but in fact you do the opposite and reinforce my point which was that only the very best survive more than a few years and the mediocre or overly similar vanish without trace.

Actually, the point you made was about 'the utter stupidity of naming snowdrop varieties' but we'll let that pass. Of course, by definition, only the best will survive the test of time but how exactly are we supposed to predict in advance which these will be? And how are we supposed to discuss them while we are waiting for history to deliver her verdict? Perhaps Lesley has a crystal ball, in which case could I borrow it, especially if it does stock market predictions too? Naming a plant gives its finder pleasure, enables everyone else to enthuse about it (or dismiss it) succinctly and does no harm since, as we agree, indifferent selections will soon disappear into obscurity. There is another problem with showing too much restraint. My friend Margaret Owen gave some good snowdrops provisional names while she assessed them for garden worthiness. When she wanted to name one of them formally - after her daughter Decima McAuley - she was told that this was not permitted under the Code, because the provisional name had already been validly published (in 'Snowdrops').


edit by maggi to sort out a "quotes" muddle 

[Maggi Young]

Tom, I've sorted out your "quote" box muddle to show your comment clearly.

My friend Margaret Owen gave some good snowdrops provisional names while she assessed them for garden worthiness. When she wanted to name one of them formally - after her daughter Decima McAuley - she was told that this was not permitted under the Code, because the provisional name had already been validly published (in 'Snowdrops').

That is something that would have made me pretty annoyed.  These Codes seem often to lead to bother.

[Paddy Tobin]

Maggi,

One thing which bugs me about these rules for naming plants is that even when a genuine mistake is made when the name of a plant is put into print for the first time, this mistake is then  considered the valid name. A simple example is someone misspelling a name when it is first published. This, for me, is taking the rule to a ridiculous level.

Paddy