Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Galanthus => Topic started by: Hagen Engelmann on February 02, 2014, 02:34:09 PM
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Dear galanthophiles
there is a little town in the south of Brandenburg, called Uebigau. It has a small manor house and also a nice garden area around. I designed the new court and the green parterre. In the same time a lonely galanthophile planted thousands of galanthus in the park. His idea is to plant snowdrops, mostly Galanthus nivalis, from the whole Europe to get a very big diversity of genetic basis for the population. First result is a real longer flowering season.
Now we are two galanthophiles and we divide a lot of joy.
Here are some more informations:
http://www.park-uebigau.de/html/schneeglockchen.html (http://www.park-uebigau.de/html/schneeglockchen.html)
There is a small article also in the “Gartenpraxis” 12/2013.
Yesterday he asked for a little help.
Please, who can help with a little plant gift/donation?
Please send to:
Peter Manig
Parkweg 19
04938 Uebigau
Germany
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Hagen - this sounds an interesting idea. Don't think I can help with a donation but on a much smaller scale I have had good success increasing nivalis from fertile plants simply by planting seed pods when nearly ripe. This is a lot easier than planting 'in the green' and good flowering occurs within three years with quite a natural effect of small groups of seedlings.
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What a good idea, I'm sure I have a few ::) that I can spare, but would it be better to send them as they are dying down this year?
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Hello Tim,
the way by seed seems much easier, I agree with you. But Peter had learnt to plant in the green. Last year he got thousands of flowers (with bulbs on the underside) to his birthday. And he planted and planted.....
Yes Brian, dormant bulbs are also better. And I know the way from UK to Germany by post can be long. Often seven days or more. On the other side, in the green you can see what you will give out of your garden. This is dormant much more difficult. Every coin has two sides.
Thank you for your interest. We are happy (and Peter has to do the work ;))about every small parcel.
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Hagen, this is a interesting idea. I agree with the others. If some will send snowdrops, you will get a great diversity of genetic, and let us see what this will bring in the future ::)
I will send some Flore Pleno's , Nivalis and Elwesii's. All are collected from different parts of The Netherlands. So maybe there
already will be diversity of genetic in this snowdrops.
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Vielleicht sollte ich etwas Einreibemittel für Peters Knie schicken? :-\ ;)
Perhaps I should send some linament for Peter's knees ? ::)
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Hagen,
can you tell us more exactly what is needed?
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Thanks Richard, till now we have no plants from the Netherlands.
Maggi, he is a gardener and a galanthophile too. He will plant the incoming bulbs on fresh air in the park. It is like holiday. ;D
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Anne, we try to collect a big genetic potential of normal galanthus.
Here in Germany we have only G nivalis.
But the the habitat is also good for elwesii or plicatus.
We don't need no special cultivars.
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Hagen, I am concerned that the spot your friend is shown planting snowdrops in the picture will prove far from ideal for them. I moved house about 16 years ago and bought a few hundred Galanthus nivalis which I tried to naturalize in my lawn. Over the next few years they all disappeared except for a few under the silver birch tree which have continued to this day. The grass under my silver birch tree always remains sparse whereas the rest of my lawn grows quite lush in summer. The lesson I learned is that nivalis snowdrops are not big and strong enough to survive under lush grass. More recently I tried an Atkinsii/James Backhouse n the lawn and even that remained at a standstill for several years until I took pity on it and moved it to a more hospitable location.
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well, well. 8)
here in germany, we really do have more than g. nivalis - as you, hagen, are one of the best examples of. ;)
and this galanthophile of uebigau - he is not at all a galanthophile, he definitively is more a galanthohoarder. :-X 8) ;D
but: he truly is an absolutely likeable guy, please send him all snowdrops you can spare!
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Alan, I agree with you, it is absolutely important where you plant the galanthus.
zwergo, das mit der Metasequoia ist doch wohl Vergangenheit.....good to meet you here too
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Hagen, it sounds as if there may be a love story in there somewhere - "now we are two galanthophiles" - was it the snowdrops that brought the two together? I think it would we a wonderful thing to share one's love of gardening and plants with another of like mind. :)
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he is not at all a galanthophile, he definitively is more a galanthohoarder. :-X 8) ;D
I like that concept and I like the word but I wonder if we can shorten it to "galanthoarder" as that rolls off the tongue a bit more easily? Although then there might be some confusion with the term "galanthorder" - which is what you send in to the likes of North Green Snowdrops after perusing their catalogue or list.
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Then there's "galanthodisorder," the condition suffered by those galanthophiles who overindulge on Ebay.
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Lesley,
Peter is a gardener and I´m a garden architect.
When we speak about plants, so it is his work but my hobby.
When we speak about the park, so it is his hobby but my work.
It is a good constellation. :) And then there are still the snowdrops.... ;)
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Oh well, I must have the perfect galanthus for your project. They grow naturalised all over my lawn and have developed to a real massive display. I'll post a pic later this spring when they are at their best, right now they are popping up and just beginning to show buds. I have been looking for seeds the last two years, but the pods I checked were all empty, but they must make seeds every now and then, otherwise I can't see how they can start new clumps meters away from any other clump. And mine do seem to thrive well in places that get lots of sun - although the main clump is in the shade of some oversized christmas trees, some seedling clumps have developed to form colonies of probably +100 bulbs each on much more sunny spots. I will send dormant bulbs when they are ready. I was planning anyway to dig up one clump to plant some Galanthus at another spot in a bright woodland of Fraxinus Excelsior.
I don't know which Galanthus it is, they were already growing in the garden when we purchased the house. But the pic below is from last year, so you have already some idea of what I will send you ;)
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Peter's project is well known in Germany and we German galanthophiles have sent him hundreds of parcels of our snowdrops in the past years (me, too...). As far as I know they have all thrived and the park in Uebigau is starting to have a wonderful display of drops. He is quite happy about normal G. nivalis, so there is no need to dig up treasures.
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These are G. nivalis naturalising under apples in our garden, as the result of 'sowing' nearly ripe seedpods a few years ago. If Peter would like to have a go at this I can send the seed pods in the summer (might need a reminder!). Nice project, and nice to know more about snowdrops in Germany. I shall have to tell my good friend in Köln.
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A great idea ,Tim.
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Francosi, I'm curios to your plants.
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Francosi, I'm curios to your plants.
I put a reminder in my calendar at the end of May to dig some up and send to you. Usually the foliage has withered by then.
Pleased to help you !
François
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come on, you are not going to let this just die?! :o this is no hoax, it is real and a great project, without any ulterior motive - peter really is a heart breaking down-to-earth-gardener, please give him a chance - and some bulbs. ;)
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I'll try and send some in the summer - is there a preferred time?
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Got plenty of nivalis ;) including some that flower slightly later than the masses, will pack some up.
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@annew: i don't think so, even if peter usually is plugging still flowering snowdrops... i am sure he will adapt! ;)
though he would prefer them in the green and as soon as possible... 8)
@ richardw: :D
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Peter`s story:
http://forum.garten-pur.de/index.php?board=26;action=display;threadid=51129;start=0 (http://forum.garten-pur.de/index.php?board=26;action=display;threadid=51129;start=0)
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Peter`s story ...
the request in 2012 (http://forum.garten-pur.de/index.php?board=37;action=display;threadid=43734)
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Hagen, how would you translate 'Tuffs' .. is it just 'bulbs' .. colloquial ..?
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i think, in english it is: "clumps" ;)
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i think, in english it is: "clumps" ;)
Thanks, makes sense now .. 'clumps' is the word.
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Thanks to the Netherlands!!!
A big parcel with several kinds of galanthus, came from a good known forum member.
Peter was very happy and had a glamorous day.
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Glad they arrived well and fast Hagen ;). Hope they grow well for Peter :D
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Here are some fresh pics of mine that I will send later. Really wonderfully prolific in my garden
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What a fabulous display Francosi :)
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What a fabulous display Francosi :)
Thanks. I'm really happy to have them in the garden & see them prosper like that. When they are in full bloom like now it really is spring for me.
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Francosi,
to be a galanthophile is not a question of a big number of varieties in the own collection.
It is only the feeling you (are able to) develop, when snowdrops are in flower, Best in the own garden!
Fine population
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to be a galanthophile is not a question of a big number of varieties in the own collection.
It is only the feeling you (are able to) develop, when snowdrops are in flower, Best in the own garden!
This was very nicely said. :)
And also I liked Francosi's views of the garden full of snowdrops.
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Thanks to Scotland also!
This parcel is also a gift from a fine forum member.
Peter will plant the Scottish bank.
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Yesterday the galanthus park of Uebigau got a very fine parcel from UK. Inside there were galanthus seed for a later effect, bulbs for the direct show next year and a lot of informations, collected by Daily Telegraph.
I want to say Thank you to Brian. He had not forget the poor Brandenburgian landscape.
Friends, it is repotting time here.
And the summer is her also.
We have to do a lot of things.
But the whole time we can dream from our snowdrops.
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You're very welcome, I was determined to remember ;)
Yes re-potting here also Hagen, not quite as many this year as I am leaving some newer ones for a further year in their pots and just top dressing - cuts down the work! The excitement is in exploring the herbaceous borders to find the snowdrops ::)
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Thanks to Estonia,
a big parcel arrived our snowdrop park.
I think it was the final gift of this year.
Peter is living the next days in his own snowdrop heaven. Cloud 7 or cloud 9?
A month later, we will see the first autumn flowers!!!
I'm very hopeful......
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A video of interest.....
http://www.ardmediathek.de/tv/rbb-Gartenzeit/Schneegl%C3%B6ckchenfans/rbb-Fernsehen/Video?documentId=26525586&bcastId=3913628 (http://www.ardmediathek.de/tv/rbb-Gartenzeit/Schneegl%C3%B6ckchenfans/rbb-Fernsehen/Video?documentId=26525586&bcastId=3913628)
and news of an event in Uebigau here : http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12810.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12810.0)
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Thanks Maggi, very nice, I just wish I could speak German :-\