Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Galanthus => Topic started by: Blonde Ingrid on May 10, 2016, 06:29:32 PM
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Request for Opinions.
Michael Broadhurst (Rainbow Farm Snowdrops) asked me about my views on whether additional late snowdrops, defined as flowering late February, March and into April, would be welcome.
Michael has been selecting seedlings based on developing additional varieties within this time-frame. I like the late drops, in addition to the others of course!
Michael would like other views as to whether additional varieties would be welcome. I will copy all replies and send them to him as he does not use social media.
In addition he would be interested in varieties you grow considered late, he is aware that this will vary based on location (Please give general area). He is thinking of mainly hybrids (or plicates).
Thanks in advance for your assistance.
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A useful area of research, I think. Particularly so for those in colder climates since it would give them a longer season that many crave.
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I would think that for many people just the simple trait of being late-flowering would be enough for such plants to be attractive.
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There are some snowdrop species that naturally flower later than the ones we typically grow. It might not be a bad idea to find good garden-worthy examples of such species or just establish more certainly what conditions they need to grow well. Or try hybridising them to create something that is late-flowering but better suited to local conditions.
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In my previous message I was thinking of Galanthus krasnovii in particular. This is a handsome snowdrop with flowers that look unusual because the inner petal ends in a point instead of the usual notch. It's not very readily available and growing it can be problematic, possibly because it may require colder damper conditions than the snowdrops we typically grow. We need somebody like Ian Young growing it, getting it to set seed and finding out what garden conditions it likes.