Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Galanthus => Topic started by: Leena on April 01, 2017, 08:44:26 AM
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Yesterday we got new snow, but today it is raining so it will melt away. Snowdrops are advancing very slowly.
Here are some from last week (before the snow).
'Mrs Macnamara'
'Atkinsii'
'The Pearl', planted last summer, very pretty. :)
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About ten years ago I planted ten dry bulbs of G.woronovii bought from garden center here. Four bulbs started to grow, and slowly they have multiplied, and also seeded.
Can you confirm that these are G.woronovii? There are ridges showing in the leaves, and I was wondering about them.. Or is it just light playing tricks?
In the first picture there are the two earliest plants, and then pictures of both of them closer. The clump in the left in no1 and in the right no2 which has more striped leaves.
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Leena,
A lot of Snowdrop action inn your garden. Great fun to see them!
Rick
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Two days back a group of Snowdrop enthusiasts met here and we all went on an adventure to the Cape Cod (U.S.) garden of Jonathan and Eugenie Shaw to look at Snowdrops and other early spring gems. Here are a few shots from their terrific garden where vast swaths of drops are naturalized.
From left to right is Gerry Bennett, Paula Squitiere, Harold Cross and Stephen Shaw all enjoying tall tales of Snowdrops at lunch at our home in SE Massachusetts, U.S. Next is a very large specimen Stewartia planted in this garden in 1957 by the current owner, Jonathan Shaw. And third, is a group of G. 'S Arnott' still in bloom that were essentially growing in shaded brambles.
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And a few more shots from the Shaw garden visit. A nice spread of G. 'David Shackleton', A fine clump of G. n. 'Virescens', a lovely Cornus mas, and I will end the show somewhat appropriately with a drop we saw named 'April Fools'!
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Galanthus platyphyllos is the very last here
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Can you confirm that these are G.woronovii?
I don't think there is anything else they could be. There are other snowdrops with supervolute green leaves but their flowers lack the notch on the inner petals that most snowdrops have, and yours do. On the other hand, the leaves don't look quite like those of the various woronowii forms that I grow. Can you make a close-up photograph of one of the flowers, please?
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I have only two snowdrop flowers that have made it into April. One is 'Foxton'. This came from the collection of the late David Quinton after some of his collection was sold at an AGS bulb sale some years ago. My notes say that it was similarly late-flowering last year.
[attachimg=1]
The second is a flower I collected (with the kind permission of its owner) because it was an albino - but I subsequently discovered it is only albino in some years and perfectly normal the rest of the time.
[attachimg=2]
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Thank you Rick. :) You have a lot of snowdrops still in flower also. :)
On the other hand, the leaves don't look quite like those of the various woronowii forms that I grow. Can you make a close-up photograph of one of the flowers, please?
Thank you, I was hoping you would comment, Alan. Yes, I was wondering about the leaves. I can take a close-up of the flowers tomorrow, if the rain stops.
You have a very nice albino snowdrop. :)
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I'm not snowdrop grower and it seems that they don't like me, too. But some I have.
Here one of nice findings in Eastern Carpathian mountains where grows large flowering form of G. nivalis. This one I named 'Carpathian Viridapicis'. If someone wants it - I'm open for offers.
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Janis, the fashion in snowdrops these days is for more exoticism than just green tips on a nivalis. But I'm sure if it grows well then it will find its way into cultivation because the snowdrops that stand the test of time are the vigorous good doers rather than the fashionable exotics. I would love to see these large-flowered nivalis snowdrops growing in-situ in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains.
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Spring has been thoroughly rotten and the weather is not quite finished with us yet. The whole east coast has suffered hard late March freezes after a very mild start, we on the other hand got repeated snowfalls so trust we avoided bud damage on the early shrubs. Everyone is very tired of this bizarre weather.
Opened one sealed frame yesterday to find a riot of bloom and Ken spied this big bruiser of a seedling. The label says "seed ex 'Daglingworth', planted June 2010 ex Stella T.", this must be its first flowering. A good stout stem so we hope the size and markings will improve in the next couple of years, one other unflowered sibling.
Fairly certain the seed was 'Daglingworth' selfed.
john
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Ken finally got the opaque plastic off the frames. This 6m frame was a treat to see yesterday. Now to get the pots cleaned up and notes made. We are terribly backed up.
Good rains on the way.
john
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Wonderful how healthy they look in spite of their long covering.
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John...they sure look fit as a fiddle in those shavings...like Christmas in April seeing all of those drops! Rick
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I'm not snowdrop grower and it seems that they don't like me, too. But some I have.
Here one of nice findings in Eastern Carpathian mountains where grows large flowering form of G. nivalis. This one I named 'Carpathian Viridapicis'. If someone wants it - I'm open for offers.
Janis...a nice looking nivalis! Rick
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Here are three blooming in my garden this week. G. nivalis 'Blewbury Tart'; G. 'Bloomer'; and an un-named elwesii I like quite a bit which is a late bloomer and has an interesting mark configuration with only a hint of color at the apex of the inner segments.
Rick
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Yes, that is a nice elwesii, Rick. Is it a good doer?
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Here still ordinar nivalis blooms in grass together with Eranthis.
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Rick - Just a few shavings under and between pots as well as atop, tight opaque plastic covering and the potted G. go through any kind of winter. So hard to believe nurseries in the UK can lose potted ones in winters like 2010 & 2011 when it takes so little; perhaps the loss of full dormancy across the pond worsens the situation.
Speaking of which Viburnum 'Dawn' was showing colour back in late February so trust it will still flower.
Glad to see that nasty stationary jetstream has finally moved. They say warm temps next week and we can only hope not too warm. Palms and phormiums have gone outside.
john - very heavy rain overnight and possibly tomorrow to 30mm.
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How bizarre just starting to post in April.... now this was a pleasing sight, a fond reminder of the very lovely & generous lady who found it and our mutual friend, Don Armstrong, who rescued it from a close call with extinction. Must get them out of those chips pronto, they're further ahead in the ground this year.
G. elwesii 'Rosemary Burnham'
john
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John, it is good that you have a cold frame. Here this winter has been also the worst in the six years I have collected snowdrops.
'Rosemary Burnham' came up a week ago, I was sure I had lost it, but luckily no.
Many snowdrops are coming up late, and also some (especially the yellows) look a lot weaker than earlier, but some are growing well, so this kind of winter is a good to show which snowdrops grow well (in my garden) also after a long long winter with not much snow.
G.nivalis is naturally good doer also here, and 'Viridapice' does well.
Last picture is of nameless G.elwesii I have grown for over then years (in the picture two different kinds). It flowers but multiplies very very slowly.
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These two were planted last summer, I like both of them very much. :)
'Godfrey Owen' and 'Greenish' (Corydalis malkensis is just coming up beside it).
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My G.woronowii of which I posted pictures a week ago. Here are close ups of the flowers.
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A few from yesterday
1. small ex Thelma Chapman
2. 'Benton Magnet' - an extremely good-doer
3. 'Alison Hilary'
4. plicatus 'Trym' - surprisingly vigorous once settled
5. nivalis 'Flore-Pleno', an insanely vigorous drop here as well Leena and when one sees the prices on a single bulb it is quite disheartening. The same with Leucojum vernum.
john
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This one is rarely mentioned these days, I wonder if it's still about in the UK.
G. 'Green Cage''
john
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'Allison Hilary' is new to me, it looks very nice!
I don't have 'Trym', but 'Trymming' has suffered a lot this winter, and only two small leaves has come up. On the other hand 'Copton Trym' has increased from last year, which I'm very happy. :)
G.nivalis 'Flore Pleno' does well here, I bought 5 dry bulbs from garden center about ten years ago and have been able to divide them already twice. Here is a small clump of them planted two years ago. They look like small elves. :)
'Green Light' also does relatively well here. :) Here it is today.
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Leena - I'm fond of 'Alison Hilary' too, it stands up so reliably. Quite unlike 'Percy Picton' and 'Colossus', I was looking at them today and decided they are dispensable floppers.
johnw
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Leena, I glad to learn that 'Green Light' is doing quite well for you; I have a fatherly interest in that snowdrop. I think it may just have made it into North America but I doubt that JohnW has that one. I'm sure that your woronowii are indeed woronowii; the mark in the first photograph is more typical than the one in the second. I wonder if you should try growing the high-altitude snowdrops like krasnovii or platyphyllus that are used to spending a long winter under snow? The problem is that these are difficult and expensive to obtain.
I think that 'Colossus' has no merit apart from the fact that it flowers early so if you live in a region where that doesn't happen for you then I would not worry about owning it. But I like the long elegantly-curved pedicels on 'Percy Picton'. I have never come across 'Green Cage' and wonder why it was so-named.
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Leena - I'm fond of 'Alison Hilary' too, it stands up so reliably. Quite unlike 'Percy Picton' and 'Colossus',
Thanks for comparing these, I will be looking for 'Alison Hilary' next summer. :)
Leena, I glad to learn that 'Green Light' is doing quite well for you; I have a fatherly interest in that snowdrop. .
I'm sure that your woronowii are indeed woronowii; the mark in the first photograph is more typical than the one in the second. I wonder if you should try growing the high-altitude snowdrops like krasnovii or platyphyllus that are used to spending a long winter under snow? The problem is that these are difficult and expensive to obtain.
Alan, I'm very happy to have 'Green Light'! :)
Thank you for confirming my G.woronovii. Yes, G.krasnovii or G.platyphyllus would be good to try here. I have once sowed G.krasnovii, but they never germinated. I'm happy to write, though, that G.woronovii and G.trojanus sown from wild collected seeds (Holubeck) 2015 have just last week germinated! :) I hope will be able to keep them alive.
About 'Colossus', I planted it last summer, and here it is flowering now for the first time.
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How bizarre just starting to post in April.... now this was a pleasing sight, a fond reminder of the very lovely & generous lady who found it and our mutual friend, Don Armstrong, who rescued it from a close call with extinction. Must get them out of those chips pronto, they're further ahead in the ground this year.
G. elwesii 'Rosemary Burnham'
john
But nice for us to see them John, I think RB looks very pretty coming out of wood shavings!
Good to see yours too Leena :)
G. 'Green Cage'' has gone completely under the radar, I will see what I can find out.
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Two snowdrop species which grow well in my garden.
G.alpinus var bortkewitschianus comes up very early, about the same time here as 'Mrs Macnamara', as soon as the snow melts away in March, and it has suffered a little from many cold nights and day, but some flowers are still up.
G.lagodechianus is also a nice little snowdrop with green leaves. Many snowdrops this year have yellow or olive in their flowers, when they normally are green.
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Snowdrop excitement not quite over here… Watching the pods develop! This balloon is loosely tied up to avoid passing slug thuggery. Spheres aren’t easy to measure, but its easily more than 2cm across.
Since I have had to eradicate roughly half of new purchases in recent years, I think I’ll concentrate on enjoying what I’ve got for a while… and raising a few seedlings.
Tim DH
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Two snowdrop species which grow well in my garden....
Both grew/grow badly for me in that they were/are reluctant to flower. G. alpinus var. bortkewitschianus grew and multiplied here for a few years during which time it produced very few flowers. Then it all died at the same time despite growing in several locales/pots. G. lagodechianus I got last year and it was very leafy then. This year it has produced a lot of leaves and no flowers at all. Perhaps there is just a bad form in circulation?
Last month I was lucky enough to see G. alpinus growing in the wild. It is a lovely snowdrop that comes in quite a range of forms and sizes. Why we want to grow a sterile form (var. bortkewitschianus) that isn't going to produce seed is quite beyond me.
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Tim, what a nice big seed pod. :)
Alan, if you would like to try my G.lagodechianus, I can send you a bulb later in June. ;)
I have gotten mine from a friend (two bulbs in 2012) who had his from Savisaar in Estonia and in his catalogue it says that he has gotten it from Caucasus in 1970s. I forgot last summer to check if it produces seeds, but will do it this year. As you can see from the picture there are lot of small leaves to indicate that it multiplies well that way.
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Have the first flower ever on lagodechianus, likely several hundred non-flowerers. Been here since the early 90's as kemuleriae and not a once have any flowered. I shall not be collecting seed from it! 25 years.
Meanwhile lago seed ex Pilous sown January 2013, the first seed germinated overnight. Perhaps it will flower in time.
john +13c & sunny
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First two elwesii 'Green Brush' x elwesii 'Rosemary Burnham' seedlings to flower, these two will need to be back-crossed with RB.
john
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Hmmm. Was looking through Ken's bulb beds today and what do I spy? G. lagodechianus he planted 2 years ago....in flower.
john
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I was thinking that perhaps G.lagodechianus needs colder climate to flower better, but if it doesn't flower well for you John, then I'm wrong, and it doesn't have anything to do with climate. :)
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Do I misunderstand John or is he saying that G. lagodechianus has flowered badly when protected in his bulb frames but seems to be doing better when grown in an uninsulated bulb bed?
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Hmmm. Was looking through Ken's bulb beds today and what do I see? G. lagodechianus he planted 2 years ago....in flower.
john
;D
I have heard others saying they think there is a shy to flower form of lagodechianus being distributed - but perhaps it is just the conditions it grows in.
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Brian has given me an idea. Leena, I'll swap you some of my G. lagodechianus for yours; then we can both compare whether it is the bulb stock or the climate that causes poor flowering.
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Alan - I have wintered potted lagodechianus in a frost-free ghouse and in a coldframe for 25 years and never once had a flower. Ken took a lago or two and planted them in the ground a few years ago, and they flowered 3 out of 3 this month. I will get some ribbing from him no doubt. Perhaps it simply needed a free root run. It is an insane off-setter in pots.
I tried to extract my lago pots from the south frame, which slopes north, yesterday but the pots were stuck to the frozen shavings on the floor of the frame. It got to 16c yesterday, 4 last night and 11 today so I may get them out today. I'll report back if they are in flower but don't hold your breathe.
john
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Brian has given me an idea. Leena, I'll swap you some of my G. lagodechianus for yours; then we can both compare whether it is the bulb stock or the climate that causes poor flowering.
Yes, good idea! :)
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Just a few snowdrops in flower but White Delight is looking its best.
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Alan - Definitely no flowers on lagos stored in the frost free ghouse. Am working my way through the last outdoor frame.
Suddenly the fog rolled in this afternoon and the temp dropped from 10c to 5c.
john
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Here it was again -5°C this morning, and the promised temperature for today is +2, but it is sunny.
Despite the weather, I am so happy that 'Copton Trym' has increased from last year. :)
The second picture is of 'John Long' with the earliest small Corydalis solida 'Preludie'.
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Delightful pictures Leena, like yourself I am very pleased with 'Copton Trym'. Well done Tim!
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Well done Tim!
Yes, and thank you. :)
I have only 'Trymming' besides 'Copton Trym', and I have been wondering if there are differences in vigour in these Trym-type-snodrops? Which ones are considered the best? Of course the ones which are good in warmer climate may not be here, but it would be a place to start. 'Trymming' had decreased from last year, I will have to try it in another bed to see if it helps.
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I must admit I don't find 'Trymming' very vigorous either, but of course it could be site, soil, weather etc etc!
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Leena, I could send you a Trympostor if you like. It is by far the most vigorous 'Trym' type for me.
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Small seedlings of Tramp o.p. in a communal pot.
johnw
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Loes, thank you so much. :)
John, those are very nice looking seedlings, and what's more important, they are your own grown!
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'Trumps' is generally found to be a good doer amongst the Trym-types; it certainly bulked-up quite quickly for me. I got a bulb of Trymposter in 2016 so I was expecting 100 this year but it does not seem to have increased faster than any other bulb. I have a nivalis called 'The More the Merrier' which increases very rapidly. This is an inversely poculiform type like Trym, but not related to Trym. Perhaps you should try that one, Leena, as nivalis seem to do well with you?
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Alan, yes, G.nivalis and it's cultivars seem to do well here (so far), and it would be great to try a Trym-type nivalis. :)
Our climate is very hard on early flowers :(. Last night it was -9°C, and snowdrops looked like this at ten o'clock in the morning, but in the afternoon they were up again. 'Viridapice' in the foreground and 'Godfrey Owen' in the back.
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Spring is unusual this year. April temperatures in March and March weather in April. That gave a chance to enjoy snowdrops for more than a month. Leena, I suspect you have more or less the same and your snowdrops are really beautiful. This is Spindlestone Surprise
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Thanks Oleg, yes, all April has been like March this year also here. Most of my snowdrops came up only in the end of March, and many are still now coming up, like 'Hill Poe' emerged last week-end. :)
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Ken finally got the opaque plastic off the frames. This 6m frame was a treat to see yesterday. Now to get the pots cleaned up and notes made. We are terribly backed up.
Good rains on the way.
john
absolute fine ...
like Rick said Christmas in April :) :) :)
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'Ray Cobb' yesterday, small but my favourite, because it seems reliable in my garden.
'Rosemary Burnham' came up late in the beginning of April, but it has increased from one flower last year to two this year. :)
The first picture of it was taken a week ago, and the second one showing the second flower yesterday.
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Yesterday it was sunny and here are couple of more snowdrops from yesterday.
'Diggory', always looking good.
'Kildare', but the green in the outer petals is so faint you can only see it in certain light and when looking very close. Usually you can't see the green at all. :(
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Love that image of Diggory Leena
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Thanks Gail :)
'Diggory' has increased from one bulb planted in 2013 to that clump with ten flowers this year, so I'm very pleased with it. :)
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Snowdrops in my garden two days ago.
'Melanie Broughton'
I think poculiform snowdrops are becoming my favourite kind, 'Moreton Mill' planted 2015 and 'Springwood Park' planted last summer.
Last a view with snowdrops and Crocus tommasiaunus.