Name Please

[Alan_b]

... So does this imply that the vast majority of the tribe of galanthophiles can only identify a snowdrop from its label?

Personally I'm very poor at identifying those snowdrops I don't actually grow myself.  The ones I don't grow form the vast majority of the named cultivars.  Moreover, people asking for names often don't show enough of the leaf to make species identification easy although identifying the species is the first step to identifying the snowdrop.

I think from the leaf that SusanH's snowdrop is a plicatus.  But there isn't too much of the leaf visible so I'm not completely sure.  Plicatus with green marks on the outer petals are vastly less common in cultivation that nivalis or elwesii.  Only 3 such feature in 'Snowdrops..' from 2001.  The only possibility amongst those is 'Amy Doncaster'.  However since 2001 Scotland's own Ian Christie has been coming up with numbers of new plicatus or plicatus hybrid cultivars so could it be one of his?     

[SusanH]

Thanks Alan - will try and do a photograph of the leaves - maybe you can identify my Galanthus from them. I cannot remember having an Amy Doncaster. Will post a photo tomorrow. Thank you.

[Alan_b]

The three plicatus possibilities in 2001 were:

'Warley Belles' http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10162.msg269551#msg269551 (taking time-off from green on the outers when photographed).
'Amy Doncaster' http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10162.msg269921#msg269921
'Walter Fish' http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10162.msg269243#msg269243

Your one is closest to 'Amy Doncaster' but has too much green towards the base of the inners to be a good match.  So either I'm wrong that it is a plicatus or it was named after 2001.  It is by no means a bad idea to maintain a record of the cultivars you purchase so when labels get lost, as they inevitably do, you can narrow-down the list of suspects.

[SusanH]

Hi Alan - I don't know if these photos will be of any help? Not much of a photographer I'm afraid!!!!
Have taken your advice and will now keep a record of the cultivars I have - I am sure I will misplace more labels in the future. I appreciate all your help.

[Alan_b]

I cannot help noticing that the pot does have a label.  Notwithstanding, now I have a better look at the leaves I think they are two narrow and too straight to belong to a plicatus so you appear to have a nivalis or possibly a nivalis hybrid.  Unfortunately that leaves a much wider field of possible candidates and no names spring immediately to mind.   

[SusanH]

Unfortunately the label was one I stuck in in the hope that I remembered what it actually was (living in hope I guess)!!!!! From now on I will keep a record of everything I buy and perhaps put in a couple of labels. Ta muchly for your help.