twin scales v chipping

[mark smyth]

I have a list of 27, and growing, list of snowdrops  that would like to multiply. I really need to start twinning or chipping myself. Its many years since I tried and lost all.

Is it OK to simply cut the bulb in to 4 or 8. Of course i'll follow usual proceedures

[Alan_b]

I attended a talk a few years ago, maybe at a Galanthus Gala, about a project to propagate snowdrops in Turkey so that they could be grown sustainably rather than just depleted from the wild.  I'm pretty sure they did this by cutting bulbs into halves or quarters and just replanting them in order to achieve a faster rate of increase than by natural division.  This was stated to be successful, although I do not know if that project is still ongoing.

On the other hand, I once damaged an elwesii bulb whilst lifting it so completed the job by cutting it in half.  I then replanted the two halves.  One half perished and the other took years to recover.  So not a success for me.

[Anthonyh]

Hi Mark,

I'm not an expert, but I've been doing this for a few years, without any disasters... but that may be largely because I'm from a farming family... which has some advantages when it comes to magic potions.

I often do a mix of chips and twin scales (sometimes from the same bulb) because if I want to get them flowering as soon as possible, rather than to propagate as many as possible, chips grow more strongly in their first year. That said, I haven't cut a bulb up into as few as four pieces (or 8, unless it's been damaged).

[RichardW]

Not been tempted to twin scale yet, more & finer chopping just looks like an increase in potential for things to go wrong to me 

Have chipped 4 -16 slices depending on the bulb which flower in 3 years, presume twin scaling would add another year or two on to that? I can see why nurseries would want to maximise the potential of a bulb but having struggled a bit with nurturing first year plants I'm sticking with chipping, they're small enough as it is.

[Martin Baxendale]

With small bulbs of new seedlings I'll often chop into just 4 or 8. And even larger bulbs can be chopped into quite thick segments (6 or 8 say) if you want to minimise the risk of losing the chips and get flowering bulbs as quickly as possible.

[David Nicholson]

Not that I'm ever going to try either but what's the difference between "twin-scaling" and "chipping". Given my advancing years no words of more than two syllables aloud!

[Martin Baxendale]

David, chipping is simply cutting down through a bulb and its basal plate to chop it into segments, which will contain a number of scales. In twin scaling you then take it a stage further by cutting down between individual pairs of scales in the chip to separate them, creating smaller 'twin-scale' segments. You get more potential new bulbils that way, but their smaller size makes it riskier re losses, plus the smaller bulbils produced will take longer to reach flowering size.

[David Nicholson]

Many thanks Martin, well explained.

[Anthonyh]

A further reason why I prefer to twin scale, and often do a bit of both... and I'm sure you'll all be aware of this anyway...  is that unless the bulb is one that is likely to multiply slowly... is it worth the risk of chopping it up (into say 4 or even 8 pieces) unless you are likely to get significantly  better rate of increase via chipping than you would from natural division?

That said, I usually chip/twin scale anything 'expensive' or difficult to obtain because I'd rather do that than risk losing a single bulb in the garden or in a frame.

[RichardW]

Good point, in my case only very few would be less than 8 & that's usually small bulbs separated from larger bulbs when they're removed from the pots so get chipped anyway.

I'm aiming to produce approx 400 chips from 30 - 35 bulbs of varieties like Mighty Atom, it should mean my M Atom hedge will be fully planted within 5 years, although it increases quickly doing that by division would take a lot longer and probably involve disturbing clumps that are already part of the display. Would guesstimate the same number of bulbs would probably be less than 100 flowering sized if left to do their own thing for 3 years.

I probably should look into twin scaling, but think I would need to see a demonstration before I was confident to start chopping smaller.

[Anthonyh]

That makes complete sense Richard, and sounds like a good plan- and a good rate of increase to aim for... I'm sure it'll be nice, and I hope to visit one day.

I started twin scaling with fairly fat twin scales/tri-scales... and I still don't cut them too small. This is a picture of some Diggory twin/tri-scales and they are quite thick, and could have been thinner.  They were also potted up rather late... but have been fine.

[bulborum]

What is the difference in using Perlite or vermiculite
I never used vermiculite for my plants
I find the soil is getting soggy
are there different vermiculites ??

Roland

[David Nicholson]

To my knowledge Roland there are at least two types of vermiculite available in the UK, and there may be more. One is quite fine and is useful for including in seed mixes, the other is a more course form useful in general compost mixes.

[Anthonyh]

I'm sure others will know more about this than I do... but there are some differences.

From my supplier you can buy fine, medium and coarse Vermiculite.... and four sizes of Perlite.

I think Vermiculite has a greater ability to act as a nutrient buffer, and some of the magnesium, iron, and potassium it contains can be available for the plants... whereas Perlite doesn't affect nutrient storage or release.

I use vermiculite for almost everything...  but I often hear/read people saying they prefer Perlite for adding aeration... and the larger the particle size the more useful it is likely to be for that purpose.

[bulborum]

The magnesium, iron, and potassium in vermiculite are interesting
Maybe a mixture Perlite with a small amount Vermiculite is good
I am afraid to get to wet potting mixtures
most bulbs hate wet potting mixture
and I lost already to many rare bulbs with to wet soil

In my mixture is 10-15% 1-2 cm Lavastones
10-15% 2 mm Perlite
and 10% river-sand for the air and drainage

Roland