Galanthus in February 2014

[krisderaeymaeker]

Very nice pictures Chris, it seems that you are on a more sandy soil than I am because 'Cowhouse Green' still didn't open over here.

Oh yes that's true Stefan , the soil here is more sandy . A bit of loam but most sandy ......
Deeper there is much clay in the soil (this is the region of the clay .......) but it is so deep and give no benefit for the plants ... 
Another thing , my garden is very sheltered .

[Brian Ellis]

Yet I am on sandy soil and they are still not open here

[Alan_b]

I've seen a lot of pictures of 'Cowhouse Green' this season and I'm really getting to like it.  But I seem to think it is quite difficult to please - is that right?

[Thomas Seiler]

Indeed there was she was Portia's maid in "The Merchent of Venice"

Thank you so much, David. This was puzzling me for years.  Now I have somthing new for telling visitors 

[uvularia]

Cowhouse Green is certainly slow with me Alan.

A couple of cheery drops on a damp day

Green of Hearts
Savill Gold

[Thomas Seiler]

I've seen a lot of pictures of 'Cowhouse Green' this season and I'm really getting to like it.  But I seem to think it is quite difficult to please - is that right?

It is growing and flowering well for many years in my alcaline loam but increases only slowly.
A great snowdrop found by Mark Brown.

[Mariette]

Potted in compost from my compost heap, ´Cowhouse Green`doubles each year; planted out in the garden it is somewhat slower to multiply. As I´m basically gardening on improved clay, I suppose it likes rich soil of not too heavy texture. Never understood why this variety is regarded as difficult.

[Maggi Young]

Hello Mariette!  Where in Germany are you?
 Isn't it odd how some plants do better in some gardens? Keeps us busy to try to please them, I suppose.

[Alan_b]

Potted in compost from my compost heap, ´Cowhouse Green`doubles each year

Hello Mariette, welcome to the forum.  It occurs to me that given the name perhaps 'Cowhouse Green' prefers a manure-rich compost?

[Stefan Vidts]

Hello Alan, the name has nothing to see with the use of manure. I would never advise, especially on heavy soil.
In my garden 'Cowhouse Green'  double each year, one bulbs becomes 2, except for the 1 year, when it just flowered.
But it's seems to be true, it not so prolific as other snowdrops. I grow it on a heavy loam soil under a Japanese maple. A lot of snowdrops grow well over there. I can say that what Mariette said seems to be true. potted in a well drained compost from vegetative material it seems to multiple quicker. But in the garden I prefer to plant them all less rich, it avoids botritis.   

[Alan_b]

I'm sure you are right, Stefan.  I just speculated that the name implied that it was found next to the cowhouse and that would surely be a manure-rich environment.  When something grows from seed, as all new snowdrops originally did, then the seedlings that survive and grow into mature plants are likely to be those best adapted to the local environment.   

[Tiggrx]

Received some G. woronowii 'in-the-green' from eBay yesterday and one had an abnormal flower. Not sure whether it originally had outer tepals or not (can't see any remnant on flower) but the inner tepals are certainly longer than the on the flowers of the other plants and the blotch a more yellow-green. Not especially attractive but interesting

[mark smyth]

It looks like the outers have broken off

[Tiggrx]

It looks like the outers have broken off

I'm hoping you are right Mark, I prefer my snowdrops to look like snowdrops 

[Stefan Vidts]

True Mark,
sometimes the snails raise petals so perfect that you can't see some bits left. A snowdrop with no more than 3 petals would at least very weird, certainly outstanding ;-))