Spindlestone Surprise/Primrose Warburg

[art600]

This year has been the best for snowdrops in the garden - with the exception of 'Wendy's Gold'.

So far I only have 2 sickly leaves where last year there was a clump 

[RichardW]

My best clump (by that I mean more than  a few bulbs  ) of Wendy's gold is growing in a very dark spot with no direct sunlight and the leaves look ok but nothing like in that big clump image, most plicatus here only do well in the open well drained areas.

I've got some bulbs that need moving so might try another place and dig plenty of humus in although some that look pretty sick are in old veg beds that were dug for decades and others in well worked/mulched herbaceous borders.

[mark smyth]

My Wendy's Gold don't look sick

[Leena]

That is really nice combination of 'Wendy's Gold' and crocus.

How do you think 'Bill Clark' compares to 'Wendy's Gold' in vigour?
Or 'Ray Cobb'?
I have now all of them peaking from the frozen ground, also 'Wendy's Gold', and all were planted last summer.

[RichardW]

Are they in quite a shaded position Mark?

Looking at mine that seems to make a big difference, at the top of the herbaceous border which is light in winter the leaves look quite yellow and a little twisted (how they normally look here) but in the very dark spot that gets no direct sunlight at all they're healthy looking. Most other drops I put in the same spot have had to come out, very odd.

[Matt T]

Reviving this old thread, rather than starting a new one on the same subject...

Did anyone else notice that Avon Bulbs are lumping PW and SS together in their catalogue:

Very very close to Primrose Warburg in appearance and we have decided to only offer them under the one name.

[johnralphcarpenter]

They did that last year too.

[Brian Ellis]

At the Norfolk Plant Heritage event today Richard Hobbs pointed out that the difference between them lies in the shape of the receptacle.

[Matt T]

It's all well and good for folk to have their own views on these things, but selling them as a mixed lot greatly complicates the issue for folk who want to maintain a distinction between these plants and is, dare I say it, slightly irresponsible.

[Matt T]

At the Norfolk Plant Heritage event today Richard Hobbs pointed out that the difference between them lies in the shape of the receptacle.

SS has a rounded top and PW is tapered towards the pedicel?

[Brian Ellis]

SS has a rounded top and PW is tapered towards the pedicel?

The length of the receptacle is the defining feature being longer in SS in proportion to the width.  In Snowdrops (which I have just had to look up) the ratio of length to width is said to be PW 7:5 and SS 3:2 which I hope means that SS seems thinner and longer when compared together, however I am on my last legs having had a long day and I might be wrong   Hopefully someone took notes.

[Tristan_He]

It's all well and good for folk to have their own views on these things, but selling them as a mixed lot greatly complicates the issue for folk who want to maintain a distinction between these plants and is, dare I say it, slightly irresponsible.

I agree Matt. Even for two clones that are so similar. Surely it's better to simply stop selling one of them?

[Leena]

I think it is bad that they are clumped together, because even if they look similar, if they behave differently it might make a big difference when I am trying to grow them here where the conditions may not be ideal for possibly more tender snowdrops (colder winters and more snow, spring comes later). I planted last summer 'Spindlestone Surprise', but don't have 'Primorose Warburg' to compare  to it, so I can't say anything myself about them yet.

It may just be localized to my neck of the woods but Spindlestone Surprise tends to flower earlier than Primrose Warburg. Spindlestone Surprise also grows/multiplies a lot faster.

[Matt T]

Precisely my concern, Leena. With people often finding they can grow one but not the other, it really doesn't help if they don't know which they're receiving.

[Matt T]

The length of the receptacle is the defining feature being longer in SS in proportion to the width.  In Snowdrops (which I have just had to look up) the ratio of length to width is said to be PW 7:5 and SS 3:2 which I hope means that SS seems thinner and longer when compared together, however I am on my last legs having had a long day and I might be wrong   Hopefully someone took notes.

Thanks, Brian. Glad to see that it was such a good day yesterday - nothing but good reports on social media.

I don't grow both plants, only Primrose Warburg, so I can't make a direct comparison. However, looking at photographs on t'interweb there are differences in the receptacle. Whilst PW might have a receptacle that is broader in relation to its length at its widest point, the overall shape is slightly tapering, so it actually appears to be more slender. Anne's photo that started this thread shows this well, with SS appearing to have a 'fatter' receptacle because it is broader along its length (resulting in the rounded top I referred to).

Overall, there are many characteristics that justify maintaining a distinction between these plants.