Galanthus in February 2017

[Matt T]

Just a wee selection of my favourites out now in peak snowdrop season.

G. 'Little Ben' - my desert island 'drop, it's such a good doer and a huge flower on a compact plant.
G. 'Diggory - distinctive and beautiful
G. 'Viridapice' - I think it can still hold its own
G. 'Primrose Warburg' - flowering here a good way ahead of 'Spindlestone Surprise'. The same plant...
G. 'S. Arnott' - old faithful with a very handsome flower

[annew]

Here's my contribution to Valentine's Day - a seedling with Cupid's Arrow! 

[steve owen]

...so here's my contribution to Valentines Day ...G. Valentines Day.

[Leena]

Very nice to see your snowdrop season in peak, and all different kinds of snowdrops.
John, how lucky you are to have heated greenhouse to keep snowdrops. You have lot more snow now than we have here.

I would have said that I am not a fan of doubles but I now find i have more than I thought. First up is:

I like most about doubles that they always look so plump, no matter what the weather is. Over here it is many times too cold for single snowdrops to open their flowers properly in the beginning of the season (not yet, there is still snow), but doubles always look nice. 

G. 'Primrose Warburg' - flowering here a good way ahead of 'Spindlestone Surprise'. The same plant...

I'm looking forward to see how the pair of them flower here, this is the first spring when I have both (growing side by side) so in the future I'll be able to see if there are difference in the flowering time in my climate.

[Hagen Engelmann]

enough with green ...
GRÜNER FRÜHAUFSTEHER

always very early here

[Brian Ellis]

enough with green ...

Never enough Hagen

[Cfred72]

In my greenhouse, my last purchase in Galanthus (one per year ...  ), Galanthus plicatus 'Diggory'. Do you think I can try to hybridize it with pollen from Galanthus plicatus 'Trumps'?

[Hagen Engelmann]

In my greenhouse, my last purchase in Galanthus (one per year ...  ), Galanthus plicatus 'Diggory'. Do you think I can try to hybridize it with pollen from Galanthus plicatus 'Trumps'?

Yes, try it ... both ways

[MR GRUMPY]

Trumps in my experience is sterile and doesn't produce seed ,unlike Diggory  which is fertile and a superb seed parent.

[johnw]

"sectional" ??

Maggi - Sectional photo.

House photo. Leena- the west-facing side of the street got the drifting but the splendid height is due to shovelled snow in tight quarter..

Another storm tonight, on the coast we may get a bit of snow and then rain or ice pellets.  The wind will be brisk.  Ken just finished a path to that greenhouse Leena!

john

[Cfred72]

L'avantage d'un temps pareil les gars, c'est que vous aurez pu profiter de la Saint Valentin... 

[Maggi Young]

Feeling rather glad I'm not in Nova Scotia - though a new sofa is always nice 

Your house is so pretty, but that is just too much snow.

[Maggi Young]

Lovely  snowdrop based  diary from Tim Ingram : http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/diaries/Kent/+February+/800/

[johnw]

Feeling rather glad I'm not in Nova Scotia - though a new sofa is always nice 

A good rain would save on a moving van.

[Blonde Ingrid]

The second major highlight of this mornings patrol:

Another new one of Andy Byfield's specials, Galanthus Whiter Than White. Described by Andy as "my purest white gracilis – stunning, glistening white, flowers the shouldered shape of Andrea’s Fault, with lovely strongly blue green foliage and the darkest green inner". It has a lovely large, well structured flower and the inner marking is a deep, dense green.  It is a real eye catcher. Another that hopefully Andy makes more readily available soon.

Next Galanthus Lemongrass. Described by Andy as: "a lovely yellow form of large gracilis. I guess that it is Flete's version of the yellow 'Ronald Mackenzie'. 'Lemongrass' has a much more rounded and shouldered flower (think E.A. Bowles), and its leaves are more twisted"

The shoulders are definitely more rounded, the leaves more twisted and noticeably so.

However, it is the colour of Lemongrass that sets it apart from Ronald Mackenzie. It is very different to RM which has the same colour 'on both the apical and basal marks. Lemongrass is 'Butter yellow' on the apical mark but a darker yellow/yellow green on the basal marking, so it highly visibly distinctive from RM. It is thus a delicious two-toned yellow drop.