Snowdrop Varieties - Where Are They Now?

[emma T]

Greenpeace

[Maggi Young]

A friend was telling me he had checked some of his plants from the "lost" list....
He still has......
Elcatus ( there is a pic in SRGC Galanthus 2008 )
Warburton
July
Beechwood ( a pic posted in 2008 ) and
Snow White's Gnome


He has lost Wandin and Essie Huxley
(these from Australia, perhaps lost as a result of a failure to "turn-around" the hemisphere"


{not sure if messages are getting through to Steve or not     }

[snowdropman]

That leaves 79 varieties that non-one has signified they know they exist.

Steve - Here are comments on a few more, which are on your updated list viz

I can confirm that both ‘Beechwood’ and ‘Light Bulb’ are still in circulation – I obtained my bulbs of both from mainland Europe sources.

Michael Myers was selling G. plicatus ‘Ron Ginns’ in 2006 – to the best of my recollection it was the real thing but, bearing in mind the confusion with pure G. nivalis, mentioned in ‘Snowdrops’, this id would need to be re-confirmed.

‘Greenshank’ was observed in your fellow NC holder’s collection at Brandy Mount House in 2007 – it seems pretty robust.

‘Green Maid’ has also been observed in several gardens.

I understand that, as of May last year, ‘Christmas Cheer’ was still being grown in the USA by its breeder, Stephen Vinisky, but it is unclear to me whether and to what extent it may have been distributed, as Stephen Vinisky apparently abandoned his Galanthus breeding programme some years ago.

[snowdropman]

That leaves 79 varieties that non-one has signified they know they exist.

Steve - Phil Cornish told me in 2005 that ‘Harlequin’ was defunct – whether he just meant that it was defunct in his garden or that it was totally extinct I do not know, but I have yet to come across it. [Apparently mentioned by Joe Sharman on 28/1/2012 in his snowdrop talk at Blacksmith's Cottage Nursery]

I note that ‘Harlequin’ was mentioned in the recent book “Schneeglöckchen ABC“ by Maria Mail-Brandt, but perhaps she was just including it because it was listed in ‘Snowdrops’ – perhaps there is someone on the Forum who has a copy & could check what she has to say.

[Hagen Engelmann]

Last year I had SNOW WHITE`S GNOM in my garden.
This year I have to look.

[Brian Ellis]

I hope you find him Hagen, enjoy your trip to England 

[snowdropman]

That leaves 79 varieties that non-one has signified they know they exist.

Steve

‘Ruth’ has to be treated with extreme caution as there are at least two snowdrops of this name in circulation  – ‘Snowdrops’ refers to G. nivalis ‘Ruth’ and Matt B. describes it as similar to ‘Greenish’. Whilst I have not so far come across this form in any collection, I do note that MB spoke in ‘Snowdrops’ of “a patch of this clone, some several hundred plants strong, had obviously been there for a considerable time’, so it seems unlikely to me that it is now extinct.

The second snowdrop circulating as ‘Ruth’ is G. plicatus ‘Ruth’, which was distributed for a time under this name by Richard Bashford & Valerie Bexley before they realised that the name ‘Ruth’ had already been previously used. So the name was then changed to G. plicatus ‘Farthinghoe Beauty’, as this snowdrop had come to RB/VB from Ruth Dashwood of Farthinghoe.

(Note of caution - whilst discussing the RB/VB snowdrop, I should mention that there is also a snowdrop in circulation called G. plicatus ‘Ruth Dashwood’ – VB has confirmed that this is a different snowdrop to 'Farthinghoe Beauty'.)

[snowdropman]

That leaves 79 varieties that non-one has signified they know they exist

Steve
G. plicatus ‘Peter Pan’ is another tricky one and, albeit in small numbers, it is possible that there are two forms circulating under this name!

The G. plicatus ‘Peter Pan’ in ‘Snowdrops’ is described as ‘one of the shorter, more dainty G. plicatus cultivars’ and was found & circulated by Phil Cornish. I understand from PC that he no longer has it and I have not yet come across this form in any collection.

Ian Christie also provisionally named one of his Scottish finds G. plicatus ‘Peter Pan’, and circulated it under that name to a very small number of friends – Ian told me in 2010 that he had stopped using this name and that his snowdrop was to undergo a further period of evaluation before deciding whether or not it warranted a new name.

[Brian Ellis]

Whilst discussing the RB/VB snowdrop, I should mention that there is also a snowdrop in circulation called G. plicatus ‘Ruth Dashwood’ – whether or not this is the same snowdrop, and therefore possibly the third name under which it has been circulated, I do not know.

Whilst discussing this with Valerie last year she did say that I had bought 'Ruth Dashwood' from them and that when you saw it next to 'Farthinghoe Beauty' you could easily tell the difference.

[snowdropman]

Whilst discussing this with Valerie last year she did say that I had bought 'Ruth Dashwood' from them and that when you saw it next to 'Farthinghoe Beauty' you could easily tell the difference.

Most helpful Brian - thanks - I will amend my earlier post

[Brian Ellis]

I also asked Mike Broadhurst today about Diana Boughton and he said that he thought it was no longer in existence.

[mark smyth]

At last years Gala or Garden House event there was some chat about Broadwell being lost. How many people grow it?

[Brian Ellis]

'Margaret Markham' is alive and well.

[johnw]

Martin - Back in January 2009 you asked about the source of your 'Robert Berkley' which you chipped in 2001.  I notice a friend bought one from Dr. MacKenzie in 2001. Could he have been your source?  Sorry to take so long.  Does anyone have a picture of it?

johnw

[Martin Baxendale]

Martin - Back in January 2009 you asked about the source of your 'Robert Berkley' which you chipped in 2001.  I notice a friend bought one from Dr. MacKenzie in 2001. Could he have been your source?  Sorry to take so long.  Does anyone have a picture of it?

johnw

Yes he was. Thanks.