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Snowdrops

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  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I admit to feeling embittered that my plants look lovely and healthy and the slugs have cleanly eaten off all the flower heads.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    This was a very bare plot here too @bertrand-mabel. My sister gave me a small pot of snowdrops the year I moved in [9 years ago] and they've multiplied readily, and I've  gradually spread them around. It's always lovely to see them - they're just starting to flower properly now   :)
    I don't know what mine are, though they're not nivalis. It doesn't matter to me though. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    There isn't a flower in the garden that puts a smile on my face more readily than the snowdrop. 
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • Crocus and daffs are close for me. 
    Of the dry bulbs I have planted those that seem to be doing best so far are the dwarf Iris which are all in flower presently. At least I have some in flower after all that effort !
    The daffs and tulips are going well too (as long as they aren’t blind !) I’ve always found daffs to be absolutely reliable ....
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes - most bulbs are fine planted when they're dry @muckyhandsmike, as long as they've been stored correctly of course, but snowdrops don't do nearly so well if they've been dried out. Any small bulb dries out more easily too.
    The vast majority of daffs are pretty straightforward, and most of them cope with wet conditions well. I planted some new ones a few years ago. Lieke is particularly pretty  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Not sure what happens to the very expensive snowdrops that some people purchase do they cross with nivalis so that you get a real mix? Some years ago I met a grand old lady called Dorothy Lucking she was a member of The Snowdrop Immortals a small group of people who have a snowdrop named after them. Over the years I have been tempted with the special ones but it is expensive if you never see them again. I have a border full of nivalis at the moment all dancing in the wind. Beautiful!
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • mchuamchua Posts: 210
    I planted about 140 snowdrop bulbs in the autumn. At the moment I have 2 or 3 batches showing but no flowers at all.....
    looks like I’ll be buying in the green next winter !
    in my last garden I planted bulbs and they went well ... never did anything to them but they came up and flowered every year.
    Not too late to order from Eurobulbs.

    https://eurobulbs.co.uk/category/galanthus-snowdrops/
    Normally they deliverer very quickly.
    They may be a bit lax , they will have flowers (wilted probably)
    But after watering the leaves will soon perk up again
    Plant immediately...I recommend planting in groups of 5...7 or 9.
    Doesn't take very long to pop them in.

    When buying them like this do you deadhead to concentrate energy back into the bulb or just leave them as they are?
  • chickychicky Posts: 10,410
    Not sure what happens to the very expensive snowdrops that some people purchase do they cross with nivalis so that you get a real mix? Some years ago I met a grand old lady called Dorothy Lucking she was a member of The Snowdrop Immortals a small group of people who have a snowdrop named after them. Over the years I have been tempted with the special ones but it is expensive if you never see them again. I have a border full of nivalis at the moment all dancing in the wind. Beautiful!
    We have a galanthophile in the village, who has over 150 named varieties in his garden.  They are all in distinct labelled clumps, and if a clump gets close to encroaching on its neighbour it gets dug up and divided (and all the spares get sold at our Garden Club).  I know many wonder what all the snowdrop fuss is about, but when you get to see all the different varieties growing side by side you realise just how different they all are.  The minutiae gets a bit addictive.  But when you step back and look at the whole spectacle its pretty special too.
  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    mchua said:
    I planted about 140 snowdrop bulbs in the autumn. At the moment I have 2 or 3 batches showing but no flowers at all.....
    looks like I’ll be buying in the green next winter !
    in my last garden I planted bulbs and they went well ... never did anything to them but they came up and flowered every year.
    Not too late to order from Eurobulbs.

    https://eurobulbs.co.uk/category/galanthus-snowdrops/
    Normally they deliverer very quickly.
    They may be a bit lax , they will have flowers (wilted probably)
    But after watering the leaves will soon perk up again
    Plant immediately...I recommend planting in groups of 5...7 or 9.
    Doesn't take very long to pop them in.

    When buying them like this do you deadhead to concentrate energy back into the bulb or just leave them as they are?
    I'd leave them as they are. They aren't dead headed in the wild or in the garden and that's how they propagate. Last year I gave my snowdrops a light sprinkling of blood, fish and bone to help build the bulbs up for this year. 
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • mchuamchua Posts: 210
    Most of my snowdrops were purchased in the green from Broadleigh http://www.broadleigh-bulbs-spring.co.uk/shop/index.php?ns=catshow&ref=galanthus Now a few years on I have hundreds and hundreds of them … several varieties. Great suppliers. 😊
    Because I’m just starting out gardening, the idea of bulbs appealed to me because I could plant them direct into the lawn without disturbing the turf too much.  I only discovered the in the green option since this discussion. 

    With in the green bulbs (snowdrops) I can’t do that? because of the shoots?  Unless I’d be happy leaving a new hole in the lawn.  I’m guessing most people who buy them in the green would have a prepared border of some kind.  They would never be for the lawn. Unless some where more discreet.
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