Personally, I'd go for bulb specialists for any bulb
Agreed...but on e bay many expert specialist small growers actually sell their special snowdrops by auction . eg. Dryad nurseries. https://www.dryad-home.co.uk/
Personally, I'd go for bulb specialists for any bulb
Several years a lady in Perthshire Elizabeth Harrison , found a yellow form of Galanthus woronowii growing in her garden She gave it to a local grower/nurseryman , a knowledgeable member of The Scottish Rock garden club. He got it registered officially as Galanthus woronowii Elizabeth Harrison and checked that it was reliably yellow . It was advertised on e bay...it sold for £725.00.... a record back in 2012. Quote see link below...... "The most valuable is the galanthus woronowii, also known as the
‘Elizabeth Harrison’, or giant snowdrop. A single bulb of this variety
reportedly sold for a whopping £725 on eBay in 2012. It is set apart
from others by gold markings on the petals."
So please do not assume all sellers on e bay are unreliable. Many of the famous snowdrop nurseries sell on e bay.
P.S....That snowdrop Gal. Elizabeth Harrison was bought by Thompson and Morgan. They twin scaled it to bulk the bulbs quickly to bring it to the public. I believe they lost them all.
Colesbourne in Gloucestershire is famous for its snowdrops. it is well worth a visit in the spring. Home to the Elwes family. They sell in the spring and by mail order...see link
Do snowdrops cross-pollinate and change? If you bought one you especially liked, but had others nearby, would that be an issue or do the green patterns stay "true"? (Memories of all my native primroses coming out a dirty pink colour one yr, due to a nearby magenta polyanthus the spring before! 😱)
Flowers from the original snowdrop bulb will stay the same of course, and any bulbs arising from divisions from that bulb will also be true to the parent.
However any snowdrop growing from seed which is the result of the original plant having been cross-pollinated using pollen from another variety, will carry the genetic information of both parents … that’s how the new varieties arise, whether by accident or design.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I know some folk grow their special ones in terracotta pots … all mine are in the ground.
I only have one ‘Special’ …. Gal.Mighty Atom … a lovely gift from a gardening friend … it grows amongst all my naturalised snowdrops … I know which it is … the clump is increasing in size and it’s easily spotted 😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
@Silver surfer what a beautiful set of flowers in your photos. Snowdrops.me is an interesting site - I had no idea there were specialist sites like this.
Posts
eg. Dryad nurseries.
https://www.dryad-home.co.uk/
She gave it to a local grower/nurseryman , a knowledgeable member of The Scottish Rock garden club. He got it registered officially as Galanthus woronowii Elizabeth Harrison and checked that it was reliably yellow .
It was advertised on e bay...it sold for £725.00.... a record back in 2012.
Quote see link below......
"The most valuable is the galanthus woronowii, also known as the ‘Elizabeth Harrison’, or giant snowdrop. A single bulb of this variety reportedly sold for a whopping £725 on eBay in 2012. It is set apart from others by gold markings on the petals."
https://www.countryliving.com/uk/homes-interiors/gardens/a26083521/galanthus-woronowii-snowdrops/
So please do not assume all sellers on e bay are unreliable.
Many of the famous snowdrop nurseries sell on e bay.
P.S....That snowdrop Gal. Elizabeth Harrison was bought by Thompson and Morgan.
They twin scaled it to bulk the bulbs quickly to bring it to the public.
I believe they lost them all.
https://www.thompson-morgan.com/worlds-highest-price-paid-for-snowdrop-bulb
How to twin scale snowdrops see below....
https://www.judyssnowdrops.co.uk/Propagation/Twin-Scaling/twin-scaling.htm
https://www.google.com/search?q=twin+scaling+snowdrops&client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=589461267&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS2obuv4ODAxXdWkEAHQd3BhoQ0pQJegQIAxAE&biw=1280&bih=595&dpr=1.5
it is well worth a visit in the spring.
Home to the Elwes family.
They sell in the spring and by mail order...see link
https://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/dates-for-2023/
Galanthus George Elwes.
Galanthus Lord Lieutenant.
Galanthus Trym.
Galanthus South Hayes.
They sells name ones and Gal nivalis.
This is list for 2023.
https://www.cambogardens.org.uk/product-category/mail-order-bulbs/specialist-snowdrops/?orderby=price-desc
https://www.cambogardens.org.uk/visit/snowdrop-walks/
NTS...Branklyn Gardens in Perth has a good collection.
They will be opening in February 2024
"We reopen 14th to 18th February 2024 for our Snowdrop Festival. For any enquiries please drop us a line. [email protected] "
https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/branklyn-garden-1/highlights/snowdrop-festival
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gal.Mighty Atom … a lovely gift from a gardening friend … it grows amongst all my naturalised snowdrops … I know which it is … the clump is increasing in size and it’s easily spotted 😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.