Saturday, March 17, 2007

Galanthus Flore Pleno


Speaking of plants that I have a mixed opinion about, include this little bulb; Galanthus flore pleno, the common double snowdrop. It doesn't have the grace of the single form of Galanthus nivalis, and when seen from above, especially when the flower is partly closed by the cold, it looks somehow like a little lobster claw. But it has a certain jaunty air about it, and if you plant it on a slope so you can see it from below without sprawling in the mud, it is quite endearing. You would think I'd have made up my mind about this plant by now, as I've been growing it for some thirty years; the original little handful of bulbs were planted at my parents' house that long ago, in the lawn right by the driveway. The house is long gone now, but the little snowdrops still come up in the same spot every year, like little white lanterns in the scrub grass by the abandoned driveway. The double snowdrops that are blooming now in my garden this spring are offsets from that original patch...I guess I'll keep them.
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Comments:
30 years! You must keep them...they are like family...lol! I have not had success with these doubles...yet...although I am hoping my luck will change with some coming "in the green." I think I would be tempted to bring some inside to see them!
 
gg... I've read pros and cons on whether snowdrops really need to be planted "en green"; I don't know the answer. My experience has been that the single nivalis bulbs are hard to establish, but the doubles come up for me 100%... unfortunately I suspect that means the singles are wild collected, and sit around too long in transit to be viable.
Don
 
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