Dear Jane, I as a raiser of rare Galanthus cultivars would be delighted for twin-scaling to get started in the States. It is a much faster way of bulking up stocks. I never understand why no commercial big growers get involved. With the prices of some of my selections such as 'Flocon de Neige' and 'Ecusson d'Or' going at such high prices on e-bay I can't see what is holding any one back.I never register anything as I am not a commercial grower.I just enjoy exchanging variétés. And I don't ever believe that they will be in everyone's garden, at least not the newest and the more tricky ones to grow. They are not all general public plants...Some are swines to grow! Kind regards, Mark > Message du 23/06/11 19:43 > De : "Jane McGary" > A : "Pacific Bulb Society" > Copie à : > Objet : Re: [pbs] rare/specialty forms of galanthus > > Dell wrote, > At 10:03 AM 6/23/2011, you wrote: > >Peter, This is a wonderful idea! I know that we > >have members who have interesting cultivars of > >galanthus and several members who know how to do > >twin-scaling. Does anyone know about obstacles > >(legal or otherwise) to an effort to propagate > >and distribute galanthus through twin-scaling? > >Are they especially difficult to twin-scale? > > John Grimshaw gave a workshop on this at a NARGS > meeting in British Columbia a few years ago. It > didn't look difficult; I think the main > constraint is that everything has to be kept very > clean to prevent infection of the tissues by > pathogens. There are detailed description of > twin-scaling bulbs in various books, including > "Snowdrops" by Bishop, Davis & Grimshaw, a volume > presumably already owned by any serious galanthophile (and even by me). > > As for legal obstacles, probably there are some > varieties that are restricted by Dutch grower's > rights (similar but not identical to the US plant > patent system) and that therefore could not be > propagated FOR SALE, but I don't think there is > any legal restriction on propagating a plant and > giving it to someone else. At least, I have often > done so, but I didn't sell material from named > cultivars when I was selling surplus bulbs unless > I knew the cultivar was an old one widespread in > horticulture. Most named snowdrop selections > originate in the UK, so can someone from there > enlighten us about legal restrictions that may > apply to them? The only named snowdrop I ever > sold is 'Dionysus', which is an old double. > > SPeaking of snowdrops, I'm happy to find that not > a single bulb fly has yet appeared around my new > home. I can't understand this, because the > neighborhood is loaded with daffodils. Perhaps > the pests are just sticking to familiar territory > this year. If they show up next year, I have the Reemay ready. > > Jane McGary > Portland, Oregon, USA > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >