sourcing unusual galanthus

penstemon penstemon@Q.com
Fri, 06 Mar 2015 12:46:02 PST

>Also, we could mail the bulbs when they are dormant, which is better than 
>sending them "in the green," an outdated practice.

I prefer receiving snowdrops "in the green" because the survival rate is 
much better than snowdrops planted in October or November. (One hundred 
percent vs. about zero percent.)
The rationale behind not sending "in the green"--that doing so damages roots 
which can't be replaced--sounds dubious to me, because if the bulbs are dug 
in July, they will still have roots, and the roots will still be damaged. 
(The Cornovium website indicates that bulbs are sent in July.)
Bulbs sent later in the year have no roots at all, which means, in a climate 
like mine where winter can arrive with little warning, that the bulbs may 
have no time to grow all the roots they will need both for flowering and for 
photosynthesis (ie manufacturing the cryoprotective sugars).
So an early-flowering snowdrop, like a form of Galanthus elwesii, might only 
have a few weeks between planting time and the time it should be in full 
flower; it's unlikely that it would be then prepared for the horrors of a 
Denver winter.

Bob Nold
Denver, Colorado, USA 




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