Galanthus--TOW
Diane Whitehead (Tue, 03 Feb 2004 20:25:25 PST)

One of the Eastern U.S. growers mentioned that spring-blooming
snowdrops were outstaged by all the other spring bulbs. I think that
cold areas must have a compressed spring, where everything blooms
more or less at once.

Here on the Pacific coast, we have a very long spring. Snowdrops get
noticed because the only other things blooming now are Eranthis,
Cyclamen coum, Helleborus niger and a couple of other species, and
half a dozen shrubs and trees. (rhdodendrons, camellias, November
cherry, Hamamelis mollis,etc.). Snowdrops can be noticed from a car
without compromising one's safe driving record. White is very
eye-catching, and they grow in such masses.

One clone of the shiny green-leaved Galanthus woronowii is widespread
here. It multiplies prodigiously - the bulbs come surging up out of
the ground so most of the mass are sitting on the surface, and being
in a big clump doesn't seem to inhibit flowering. It stays in flower
a very long time. It begins to flower when it is barely out of the
ground, early in January, and continues to flower as the stem
elongates. It is finally finished about the first week in March.
That's 9 weeks of flower. I have never seen a seedpod.

I have another clone of woronowii, a green-tipped one, that is much
later - the buds are just clearing the ground now, and it doesn't
multiply much. It does set seed, I think.

--
Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
maritime zone 8
cool mediterranean climate (dry summer, rainy winter - 68 cm annually)
sandy soil