Galanthus - Giant.
John Grimshaw (Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:26:26 PST)

What must also be remembered about snowdrops is that their foliage continues
to grow and expand greatly after flowering finishes, making in many cases a
very substantial tuft of foliage that can actually seem rather coarse - but
in some cases is rather ornamental (think narrow-leaved Hosta). This massive
leaf expansion is overlooked by proponents of moving snowdrops while in
growth - the damaged roots have to attempt to support the foliage and
usually can't, with the result that the bulb goes dormant early and is
rather smaller than it should be.

While tending to think that size is not necessarily a good thing in a
snowdrop, a proportionately large flower on a large plant can make for a
spectacular sight. Unfortunately, many tall clones of G. elwesii have
disproportionately small flowers that make the plant disappointing.

I've just measured a flower or two of the clone 'Ione Hecker' (one of the
Mighty Atom clan) outside my door; they are 45 mm long, on long pedicels and
are a fine sight on a plant no more than 22 cm tall. G. elwesii 'Big Boy'
nearby is a comparatively disappointing 39 mm, but again it is a rather
short plant so the flowers show well. To illustrate the size of these
flowers, standard G. nivalis measures 25-30 mm, and 'S. Arnott' 28 mm long.
(Measurements are the outer perianth segment length, from junction with the
ovary to the apex, all on fully developed flowers - snowdrop flower shape
and size changes considerably as flowering progresses.)

John Grimshaw

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Dr. John M. Grimshaw
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Colesbourne
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL53 9NP

Tel. 01242 870567

Snowdrops at Colesbourne Park 2012
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