{"id":3565,"date":"2021-12-13T06:51:28","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T14:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3565"},"modified":"2021-12-13T06:51:28","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T14:51:28","slug":"earliest-snowdrops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/earliest-snowdrops\/","title":{"rendered":"Earliest Snowdrops"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every year in early to mid December, a few snowdrops or galanthus pop up in the little bed by my back porch steps.\u00a0 Depending on your perspective, they are either the last flowers of the old season or the first flowers of the new season.\u00a0 I prefer to think of them as a reminder that there is still a lot going on in the \u201csleeping\u201d garden.\u00a0 If the weather has been especially awful, I see them as a sign of better things to come.<\/p>\n

After all, when the earliest snowdrops appear, the Winter Solstice is only a few weeks away, and with it, the gradual return of daylight.\u00a0 That alone is something to look forward to.<\/p>\n

In my part of the world December doesn\u2019t usually bring the worst of storms and snow.\u00a0 We get pelted with those seasonal bombardments in January and February.\u00a0 The earliest blooming snowdrops usually have a fighting chance in December and are well worth the investment.<\/p>\n

With inspiration in short supply this year, I decided that in the future I want more early snowdrops.\u00a0 I set about investigating the genus for available species and varieties.\u00a0 Sadly, my early bloomers were planted long ago and the tag has disappeared.\u00a0 An educated guess is the best I can do as far as identifying them.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t know galanthus, you are missing something important.\u00a0 Though they top out at only about six inches tall, snowdrops belong to the same plant family as that towering holiday amaryllis or hippeastrum that many of us have in our houses right now.\u00a0 Native to western Asia and Eastern Europe, depending on species, snowdrops often feature slender, grass-like leaves.\u00a0 The flowers are borne at the tops of the stalks and dangle daintily from short pedicels.\u00a0 Each one features three outer petals that often look like little wings or propellers.\u00a0 The inner petals are shorter and harder to see, but may have green or yellow markings.\u00a0 The most popular snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, features white flowers, but less common varieties may boast greenish or even yellow blooms.<\/p>\n

Snowdrops are having a moment in the sun right now, with breeders working on new and sometimes improved varieties.\u00a0 Collectors have seized on the genus and new introductions sometimes go for outrageous sums.<\/p>\n

I am not interested in mortgaging my house for a snowdrop, but I do want the earliest varieties.\u00a0 By doing a little research I found that many snowdrop aficionados like Galanthus reginae-olgae, or Queen Olga\u2019s snowdrop.\u00a0 The real Queen was a nineteenth century Russian princess who married the King of Greece, was briefly regent of that country, and later exiled.\u00a0 Most likely the snowdrop acquired its regal name because it is native to Greece.<\/p>\n

The snowdrop \u201cqueen\u201d is a beautiful thing, with a thin silver strip running down each long leaf, and prominent inner petals that feature heart-shaped green markings.\u00a0 \u201cQueen Olga\u201d is also fragrant.\u00a0 In mild climates it may come up in late fall, but it is more realistic to expect it sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.\u00a0 The Royal Horticultural Society has bestowed its Award of Garden Merit\u2014AGM\u2014on Galanthus reginae-olgae.<\/p>\n

Galanthus atkinsii or Atkin\u2019s snowdrop is another AGM winner.\u00a0 The flowers have longer outer petals than those of Queen Olga\u2019s snowdrop, but share the heart-shaped greenish-yellow marking on the inner petals.\u00a0 Like many later-flowering snowdrops, the blooms smell like honey.\u00a0 When the Atkin\u2019s snowdrop is happy, it also naturalizes and spreads readily.<\/p>\n

Hailing from Turkey, Elwes\u2019 galanthus or Galanthus elwesii, has broad oval petals, which completely hide the small, green-marked interior ones.\u00a0 It may come a little later than Queen Olga\u2019s namesake, but the flowers are every bit as beautiful.<\/p>\n

Galanthus in general like well-drained soil in full sun to part shade.\u00a0 Being spring \u201cephemerals\u201d, they sprout, flower, set seed and disappear before early summer.\u00a0 The autumn flowering varieties, like mine, disappear long before that.\u00a0 Snowdrops flourish under deciduous trees because the blooms have come and gone before tree leaves even think of appearing.<\/p>\n

Obtaining all but the most common snowdrop plants or bulbs can be frustrating for Americans, because the best suppliers are in Great Britain.\u00a0 I buy mine from the wonderful Hitch Lyman at The Temple Nursery.\u00a0 Hitch puts out a catalog once a year, full of wonderful varieties, including early-blooming plants.\u00a0 Be forewarned, though, the catalog is not available online, has no order form and The Temple Nursery does not take credit cards.\u00a0 Write to Mr. Lyman at P.O. Box 591, Trumansburg, NY 14886 and request a catalog.\u00a0 If you decide to make an order, put your request in another letter and enclose a check for the cost of the snowdrops plus S&H.\u00a0 The plants will be harvested \u201cin the green\u201d, just as they have finished blooming, and will be sent to you in spring.\u00a0 Immediate planting is required for best results.<\/p>\n

A good source of more common galanthus bulbs is Brent and Becky\u2019s Bulbs in Gloucester, VA.\u00a0 Find them at 7900 Daffodil Lane, Gloucester, VA 23061, (877) 661-2852, www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Print catalog available.\u00a0 Order in March for fall delivery and blooms early next fall or early spring.<\/p>\n

\"Snowdrops--early\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every year in early to mid December, a few snowdrops or galanthus pop up in the little bed by my back porch steps.\u00a0 Depending on your perspective, they are either the last flowers of the old season or the first flowers of the new season.\u00a0 I prefer to think of them as a reminder that … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2],"tags":[295,2629,371,2630,1307,2631,370,1763],"class_list":["post-3565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","tag-bulbs","tag-early-flowering-plants","tag-galanthus","tag-galanthus-atkinsii","tag-galanthus-reginae-olgae","tag-glanthus-elwesii","tag-snowdrops","tag-spring-ephemerals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3567,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3565\/revisions\/3567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}