Snowdrops

billyhead

Hi Folks, I planted snowdrop bulbs last September. When should I expect to see the 1st signs of life?

looksee

Sadly you may not see life at all - though you could be lucky. Snowdrops are notorious for not growing from dry bulbs, they are much better planted green and even flowering in the spring. If they do grow you should be able to see something soon, you have to train your eye in to see new bulb growth!

The Continental Op

Agree with looksee Snowdrop bulbs are a bad idea they should be banned as they rarely do anything.

In the green you can dig them up and plant them anytime you can see growth and they'll still thrive.

billyhead

Thanks folks. That's a shame. Would daffodil bulbs and tulip bulbs be the same i.e difficult to grow?

The Continental Op

billyhead wrote: »

Thanks folks. That's a shame. Would daffodil bulbs and tulip bulbs be the same i.e difficult to grow?

No totally different, daffs and tulips just about always show no matter. Newly planted bulbs will always be a bit later to show.

looksee

Our daffs planted end September last are going good-oh, the ones that the crows have not pulled up, or the rabbits had a go at. Still loads.

billyhead

looksee wrote: »

Our daffs planted end September last are going good-oh, the ones that the crows have not pulled up, or the rabbits had a go at. Still loads.

I'm starting to see the daffodils shooting through the soil. I was wondering what the hold up was with the snowdrops. Hopefully the tulips will be okay and start growing in a few weeks.

Reckless Abandonment

I planted about 50 a few year back. Id say 20 came up. Have you planted them in a pot or the lawn ?

looksee

I think we put in about 100 at least, and the vast majority seem to be coming up. Two of those mesh bags from Woodies, 50 in each i think.

billyhead

Reckless Abandonment wrote: »

I planted about 50 a few year back. Id say 20 came up. Have you planted them in a pot or the lawn ?

I planted the bulbs in a border full of soil and compost.

billyhead

There may still be light at the end of the tunnel. I heard that snowdrops may come up the 2nd year after planting. Fingers crossed next year they might make an appearance.

Garlinge

I have never had any success with transplanting snowdrops from my mother's garden where they grow profusely! I have always taken full plant with green leaves. I see here someone suggesting to move when in flower as well?

The Continental Op

Garlinge wrote: »

I have never had any success with transplanting snowdrops from my mother's garden where they grow profusely! I have always taken full plant with green leaves. I see here someone suggesting to move when in flower as well?

I transplant a few every year as I'm trying to fill our one acre garden with them because I used to work in a garden in the UK that was open under the Yellow Book scheme and was famous for its Snowdrops.

In the UK the garden was on very light soil here I'm on heavy clay. No problem transplanting Snowdrops in either of them.

Basically I dig up the biggest clumps anytime from flowering onwards until they die down again and divide the clumps down to individual bulbs.

The individual bulbs are then planted in a notch made in the ground with any suitable implement. I've used various spades, trowels and as a two-three man job a pickaxe. One swings the pick axe and makes some holes then another shoves a bulb or two in then someone stamps the holes in to close them.

Just getting in the ground at any depth between about one inch and three inches below the surfaces guarantees they will come up again.

Where there are loads of bulbs to be transplanted I put 3-5 along a spade slit to speed things up or 3-5 to a hole.

The only thing I can think that could possibly go wrong is that the bulbs are left too long out of the ground and dry up a bit before replanting. Mine would be out of the ground no more than half a day before being back in the ground again.

Plant even the tiny little pips that have a tiny green shoot on them they all come up. The tiny ones I tend to throw in a hole with a bigger bulb. At the end of the day its a matter of how long you want to spend on it given a well divided up big clump could yield 500+ bulbs to replant.

Living Off The Splash

All our bulbs showing about 3" off the ground today. Hellebores in full bloom.

The Continental Op

Dohvolle wrote: »

Our historic snowdrops have just started to show their faces. Daffs should be starting to sprout around now also, once ground temp is above 6 degrees Celsius.

I've seen daffs in flower outside already this year. Just making the point it just depends on the variety and their are tens of thousands all slightly different. At the other end of the scale the Pheasant's Eye varieties can be very late to get going and flower. Early Sensation is as its name suggests one that can be in flower before the new year.

Living Off The Splash

Dohvolle wrote: »

Our historic snowdrops have just started to show their faces. Daffs should be starting to sprout around now also, once ground temp is above 6 degrees Celsius.

Went for a walk in the grounds of UCD Belfield today. There is a woodland area about 50 yds. behind the "water tower" and the snowdrops are in full bloom.

All My Stars Aligned

Our have start to show themselves in the last week or two.

The Continental Op

I'm going outside now to check ours and tell them to get on with it.

billyhead

If they don't grow this year could they grow next year instead?

The Continental Op

Our garden is very late (cold) and normally about 2 weeks behind flowering for a lot of stuff and the Snowdrops are hardly showing. In the grass areas you can't see them at all yet.

Garlinge

Trekked all about Belfield today and could not find any snowdrops or any other flowers.

The Continental Op

I can see ours just starting to flower. The display doesn't look like much this year but they are in ones, twos and threes all over the garden after going mad dividing and replanting last year. They are quite handy as I have them in the grass now as early markers to colchicums, lillies and fritillaria.

I have however spotted one larger clump that I can divide up in a couple of weeks. Its not huge but might get a hundred bulbs out of it if you include the small ones.

Barna77

I'm a newbie to gardening, it's all trial and error

Planted some bulbs last September, back and front garden. I broke my back taking the weeds and roots before planting anything in the back and i can see some snowdrops and daffodils starting to come out. Proud moment

However, in the front, i planted the bulbs near some of the shrubs and the edge wall. Now grass has over grown all those areas (where I can't reach with the lawnmower) since the last time i cut the grass. I'm guessing the snow drops won't come out there?

The Continental Op

Barna77 wrote: »

.... I'm guessing the snow drops won't come out there?

Not a bother, I plant them with other bulbs in grass as marker plants. They mark out early one where other bulbs will come up in the grass so I remember not to mow those areas early on. Then look at the picture above of snow drops growing in grass. Most bulbs will grow in grass some better than others. Snow drops, daffodils, colchicums and crocus all do very well.

whelzer

I planted a load (4 packets in total) of snowdrop and crocus bulbs early last September. Had kind of given up hope of seeing the snowdrops after reading about them on various forums. I am pleasantly surprised, there are tons showing in the 4-5 spots I put them. Chuffed! I could go locate the variety if anyone is interested.

looksee

That's brilliant! Our crocuses are just showing - planted last year. Of the daffodils, which pre-date us, we have one (count it!) in full flower! Its in quite an exposed, north east facing spot so it must be the type of daffodil, looks just like any generic daff, I seem to recall it flowered early last year too. All the others are just in bud or still just leaves.

Some snowdrops and hyacinths poking their heads up here, I found 2 ‘bonus’ pots of snowdrops that I had at my front door last year, I put them away in a quiet spot and forgot about them.

Such a joy to see them come through! ❤️

The Continental Op

I'll pretend to be posh and say when I went looking for snowdrops yesterday I noticed the colchiculms were just showing through after a good dividing up after they flowered last autumn.

:pac: nothing very posh about snowdrops or those that go hunting for a peek of them. A very humble understated flower!

On a separate note I went on a dividing spree last year with my muscari, they’ve been showing through since late November and I’m getting impatient now....

One of the biggest joys of gardening for me, juggling impatience and excitement of what’s to come!

The Continental Op

SnowyMuckish wrote: »

:pac: nothing very posh about snowdrops or those that go hunting for a peek of them. A very humble understated flower!

On a separate note I went on a dividing spree last year with my muscari, they’ve been showing through since late November and I’m getting impatient now....

One of the biggest joys of gardening for me, juggling impatience and excitement of what’s to come!

Not a man thats posh enough to have colchicums then

Those ladies could do with a little dressing up before you could call them posh :pac::pac:
I only came across them a few years ago, fascinating flowers!

Edit: and I’m not a posh enough woman to own one yet :pac: but you put them on my radar

My next purchase awaits!

The Continental Op

SnowyMuckish wrote: »

Those ladies could do with a little dressing up before you could call them posh :pac::pac:
I only came across them a few years ago, fascinating flowers!

Actually very easy. Expensive to start out with but they do bulk up well and can be divided up with no harm to the bulbs after flowering. I tend to divide them every 5 years to spread them around.

They’re definitely a wow plant, I remember first seeing them in a national park and wondering what the flip... what’s wrong here, it took a bit of research!

The Continental Op

SnowyMuckish wrote: »

They’re definitely a wow plant, I remember first seeing them in a national park and wondering what the flip... what’s wrong here, it took a bit of research!

I went mad recently and spent about a hundred euro getting some of the more unusual ones. When I planted those I dived up our 5 year old clumps of the commoner one. Our cold wet soil is far from ideal and they still flower and bulk up well here.

Years back in the UK I divided up some huge clumps about 2 foot across (planted 30 years earlier) and after spending a day replanting gave up and ended up giving more away than I replanted.

It always amazes me how quickly bulbs (and other perennials) bulk up! I always believe in investing wisely, start off with something worth investing in, (for me that’s organic bulbs) and as expensive as they are, if you have patience to wait, you could have a huge stock for nothing!

Glad to hear they do well in cold wet soils, as there’s nothing more miserable than a garden in the NW in winter!

The Continental Op

SnowyMuckish wrote: »

It always amazes me how quickly bulbs (and other perennials) bulk up! I always believe in in investing wisely, start off with something worth investing in, (for me that’s organic bulbs) and as expensive as they are, if you have patience to wait, you could have a huge stock for nothing!

I'm thinking next year of spending some money on named varieties of Snowdrops. Always wanted Lady Elphinstone as I knew the family who interestingly had acres of snowdrops but not Lady Elphinstone.

I think its probably too late to be trying to buy any this year especially with Brexit.

billyhead

I presume that bulbs that didn't grow this year could grow next year instead?

The Continental Op

billyhead wrote: »

I presume that bulbs that didn't grow this year could grow next year instead?

Don't give up yet. While dry bulbs give very poor results for snowdrops they will also be slow to develop. If you ever handle a lot of snowdrops you'll notice that even in the height of summer the bulbs that come out of the soil are nothing like what you see in most packets of snowdrops in a garden center. So the bulb has to recover a bit before it will do anything. Give it another couple of weeks before you give up.

However anything that doesn't come up this year is very unlikely to make an appearance next year.

looksee

The Continental Op wrote: »

I'm thinking next year of spending some money on named varieties of Snowdrops. Always wanted Lady Elphinstone as I knew the family who interestingly had acres of snowdrops but not Lady Elphinstone.

I think its probably too late to be trying to buy any this year especially with Brexit.

Did you see this site https://www.fieldofblooms.ie/ he's in Tipperary and does specialist snowdrops. Eyewateringly expensive though, those prices are per bulb!

The Continental Op

looksee wrote: »

Did you see this site https://www.fieldofblooms.ie/ he's in Tipperary and does specialist snowdrops. Eyewateringly expensive though, those prices are per bulb!

Thanks for that might even get some this year then, if he's not selling to the UK then he might have good stock levels. Those prices are far from being the most expensive I've seen.

pwurple

Altamont plants is another irish snowdrop specialist. I got some "abington green" last year from them, showing their faces again at the moment, and very welcome they are.

http://altamontplants.com/