Snowdrops

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

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! ❤️

: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!

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!

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!

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!

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 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 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.