Events

Snowdrops & Snowflakes London Lectures

Date: 18 February 2004 Venue: RHS Conference Centre, Lawrence Hall, Greycoat Street, London       Leucojum vernum

	Galanthus nivalis f. pleniflorus
	Galanthus woronowii

Images: Royal Horticultural Society ©

The following article on the day has been reproduced by kind permission of Dr A C Leslie, and is included in Daffodils with Snowdrops and Tulips 2004-2005.

This yearbook also contains more information about snowdrops and snowflakes from the day, including articles by Chris Brickell, Ruby Baker and Gordon Hanks, who all presented lectures.

Further information from Ronald Mackenzie, explaining the various propagation techniques for snowdrops and snowflakes, was published in Daffodils with Snowdrops and Tulips 2003-2004.

For further details about Daffodils with Snowdrops and Tulips please click here

Snowdrops and snowflakes

Every so often, well once every 113 years, the RHS has a special day on snowdrops. On this occasion the Joint Rock Garden Plant Committee had arranged a galaxy of galanthophile expertise to cover the ground and to bring us all up to date with developments since the original Snowdrop Conference in 1891. At the end of a long day the general feeling seems to have been ‘more please’, but to ensure that at least some of us were around to enjoy the next one!

This was in fact a day devoted to both snowdrops and snowflakes (Galanthus and Leucojum) and it was the job of Dr John Grimshaw to introduce the two genera. Recent molecular and morphological studies at Kew - of which we were getting a sneak preview - showed how closely the two genera were related but it was a relief to find that they are not to be united. Indeed quite the reverse, as Leucojum is to be split in two, separating the fine-leaved, solid-stemmed plants with unmarked flowers and a penchant for drier places into the genus Acis, leaving the spring and summer snowflakes (L. vernum and L. aestivum) as all that remains in Leucojum. The molecular work has also shown that the existing subgeneric classification in Galanthus needs considerable revision, but this must await missing data on a number of rare species.

Chris Brickell then gave us some tantalising insights into our still incomplete knowledge of Caucasian snowdrops. He rightly emphasised the importance of going to study wild populations in order to understand better their morphology, behaviour and patterns of distribution: a lot of snowdrop characters do not preserve well on an herbarium sheet! To general astonishment he showed yellow forms of almost every species investigated, but perhaps of greatest significance was the discovery of populations of a snowdrop that might be the origin of 'G. caucasicus of gardens.

Rannveig Wallis then took us on a roller-coaster ride through all the species of Leucojum (Acis and all). There were instructive contrasts between familiar, good garden plants like L. autumnale, which bulks up and seeds freely and the Corsican/Sardinian endemic L. roseum which in cultivation (in the alpine house) has resolutely never produced offsets and sets only a minute quantity of very large seeds. The ‘true’ leucojums like damper soils; indeed L. aestivum will tolerate true bog conditions in the garden. Both this and L. vernum show some variation and this is beginning to be appreciated more in gardens, with one bizarre variant of L. vernum illustrated which has an extra whorl of narrow petaloid-like spathes!

Matt Bishop followed on with a plea to name only really distinctive snowdrops and proceeded to show us what he meant: all delectable, collectable and virtually unobtainable plants! He stressed that any new cultivar must stand out amongst its brethren and suggested that the formulation and use of named Groups, which would gather together similar named and un-named plants, as being a way to help in providing a convenient nomenclature for reference without burdening us with hosts of new names.

The steadily increasing range of yellow cultivars (that is those with yellow ovaries and yellow marks, but still with white ‘petals’) was demonstrated by Joe Sharman, who challenged us with his theories about their genetic origin and behaviour. Theories which practical experience seems to be confirming in many cases. He also covered the reasons snowdrop foliage may be yellow to: from viruses to genuine genetic variants and the results of cultural problems.

For many the star of the day was Ruby Baker who opened our eyes to the charm and range of snowdrops with green on their outer petals. Gradually such variants are being found amongst many species and we were treated to the first slides of the newly found green-tipped G. cilicicus (from Turkey), as well as detectable cultivars such as ‘Emerald Isle’, ‘Green of Hearts’ and ‘Greenfield’. Her dry humorous asides quite stole the show and for the lovers of galanthomemorabilia the presentation of her slide of a gravestone monument incorporating a snowdrop motif was a moment to treasure.

Dr Gordon Hanks brought us all back to earth with a summary of our knowledge of the pests and diseases of snowdrops which spoil our fun in growing these plants. The fungus diseases caused by Botrytis galanthinae and Stagonospora curtisii are the bane of many snowdrop growers, with narcissus fly, swift moth and nematodes not far behind. With fewer and fewer chemicals available to ward off these menaces, close attention to good husbandry becomes more and more important. But to cheer us up Dr Ronald Mackenzie followed with a very clear exposition of how to increase stocks of rare or difficult plants by the technique of chipping. From chip to flower in three years is the aim, but there is no shortcut to the attention needed to hygiene and good cultural practices throughout the process.

We ended with two enthusiastic presentations to send us all off buzzing with ideas at the end of the day. Alan Street offered us ‘10 of the best’, 10 snowdrops which he felt ranked amongst the best as garden plants. His talk took us from the Louvre to Colesbourne, from Covent Garden to Highdown via Sibbertoft Manor and Blewbury - the last the home of his own selection ‘Blewbury Tart’ once described as like ‘a squashed fly on a windscreen’. Strange how tastes vary. The show was brought to a triumphant close by Wol Staines showing how to use snowdrops to best advantage in the garden. Too many of us have a collection of spot plantings with little thought to what effects can be achieved with companion plants: here we were shown a great range of possibilities. Wol also showed the value of using a few really vigorous plants in bold displays where space allows. We may not all have the acres of Painswick or Walsingham but a creditable effort can be achieved in quite a small area as he ably demonstrated.