Snowdrop Slices.Part (final episode)

Mother nature is amazing isn't she Brian :) I do remember the previous blogs and have now enjoyed the end result.
A great way to propagate the more expensive varieties but as you say, the G. nivalis do it without any help.
It's a pity there isn't a GoYpedia topic on propogation, this series of blogs would be a useful addition.

They look gorgeous! It's good of you to follow this through for us! I founda thousand of the basic singles, in the green, on EBay for £63... I'm really pleased...looking forward to planting them under the hedge soon!

What a great idea, do you start them off in grit then?

Thrupennybit
Bit more to it ,started in closed bags in Vermiculite. All is explained on my blog< Making Babies> page 9. 24 October 2011 if it interests you.
B

Karen remember buying some like that years ago they took ages to recover because they tore half the roots off lifting them.

Thank you Bjs I shall take a look.

satisfaction guaranteed then. I've done something similar yrs ago but the mice got them the year I expected them to flower.

yes it might be worth trying with more expensive ones but then when you cut them I'd be terrified they got nibbled.

I can remember the previous blogs Brian, thankyou for the update and well done on your success, I cannot imagine ever being able to pay the cost of some of the more expensive ones and if I did I'd be scared to experiment in case I lost the original....

What a success Brian, I never did try it. I get so excited at snowdrop time wanting to buy this one & that one, to do so much with them, but, once they've died down I somehow lose interest, until the following year. Then it starts again, but, several years have then gone by. I vow & declare I'm not going to get sucked in to buying special ones ever again!!! Pam

A marvellous conclusion to your experiment, B!
I've put it in faves & will read your 2011 blog as well.

Lovely update to your other blogs. I suppose its sensible to experiment with cheaper bulbs instead of diving in and using expensive ones. Its good to read the 'how to' and it helps to build your confidence when you get success through hands on experience. It took 3 years to get to this stage so its not for the impatient but it is so good to find this level of detail. Great blog.

I'm interested in the other updates to your original 'Making Babies', which I've just read, B.
Thanks.

I came across this website http://www.snowdropinfo.com/faq.html in it the Q is asked 'snowdrops in the green or not?' the answer given says the leaves should be turning golden, in other words the leaves are dying back, because by then the snowdrop will have absorbed what it needs to produce a flower next year and will be beginning to grow new roots. The reason the bulbs bought in the , green, green, take a while to flower is because in digging up clumps and tearing them apart the roots are broken. The plant can neither quickly grow new roots nor can it feed the bulb as it has no roots to take up what it needs. By waiting till the bulb is allowing the leaves to die back naturally the problem can be avoided.

Sheila
agree up to a point(have read the article) the word Damage is all important as I said to Karen.
I could send you Snowdrops without breaking the roots and they would flower next year.One of the problems with letting them die back is that they disappear in a matter of days and unless you have them well labelled you can end up chopping them in half they can also be a lot further down in the ground than expected, in my clay soil at least 6 ins to the top of the bulb, this could be because my soil dries out a lot in summer (normally)
I will stick to moving mine in the green as I know it works for me.
B

I've taken to labelling everything I plant, so my neighbours can learn along with me, so I know what's where and so I don't get them mixed up, when storing.
Three cheers for labels! :-)

Bjs I understand what you are saying as bulbs do bury themselves deeper but if buying from a commercial outfit one often hears tales of woe as you yourself have experienced. It can be very disappointing to have to wait a couple of seasons if you expect an instant white carpet. I'm lucky that we have established beds of snowdrops but I thought the link was worth adding so that if we want to share our own bulbs it is worth asking recipients to wait a while. Mouldy what are you using as labels. I find I have loads of labels with no names decipherable after the first year. It is a great idea to get the neighbours involved, you deserve a medal for giving community a capital 'C'.

Scotsgran
I am all for sharing all we find out If its useful to just one person its worth while.
Take your point,did buy one lot not intentionally dying down but they were and after 3/4 days in the post were a wet soggy mess, most of the suppliers who sell in bulk stop doing so before they die down.
I think once they have become dormant the moment has passed and forgotten until next year.

Well done, Brian ...
fascinating photos ! :o)

The plastic ones I bought from B&M, Scotsgran.
I use a permanent marker on those I put in the garden and use a pencil on those I need for sowing indoors.

Those are the standard white plastic ones which I use too. I made the mistake of thinking permanent marker is permanent when outside in all weathers. In future I will check them more often and rewrite the ones where the writing is doing a disappearing act. If i'm leaving labels outside I find writing and printing off the name and any details, then laminating them keeps better than anything else I have used.

It must be the pen, Scotsgran, as mine are still pristine, even after steeping in boiling water.

Mouldy you had better tell us the make or are you selling them on E bay.!

I'll have to check, B and let you know later.
I'm using a library computer, so am not at home now.

I was going to send you a private message , but have forgotten how ? Hee! Hee! X

Thank you sheila ! X

Just answered your pm.