Hi All,
I thought I would resurrect this thread in order to bring folks up to date on the state of growing Snowdrops (Galanthus) specifically in the US. I posted a review of Cornovium Snowdrops in the Green Pages which you might be interested to read (link below). Most US bulb growers think there are only two kinds of Snowdrops, single and double. This is because that's pretty much all that Brent and Becky's or Sheeper's sells. In the UK and in Europe this is prime Snowdrop time and sales are being held all over with literally thousands of different varieties available. They have plants which have yellow markings on white flowers, plants with green outer petals, plants that are much larger than the common nivalis that we have, plants that stand straight upright with extended pedicles and curved spathes that are quite beautiful. Now those kinds of plants are available to gardeners in the US as well.
Here are all the sources I know of:
Far Reaches Farm - online and in person orders. These folks are from Port Townsend Washington and they run probably the best online nursery in America. They sell snowdrop plants in small pots. Orders will probably be available in late Spring. Right now everything is out of stock, but keep checking with them. Plants will likely be available in April and later.
http://www.farreachesfarm.com/...
Carolyn's Shade Gardens - online and in person shopping. She sells out quickly, and has rare and beautiful plants. You have to be on her mailing list and send an email in mid-winter to order bulbs. They will be dug in the Spring (probably April) and sent to you "in the green". They need to be planted right away. She is a collector and has rare varieties available.
http://carolynsshadegardens.co...
Linden Hill Gardens - located in New Jersey online and in person shopping. Jerry Fritz also sells out quickly. He has a limited number of varieties available. Once again ordering is done by sending an email.
http://lindenhillgarden.com/sn...
The Temple Nursery - located in Trumansburg NY, Hitch Lyman is a former professor at Cornell University and probably has the largest variety of Snowdrops available in the U.S. Unfortunately, you can't order online, through email or on the telephone. Here's how you order from him. In late Fall or Early Winter send a check for $4 with a note requesting a catalogue (The Temple Nursery PO Box 591 Trumansburg, NY 14886). The catalogues will be sent in January with a listing of the plants for sale in this particular year. Then you may place your order by mail. Alternatively, if you live in the area, these gardens are usually open through the Garden Conservancy and you can buy plants in person in April. Beautiful, rare, and often expensive plants.
Cornovium Snowdrops - located in Cheshire, UK, Jane and David Rowlinson have taken on the tasks of getting the proper phytosanitary and CITES certificates to be able to send bulbs directly to customers in the U.S. The shipping is more expensive because of the costs of that paperwork, but the bulb prices are very reasonable compared to the other sources in the U.S., and the bulbs are so much larger and more robust than U.S. sources. Orders are taken between January and March and shipped while dormant in the summer. This is the best way to buy and plant bulbs as you lose about a year's worth of growth when buying "in the green." They are currently taking orders, but many of the rarer varieties have started to sell out.
http://www.cornoviumsnowdrops....
Cornovium Snowdrops
If you want to join in on the fun, there is a new Facebook group called Snowdrops in American Gardens. Here's the link:
https://www.facebook.com/group...
Here are a few pictures of Snowdrops that have bloomed this year in Zone 5b
G. S. Arnott - this one you can get at regular bulb sources, but it's very nice. Upright and fragrant.
G. Blewbury Tart
G. Green Brush
G. Comet large and upright this one bloomed in December
Steve
