Harbingers of spring, banishers of winter, snowdrops are welcomed perhaps as no other garden flower, emerging to signal the dark, dismal days are drawing to a close.
While the bulbs are available at retailers every fall, specialists in Galanthus agree that the better time to plant is in early spring. In fact, move, they say, when still blooming and the leaves are green.
Plant individual bulbs 3 inches (7.5 centimetres) apart, 4 inches deep (10 cm) in moist soil. Snowdrops will be best appreciated located close to walkways, beneath trees and shrubs, anywhere it is not necessary to wade through wet, cold grass to admire their delicate beauty. Those with woods who cannot wait for Trilliums must choose those areas as home to much earlier blooming Snowdrops.
While there are about 20 Galanthus species and many hybrids, the best known and most commonly available is G. nivalis. Native to large areas of Europe it has a larger relative further east in Asia Minor. The 'Giant Snowdrop,' G. elwesii, extends flower stalks 12 inches tall (30cm), also in spring. For the more adventuresome gardener there are the hybrids. But they may not be inexpensive. In 2011 a single bulb was sold for £350
As late as 1992 according to British folklore, recorded Roy Vickery (1995), Snowdrops, in common with some other white flowers, were considered to be inauspicious and bad luck. Botanist A. W. Anderson assures us though that the 'Fair Maids of February' were sacred to the Purification when the image of the Virgin Mary was taken from its place of honour so they could be scattered there. Altogether a more charming thought and reason for raising swathes of them.
Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.
