Sunday 31 March 2013

Plant ident 06/02/2013 - Snowdrops & Conifers

In Britain the official date for spring is the 21st March, but this year the weather has stayed in the throes of winter for longer. The snowdrops are still around, whilst the first spring flowers peek out tentatively but hold themselves back. Here is an ident of snowdrops before they finally disappear...

Snowdrops - Liliaceae family.


From top left to right.

1. Galanthus 'Atkinsii' - the tallest & biggest one and a good self-coloniser.

2. Galanthus 'Hippolyta' - one of those that has a beautiful intricate pattern worth lifting its head to admire.


3. Galanthus nivalis - the common species snowdrop.

4. Galanthus 'S. Arnott' - which is one of the best ones for scent, like nivalis it is meant to smell like honey.


5. Galanthus 'Comet'

6. Galanthus sp.  - rare unknown one that is also really fragrant.

Conifer are also another good steadfast group of plants for winter. Here are a selection:

7. Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Tetragona Aurea' (Cupressaceae family)


8. Thuja occidentalis 'Rheingold' (Cupressaceae)


9. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Ellwoodii' (Cupressaceae)


10. Pinus mugo (Pinaceae)


11. Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' (Cupressaceae)

2 comments:

  1. Galanthus are my current favorites! Unfortunately I can't pick them to appreciate the scent, but I had fun the other day at Wave Hill trying to find as many different species/cultivars as possible. I was so excited to find they had some doubles (although not as pretty as 'Hippolyta') and two yellow ones!

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  2. Yes Hippolyta is the best defined of that kind of patterning that I have seen so far (I have also been doing a lot of snowdrop ogling this winter). These are just some of the snowdrops that we have at Dixter, there's a couple of yellow ones that are growing quietly in a corner as if in secret. You might have heard. but the most expensive snowdrop that has ever been sold Galanthus woronowii 'Elizabeth Harrison', was a yellow one.

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