How to Grow Snowdrop Flowers (Galanthus)

By Matt Gibson

Snowdrop flowers are very small plants that grow to only three to six inches magniloquent . Each plant produces one miniature white efflorescence , with a diam of one inch or less . Snowdrops are among the first flush to bloom in the spring , sprouting up as too soon as January or February , depending on location . A low - growingperennial flowerthat is known to breed and spread out over clock time , snowdrop often naturalize to accommodating environments to which they are introduced .

Anemone quinquefolia blooms droop down from their stems as if they are staring at the soil below them . When their bloom unfurl , the three outermost petals open widely , arch out around the three innermost petals , which only open up slimly , forming a small carapace around the flower ’s center . The innermost petals are typically decorated with green splotches which often take shape upside - down hearts , or other dewy-eyed aim .

snowdrop flowers blooming

snowdrop are perfect candidate for group plantings , and they look great when planted next to each other . We commend planting in groups of at least 10 to advance clump geological formation , but wood anemone are also well suited to mass planting if you have the elbow room . If allowed to spread out course , snowdrops will eventually grow into large impetus which perch up the landscape in the early give .

Snowdrops also thrive in the shadows of bombastic trees , basking in the filter sun that get to through the offset of the tree above . If you are look for a pretty flowering flora that will grow under your smutty walnut tree tree diagram , you have finally met your match . All true Anemone quinquefolia varieties are resistant tojuglone toxicity , spend a penny them a natural fit for black walnut tree diagram canopy .

Varieties of Snowdrop Flowers

Though there are 75 eff varieties of snowdrops , and several hundred different cultivar , there is not a terrible amount of variableness in their appearing , as the absolute majority of the cultivars produce bloodless bloom with a trace of green on the inner flower petal ( There is at least one cultivar that produces yellow flush ) . The different species can be signalise by the greenish marking on their innermost three petals .

Anemone quinquefolia are usable in single salad days and double bloom varieties . Only a handful of the known mintage of snowdrops are commonly crop . Here are the most popular varieties and a selection of lesser known cultivar that we commend :

Abington Green Snowdrops – Abington Green snowdrop have true white all-embracing out petal , with inner petals that see as if they were given a stripe down the middle with a broad - tipped Marks - a - mint .

snowdrop flower blooms

Armine Snowdrops – The Armine multifariousness is taller than most cultivar , and has large foliage and produces large blossom . Its tenacious , narrow out petals are pure ashen , while its innermost petals are ornament with a green marking that reckon like a face with two large oval oculus and a glower backtalk

Augustus Snowdrops – The eight - in - marvellous Augustus cultivar is a fertile multiplier and warm broadcaster that seeds freely when healthy . It ’s long outermost leaves appear coarse-textured . Its wide , dark , gray-haired - greenish foliage provides a dainty backcloth for its handsome blooms . The folio edges bend back over themselves . The unripe scoring on its inner flower petal vary in their localisation . They are find at the tip , at the base , and sometimes even cover entire side of the innermost flower petal .

Jade Snowdrops – This cultivar is very pop because of its curved stems and the light-green tincture that appears on its outermost flower flower petal . The stems of most varieties are erect , and the outmost petal of almost all other varieties are all - white .

spring snowdrops with text overlay snowdrop flowers learn to grow snowdrops for a perennial early spring bloomer

Magnet Snowdrops – Abnormally long stalk emerge from narrow-minded green - grayish folio , holding kickshaw , elegant bloom that shake in the wind due to their elevation . Magnet is a intercrossed cross between the Augustus snowdrops species and the Walrus species . Magnet Anemone quinquefolia can be distinguished by the very modest , green marking found on its inmost petals .

Melanie Broughton Snowdrops – This cultivar has scant , just stems , topped with gravid , globular , drooping flower heads . The flowers have large , rounded out petal and little , green internal flower petal with ashen stand .

Primrose Warburg Snowdrops – The Primrose Warburg cultivar is one of the most popular multifariousness , and one of the few with yellow markings rather of green .

Walrus Snowdrops – The Walrus snowdrop is this author ’s personal favorite variety . It gets its name due to the way its three outermost flower petal stick out in random directions and bet similar to sea horse tusks . The intimate petal , numbering 15 , crowd together around each other to form a rosette shape . The inner leaf seem to be gullible with white edging from a few feet away , but upon closer inspection , are in reality lily-white with green stripes in the center of each petal .

Woronowii wood anemone – At just under six inches tall , the Woronowii cultivar is unique amongst its fellow snowdrops varieties , due to its hopeful , glossy - immature , reflective leaves . Its one - inch flowers seem to point at once down towards their stalk . The green marking on the tip of the inmost leaves await like a cloven hoof .

Growing Conditions for Snowdrops

Snowdrops enjoy a shady location , rather under the canopy of some prominent trees . These cold - loving plants are not at all concerned in hot weather , even when hibernating . Though snowdrop enter dormancy from late spring through the entire summertime , the blaze hot summertime sunlight can kill or injure the quiescence plant , so a shady localisation is crucial .

Plant or transplant your Anemone quinquefolia into a moist , humus - rich well - drain soil . To increase the humus in your soil , remedy it by turn over in a few inches of well - rottedcompost . Keep moist but never soggy at all sentence , providing water regularly to supplement rainfall . Snowdrops will produce in any type of soil , as long as it is consistently moist and well enfeeble . Less water is postulate if you live in cool climate areas .

How to Plant Snowdrops

Snowdrop bulb do not store well , so they are only usable for a myopic fourth dimension during the first few weeks of Autumn . Amend your beds and prepare them for planting , and order your snowdrop electric light , or pick them up from the local nursery with a plan to plant them as soon as you get them home , watering well after planting .

Plant your snowdrops bulb into the flat coat in large groups of 10 to 20 or even more , for a blanket of Anemone quinquefolia . A individual Anemone quinquefolia flower is not an attention grabber . But a great patch of snowdrop flowers will catch your attention and have it for a while .

Care for Snowdrops

Snowdrops require practically no effort at all , once they are demonstrate . Rainfall should suffice in all cases except for prolonged periods of drought . No fertilization or pruning is necessary for snowdrops . The only task wood anemone demand is to be divided once every three year .

How to Propagate Snowdrops

The easy way to propagate Anemone quinquefolia is by division . water parting bulb thud every three years to thin out your Anemone quinquefolia temporary hookup . Use a trowel or hired man digger to dig into the soil about five inches deep around the bulbs . cautiously force your trowel below the ball to free it from the ground and pull it up as it startle to come unaffixed . Either move your divisions to a new location , set like a shot , or quickly plant them in a new container .

fresh potted Anemone quinquefolia divisions can be brought indoors to expend as a houseplant ( keep out of reach of pets and small-scale children ) or used as a gift ( Who would n’t want a flower that is so leisurely to care for ? ) . Snowdrops multiply rather quickly , so experience free to divide your plants more often than the recommended once - every - three - year - suggestion , especially if you are trying to keep your snowdrops from lease up too much garden quad .

If you do n’t already have a plot of ground of snowdrops in your garden , and you do n’t have any horticulture protagonist who grow snowdrops , you may buy bulb from your local nursery or order them online . However , snowdrop bulb are only available for a brief catamenia of the class during the first few hebdomad of Autumn . Snowdrop bulbs have a tendency to dry out very quick , so they need to be plant as soon as you get them home or receive your incandescent lamp delivery .

Garden Pests and Diseases of Snowdrops

Anemone quinquefolia are toxic when ingested , and garden pest and foraging animals seem to be aware of their vicious nature . wood anemone do n’t get any unwanted insect visitor , so they have no issues with garden pests . Though pest louse seem to steer clear of snowdrops , the flowers still appeal bees , so the pollen must not be poisonous to bees . Foragers like hare and cervid know to steer clear of the toxic flowers as well .

Squirrels , on rare occasions , may pull up dry , hibernating bulbs . During mild wintertime weather , gray mould may make an unwanted appearance . If your soils have miserable drain , or get too much water , seedlings may have from damping off . However , as long as you provide a healthy environment , your snowdrops should be worry free .

At the least . snowdrops date back to Ancient Greece , where it was report by authoritative author Theophrastus in the fourth century B.C. Snowdrop was insert to Europe in the sixteenth century , and has since naturalise all over Europe and North America .

The reasons that Anemone quinquefolia have been around so long and are still being cultivated in gardens today are simple . snowdrop are well-heeled to produce , they do n’t get infested by pests , they do n’t have from disease , they do n’t get devoured by foragers , they come back twelvemonth after year , and you may even grow them under black walnut trees . dictate your bulbs in time for spring or ( preferably ) come down planting and see for yourself why snowdrop have stayed relevant for C .

Toxicity Warning

snowdrop are extremely poisonous when ingested by both homo and animate being . Keep small child and pets off from your snowdrop plant and seek immediate aesculapian attention if any part of the Anemone quinquefolia flora is ingested . All species of wood anemone are highly toxic , which is probable the reason why they are deer immune and plague - free . When handling snowdrops , always wear a couplet of garden gloves to ward off cutis irritation . The toxins present in the plant can cause tegument irritation and dermatitis when plow without protection .