Blooming Galanthus

March 13, 2024

It's always exciting to see those first blooming bulbs emerge from the soil, but are those delicate white early spring flowers snowdrops or snowflakes?

Right now, those blooms are snowdrops, Galanthus - the nodding, crisp white flowers that open above clumps of strap-shaped leaves from January through March. I love Galanthus and have many different varieties here at my farm. The hardy fall-planted bulbs are easy to grow and multiply easily providing carpets of stunning blossoms every year.

Here are some photos, enjoy.

: The first white flowers of spring are the snowdrops. This is a snowdrop, Galanthus. The genus name refers to the white color of the flowers – gala is Greek for “milk,” while anthos is Greek for “flower”.

: Look closely, these are snowflakes, Leucojum.

: Snowdrops… characterized by three small inner petals and three outer petals, which are spoon shaped and longer than the inners.

: … And snowflakes, which are typically more lantern-shaped, with pointed, out-curved, green-blotched tips and segments that are each about the same length.

: It can be hard to distinguish from afar, and both flowers do share similarities, but they are different, especially in flower form.

: These are snowdrop bulbs. We plant them in the fall. Snowdrops should be planted in light to moderate shade and moist but well-drained soil.

: When they start to push through the soil, two or three dark green, strap-like leaves come up first and grow four to 10-inches tall.

: Galanthus or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, and native to Europe and the Middle East.

: One of the most cultivated is Galanthus nivalis, usually known as the garden snowdrop. Here is a view from above of the base of the flower, where it begins to nod.

: These flower heads can be ‘single’ – one layer of petals – or ‘double’ – multiple layers of petals. And notice the inner petals – they can be blotched heavily with green…

: … or just tipped lightly with color.

: Here is another variety with interesting markings and rounder outer petals. Some of the varieties I grow include ‘Hippolyta,’ elwesii ‘Mount Everest,’ elwesii ‘Polar Bear,’ nivalis ‘Magnet,’ ‘Sam Arnott,’ ‘ woronowii, plicatus Dionysus, nivalis ‘Viridi-apics,’ ‘Turncoat,’ ‘George Proverbs,’ and ‘Little Ben.’

: On this snowdrop, both the inner and the outer petals are blotched.

: And here, the inner petals are nearly all green.

: This snowdrop is double making it even more interesting.

: Underneath, one can see the multiple petals tinged in emerald green.

: While this one is smaller, more dainty in single form.

: Snowdrops don’t often multiply from seed in a garden, but they will multiply by offsets – new bulbs that grow attached to the mother bulb. And, Because the leaves are vital to build up the bulbs’ food reserves and allow new daughter bulblets to form, never trim or tie them into bunches.