Snowdrops at Marchants Hardy Plants

Posted:21 January 2020

Calling all galanthophiles!  Visit our friends at Marchants Hardy Plants – Saturday 25 January 2020 – 10.00am till 4.00pm – to view their stunning collection.

Marchants Hardy Plants, 2 Marchant’s Cottages, Mill Lane, Laughton, East Sussex, BN8 6AJ

Below the Marchants Snowdrops 2020 Catalogue:

We have grown Snowdrops for over 35 years, 21 of them here at Marchants. Our aim has always been to add good garden worthy snowdrops to our collection and having been grown and tested in our heavy clay our list reflects this fact. Our mantra remains firm: What grows for us will surely grow better for you! We always manage to have a number of rarities too for collectors so there should be a snowdrop here to suit every palette.

Collection of Snowdrops from Marchants. Plants can be collected at the show above in person or from the Nursery after the show until the 8^th February 2020. If this is the case email us with your requirements so that a mutually convenient time for collection can be arranged. Cash/card payment to be made on collection & do please also note: for pre orders, we require at least 3 days notice.

Email address : graham@marchantsplants.plus.com : Telephone 01323 811737 (Early evening best)

IMPORTANT!! – Mail order by negotiation only. Please email with your wish list which can then be discussed and terms agreed.  Minimum order of £35.00 (excluding postage) I’m afraid.

Bulbs offered are freshly divided from clumps in the garden and are best quality, believed to be true to name and are priced per bulb. Our descriptions are necessarily brief but should you wish to seek further information aquire‘Snowdrops: A monograph of cultivated Galanthus’ by Matt Bishop, Aaron Davis and John Grimshaw published by the The Griffin Press. This is a serious book and you will need to know the difference between your spathes and your pedicels. The internet also provides a great source of information.

Availability list 2020

Species

1. elwesii ‘Don Armstrong’. A wonderfull plant that has settled well here. A large

and distinct poculiform. Remains scarce. Yours at a good price!……….. ……….. £25.00

1. elwesii ex Herbert Ransome. Large flower, short stature. A distinct snowdrop and one of

our great favourites. Given to me by Dr R. Mackenzie.  ……….. £7.50

8. e.‘Peter Gatehouse’. A very early elwesii cheering us in Oct./Nov. ……….. £8.00
9. e. ‘Plummet’. Our own fine seedling, strong, upright with very long pedicel. Certainly

distinct in our own collection. 2006, a seedling of ‘Chelsworth Magnet’? ……….. £10.00

7. e. var monostictus ‘Roger’s Rough’. V. large & early Jan. flowering snowdrop. ……….. £7.50
8. elwesii ‘Washfield Form’. A very uncommon form which I have been growing for

over 35 years. A substantial snowdrop over 30cm tall when grown well………… £15.00

12. e. ‘Yvonne Hay’. A bonny lass, big, bold and beautiful. ……………….. £12.00
13. nivalis ‘Anglesey Abbey’. A highly distinct nivalid bearing green leaves & poculiform

flowers. Easy to spot from a distance. ……….. £9.00

10. n. ‘Greenish’. An old, uncommon green cultivar. Being a nivalis, small& late. ……….. £10.00
11. n. ‘S. Arnott’. Needs no introduction. ……….. £5.00
12. n. ‘Scharlockii’. Brought from Washfield. Has always remained v. small with me. ……….. £4.50
13. n. ‘Tiny’. The smallest snowdrop we grow. Came with me from Washfield

and has been maintained as a clone for over 30 years.  ……….. £4.00

7. n. ‘Wonston Double’. A charming small nivalis with incredibly tight double flowers. ……….. £7.50
8. p. ‘Gerard Parker look Alikes’. I wonder how many pure colonies of this large

flowered plicatus exist? Mine certainly isn’t! I’ll select a lookalike for anyone

wishing to grow this super, free seeding snowdrop.  ……….. £8.00

1. p. ex Jane Streatfeild. A striking silver channelled leaf (otherwise green) and a very long

pedicel make for a very fine, distinct Snowdrop. This is Not ‘Fly Fishing’ which is a

form of elwesii……….. £8.00

1. p. ‘Henham No1’. A John Morley find, the green inners looking like a well buttoned

up waistcoat. A good, strong grower.. ……….. £8.00

8. p. ‘Patricia Ann’. Short, wide leaved form with basal/apical markings. Rare. ……….. £8.50

 

Hybrids and forms

 

1. ‘Armine’. The large flower is suspended on a long pedicel, the sinus mark is slim

and well chiselled……….. £8.00

1. ‘Atkinsii’. An elegant snowdrop and a good starter plant on account of its good behaviour

and good constitution.   ……….. £5.00

7. ‘Bill Bishop’. An extremely large flowered snowdrop with a short habit. ………… £7.00
8. ‘Cowhouse Green’. Subtly flushed green on the outer segments. Has been about for

Many years but does need a little care. ……….. ……….. £12.50

12. ‘Fieldgate Prelude’.……….. ……….. £12.00
13. ‘Fieldgate Superb’. ……….. ……….. £15.00
14. ‘Fubsy’. A squat fellow (plicatus subsp. Byzantinus) with broad , silver channelled

leaves & small flowers with a broad green X mark on inner segments. ……….. £10.00

1. ‘Green Corset’. Both this and ‘Verdured Waistcoat’ are from the same stable being

plicatus seedlings found in my Mother’s garden.  The inner green marking takes the

form of a slender green corset. Not that I know much about these things. ……….. £12.00

1. ‘Icicle’. A rarity from Old Court Nursery (Percy Picton) with substantial flowers and

one of the very last to flower. ……….. £13.50

1. ‘Imbolc’. Distributed by PrimroseWarburg. A solid snowdrop, short but with

big , quality flowers.  ……….. £8.00

12. ‘Ivy Cottage Corporal’.……….. ……….. £12.00
13. ‘Jaquenetta’. Noted for its doubled petticoat of dark green inners. ……….. £6.00
14. ‘Ketton’. An old classic cultivar and a super garden plant. Subtle markings including

a very slender Chinese Bridge sinus mark. No garden should be without it.  ……….. £7.00

1. ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’. An early neat double with pinched outers.

A characterful snowdrop over 50 years old & easy to recognise at a distance. ……….. £5.00

6. ‘Lerinda’. An early ‘Arnott’ type, large flowered. ……….. £6.00
7. ‘Marchant’s lime Pea’. Our own with showy lime green ovary. Gracilis blood is

lurking here somewhere. A super thing. ……….. ……….. £18.00

12. ‘Modern Art’. An E.B. Anderson selection now old, similar ro viridapicis. ……….. £12.50
13. ‘Primrose Warburg’. A fabled handsome and strong yellow ovaried snowdrop………… £15.00
14. ‘Sutton Court’. Discovered by Veronica Cross. A large snowdrop, the ilk of Arnott

but hailed as even bigger and better. ……….. ……….. £8.50

1. ‘Verdured Waistcoat’ You’ve guessed! Inner marking like an 18^th C. waistcoat

In a fetching green. Strong, clumping well. ……….. ……….. £12.00

1. ‘Washfield Colesbourne’. A benchmark selection with deep green inners.

Now quite rare………… ……….. £10.00

1. ‘Washield Colesbourne Seedling’. A seedling selected by myself 20 years or more ago.

The difference to its parent is not huge. There’s honesty.     ……….. ……….. £10.00

G.’ Washfield Titania’. Matt Bishop’s name for this form, a beautiful Greatorex double

with regular segments and being sterile, a strong constitution.  ……….. ……….. £7.50

8. ‘Wrightson’s Double’. A unique, neat, chunky elwesii double. Scarce ……….. £8.00

In 2014 I received a generous package of various forms of nivalis ‘Scharlockii’ which we all affectionately know as the Mules Ear Snowdrop on account of the split spathe effect. There were 20 clones altogether and we offer for the first time from division 3 distinct clones. My deepest thanks to great Belgian plantsman Johann Mens for this generous gift. Please note the plants are sold under their accession numbers as they have yet to be named. All exhibit Scharlockii characteristics with varying depth of green in the outer segments. Very charming.

Galanthus nivalis Scharlockii CH47……….. £15.00

G.n.S. BEG – 2014 ……….. £15.00

G.n.S AK15  ……….. £15.00

ADDITIONS: We also have very small numbers of the following ‘specials’ available. 1 bulb per customer sold on a first come first served basis.

10. ikariae. Distinct green leaves and bold inner. Becoming rare………… ……….. £10.00
11. ‘Kite’. A large flowered elwesii, often producing 2 flowers per stem Leaves v. glaucous

and always an early bird with us. ……….. £10.00

12. ‘Lapwing’. Intricate inner marking. Much sought after. ……….. £12.50
13. n. ‘Ginn’s imperati’. . Arguably the most highly scented snowdrop (of  mountain

Honey). Lovely for picking.  Good constitution………… £8.50

1. plicatus. ‘Dumpy’. Given to me by Dr R. MacKenzie in 2006 under this name

Short, broad leaf and very pleasant. Questionable name?……….. £10.00

G . plicatus ‘Three Ships’. John Morley’s Christmas flowering treasure. ……….. ……….. £12.50

10. ‘Trym’. ……….. ……….. £10.00

Proprietor: Graham Gough, 2 Marchants Cottages, Mill Lane, Laughton, East Sussex, BN8 6AJ

www.marchantshardyplants.co.uk/ email: graham@marchantsplants.plus.com

  Telephone 01323 811737

And finally……..

Snowdrops and their cultivation

Snowdrops are not difficult to grow but it is worth observing a few rules of thumb. They do not enjoy dense shade, nor do they like stagnant, badly drained soil. Good drainage is therefore a must. Acid or lime soils seem to make little difference – they can flourish on both. That said, they prosper on thin chalk soils, encouraging for those of you who garden on this hungry type of soil. Dappled shade can also be advantageous though many Snowdrops will also prosper in full sun. The fact is they are very amenable and associate well with virtually all late winter and early spring flowering plants.

When your bulbs begin to clump (3/4 years), you can then increase your stock by dividing them. Clumps left to their own devises can ‘go back’ or worse still, die out altogether. Division usually takes place when plants are ‘In the green’, during or after flowering  (though most books will tell you to do it after).

We have noticed little difference. Having gently teased a clump apart, it is important to plant at the same depth or deeper if the bulbs have risen to the surface, adding a little bone meal /seaweed meal to help give your snowdrops a good re-start. On heavy soils the addition of sharp grit is efficacious.

Any remaining nurture should be left to Mother Nature. Lastly, always label your snowdrops well. Push labels into the soil in front of and behind your clumps making sure they are just at soil level. And out of harms way. You will then have 2 reference points to discover its name if you have forgotten.