In some forests and gardens, the whiteness of melting snow is replaced by the whiteness of snowdrops.Despite their small size, these tiny plants with dangling flowers at the turn of February and March are in possession of large areas of oak, beech and hornbeam forests.They especially like the moist, fertile soil on the banks of the streams. Wild, they can also be found in old cemeteries or parks.
The genus Galanthus includes about 20 species, one of which - the common snowdrop Galanthus nivalis - also known as snowdrop, naturally occurs in Poland, mainly in the south of the country.His two- or three-week spring performance can be admired in almost all Europe: from Asia Minor and Greece to Germany and France. It also settles in Great Britain and North America.
In Poland, the common snowdrop is a protected species, eagerly cultivated in gardens since the 16th century. Another species found in the gardens of Europe is the snowdrop Elwesa Galanthus elwesii from Asia Minor.It differs from the common snowdrop with wider leaves and pointed outer sepals.Its flowers appear even earlier.
Where to plant snowdrops? Here is the answer!
Snowdrops are typical small-bulb plants, many of which inhabit our forests and meadows: in early spring, when there are no leaves on the trees and a lot of sun reaches the undergrowth, small white flowers develop with three large external perianth plots and three small, inside, with green spots on the edge.Leaves start to develop simultaneously with the flowers, but their main development is in March and April.
In June, when the trees have developed their leaves and the forest is deeply shaded, the snowdrop leaves dry up and the plants are dormant. This is the best time to transplant snowdrop bulbs. Tak also most often reproduce in nature: onions are carried by animals, e.g. during digging or burrowing (onions are poisonous - they induce vomiting, so they are not eaten), and for longer distances they can also be transported by the current streams.The bulbs are planted 6-8 cm deep until mid-September.
Digging up snowdrop bulbs
It is best to dig up the bulbs in August and plant them in a permanent place at the beginning of September. The dug out onions (they resemble miniature narcissus onions) should not stay outside the ground for a long time.Stored for longer, they may dry out - it is worth paying attention to this, because the onions of this species available on the market are often not of the best quality. If necessary, store onions should be covered with sand or sawdust.
Seeds also play an important role in spreading plants. Ants contribute to their spreading, because the seeds are equipped with the so-called elajosome, or fat body, readily eaten by these insects. In horticultural practice, sowing seeds is quite unreliable.Seeds should be sown right after harvest in April, but even then only a small percentage of the seeds will emerge.
It is much better to reproduce snowdrops at the same time by dividing overgrown clumps, especially that this method of reproduction (similarly to bulbs) enables the reproduction of numerous varieties of this species. Among the many varieties of snowdrop we can find varieties with full flowers ('Plenus',' Dionysus'), stained differently than the species ('Saundersii', 'Viridapice') or with an interesting shape of perianth plots, e.g. Dig'gory '.
In the garden, snowdrops work best in naturalistic assumptions - they imitate those found in nature. If you want to color the white carpets of snowdrops, you can combine them with the winter rug Eranthis hiemalis, Scilla scilla or Primula primroses. It is worth planting snowdrops in the garden, because they play an important ecological role. They are honey plants, attractive to bees. As one of the first bee meals after winter, it contributes to the protection of these insects.
