It is a real spectacle when the snowdrops begin to bloom despite the cold. We show how you can plant snowdrops yourself.
Snowdrops (Galanthus) are one of the first in the New Year to stretch their fresh greens out of the ground. It almost seems as if they are hiding in the last snow with their slightly hanging white flowers to carefully explore the area for the still sleeping nature. These scouts can also find their way into your house and garden. We have put together everything you need to know so that you can give your snowdrops the best possible support from the moment they are planted.
Snowdrops: A short profile
After a long winter, everyone longs for the moment when the first green leaves emerge from the cold earth and carefully explore the new year. With their delicate white blossoms, snowdrops mark the change from a winter landscape to a spring meadow. Matching the white petals, the botanical name Galanthus is derived from the Greek words gála for milk and ánthos for flower. Snowdrops form a genus within the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). The perennial, herbaceous plants have two, rarely three, basal petals and grow up to 35 cm high. The single, fragrant flower is on a long stalk and hangs slightly.
Snowdrop flowering time
Depending on the species, you can enjoy the dainty white flowers from October to April. Most of these fragile-looking early bloomers break their heads through the layers of snow in January and February. There are only three species like Queen Olga's snowdrops (Galanthus reginae-olgae), which bloom in autumn. Snowdrops are pollinated by insects. Nectar and pollen serve as food for bees, but are scorned when a better food source presents itself.
Snowdrop species and varieties
There are a total of 20 different types of snowdrops and around 500registered varieties. Most species are found in the countries around the Black Sea. The species native to us is the small snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis). This species, along with giant snowdrops (Galanthus elwesii) and Woronov's snowdrops (Galanthus woronowii) are the most commonly sold ornamental plants. The following varieties are particularly beautiful:
- 'Big Boy': very large and massive flowers
- 'Cordelia': double, large flowers
- 'Green Tear': green petals
- 'Wendy's Gold': yellow ovary, large markings
- 'April Fool': late flowering (April)
- 'Samuel Arnott': robust, vigorous, good for beginners
The different flower colors and shapes show that snowdrops are much more diverse than a white flower on a long stem. If you've got snowdrop fever, you can find out more about the different types and varieties of snowdrops here.
Planting snowdrops: location, planting time and procedure
The undemanding snowdrop feels so comfortable in the right location that whole bunches of green stalks and leaves quickly form over daughter bulbs. If the bulbs are planted optimally and cared for a little, year after year more snowdrops will herald the transition to spring in your garden.
The right place for snowdrops
If you consider the needs of the bulb when choosing a location, you will be rewarded with hardy and floriferous snowdrops that find their way through the earth's crust year after year.
- Location: semi-shady to shady
- Soil: rich in humus, loose, water-storing
- Soil pH: alkaline to neutral
Snowdrops can be planted alone or together with other early bloomers such as crocus (Crocus), cyclamen (Cyclamen) or hyacinth ( Hyacinthus) compete to flower in beds or pots. Its white flowers shine as underplanting for deciduous hedges or perennials between bare branches. Many snowdrops, such as the 'Maximus' variety, are well suited to naturalising in the lawn or between ground covers.
Note: Because of the acidic soil conditions, snowdrops don't like a spot at the feet of conifers.
When is snowdropPlanting time?
The bulbs are best planted in late summer to September. In this way, the first roots can form before the first longer frost and the little plants will sprout vigorously from the soil next year. Planting in spring is also possible. The onions that are available in specialist shops often no longer sprout because they have dried out too much. You can also buy young plants instead. These can be planted out at any time. It should just be frost free.
Procedure for planting snowdrops
Planting snowdrop bulbs, like all gardening, takes effort. However, if you keep the following points in mind when planting snowdrops, your effort will be rewarded with plenty of blooms the following spring.
- Planting hole: 5 - 8 cm deep
- Planting distance: 10 - 15 cm
- Put the onion in the planting hole with the tip pointing upwards
- Fill the planting hole loosely with soil
- Pour vigorously
There is no need to plant large groups because large clumps quickly form over daughter bulbs. In the case of onions grown in pots, the onion is not completely buried. It should stick out about an inch from the ground. Once the onions have moved into their intended place in the garden, the dainty-looking plants can prove how robust they are with a little care. Even frost doesn't bother them. They just pause growing until it gets warmer.
- Fertilization: Not necessary, substrate that is too nutrient-rich encourages the leaves and not the flowering
- Watering: Always keep moist; Don't let onions dry out in summer
- Clearing out withered inflorescences; Remove leaves after wilting
Cleaning out prevents seed formation, which costs the snowdrop a lot of energy. So remove the leaves only after they have wilted; nutrients migrate from the leaves into the bulb. If the lawn has become overgrown, wait until after the lawn has wilted before mowing.
Transplant snowdrops
Snowdrops should be transplanted between February and the end of March. Plants are at their most resilient when in full bloom and with green leaves. The leaves and stems serve as a source of nutrients for the onion. Therefore, the plants are not cut back when transplanted. If the ground is frost-free, the division is taken in hand and transplanted:
- Plantsdig out
- Separate onions (daughter onions are used for propagation)
- Dig planting holes at a sufficient distance
- Place plant in planting hole
- Pour vigorously
In a pinch, snowdrops can also be transplanted in the fall. However, the probability of survival is lower because the bulbs are weakened by the thriving life of the flowering period. Pot plants can be transplanted at any time. It should just be frost free.
Planting snowdrops in a pot
Snowdrops are not only a delight in the bed. They can also be cultivated in pots to herald spring on the balcony or terrace. To ensure that the forest and meadow plant feels well tamed in the pot, the following must be observed:
- Planter: at least four times as high as the bulb
- Drainage layer of gravel or potsherds at the bottom of the planter
- Planting period: September to November (bulbs)
- 5 bulbs/ planting hole
- Pot with onions until germination in a dark place at 4 °C
- Keep soil slightly moist
- From germination outdoors or other brighter, cool location
- Watering: water well; always keep soil slightly moist; no waterlogging
- Fertilization: 1x after flowering
- Clean out withered inflorescences
Pre-cultivated onions are planted in January to February. The pots are then immediately placed in the space provided for them. The soil in the pot must not freeze completely. In severe frost, the pots should be moved to a cool, frost-free location such as a basement or gazebo.
Propagating snowdrops yourself
Snowdrops can be propagated by seeds and by dividing the daughter bulbs. So you can expand your white sea of flowers year after year.
Sowing and growing snowdrops from seeds?
Snowdrops can be propagated by seed, with the exception of a few sterile varieties. You can either buy them in specialist shops or harvest them yourself. You will get your own seeds if you refrain from cleaning out withered inflorescences at the end of the flowering period. The seed pods are usually ripe in April and can be harvested. The brown seeds are best sown in a seed tray with a foil hood. The following must be taken into account:
- Store seeds for 4 weeks at -4 to 4 °C (cold germ)
- Sow seeds 1 cm deep (dark germ)
- Soil: moist, humus rich soil
- idealLocation: shady in summer, semi-shady in spring
- Germination time: 4 to 6 weeks
- plant outdoors in autumn
The cold period is needed so that the seeds germinate more evenly and better. Ants help you with natural propagation via seeds. They propagate the snowdrop seed without your help. This type of distribution is called myrmecochory. Unfortunately, it can take three to four years for seedlings to flower.
Propagating snowdrops over daughter bulbs
If you want to have flowering snowdrops in the following year through your own propagation, you can fall back on dividing the plant. Snowdrops are bulb flowers. The onion consists of thickened bracts. It serves as a survival organ for the winter and for reproduction. Many small daughter bulbs are formed, which in turn sprout and bloom, forming dense clumps. This is how you proceed if you want to divide the clumps and plant the daughter bulbs in a new place:
- Bulbs come out of the ground when flowering is over and leaves are still green
- Daughter onions are removed by hand
- Plant the onions right away
- Flowering next spring
A piece of the bottom plate of the onion must remain on the daughter onions. There the suction root is formed. Put the bulbs right back into the ground so they don't dry out. The dug up bulbs can also be stored in a cool and dry place and then planted in the ground in September. However, giant snowdrops (Galanthus elwesii) rarely develop side bulbs.
Snowdrops poisonous or not?
With snowdrops, the quantity makes the poison. However, the critical dose for this magic limit is not known. When eating less than three onions, drinking plenty of water is usually sufficient. If there is not only increased salivation, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but also circulatory disorders with sweating and drowsiness, then you should definitely see a doctor. Chemical compounds found in all narcissus plants (Amaryllidaceae) are to blame for these symptoms of poisoning. Amaryllidaceae alkaloids kill cells and are toxic to humans and animals. Nevertheless, snowdrops have been used in folk medicine for a very long time. More about thatFind out in our article "Snowdrops: poisonous or harmless?".
Because snowdrops bloom so early in the year, they are particularly attractive to insects. Check out this article for more insect-friendly flowers.