Snowdrops (Galanthus) are flowers that say “winter is over.” They symbolize the garden that is about to spring into life again.
And these small, pretty white flowers are almost completely maintenance free. Plant them and they will grow.
Snowdrop Days or “Snowdrop Walk” is the first event of the garden visit season. The National Garden Scheme has “Snowdrop Days” in February.
One of these is Dodington Place Gardens in Kent (opened February 16th).
Dodington Place Gardens has Snowdrop Day on February 16th
So I asked gardener Lucy Adams to tell us what we need to know about growing snowdrops in our own garden.
Snowdrops grow in the UK and most of Europe. A place where winter does not exceed minus 40c/minus 40f.
And they prefer milder summers, such as the typical British summer, where average temperatures rarely exceed 24c/75f. It’s zone 3-8 in the US and 3-9 in Canada.
However, some snowdrop varieties are not robust, so buy a snowdrop locally to see how durable it is.
And don’t miss out on how to grow daffodils and tulips after growing snowdrops!
How to plant snowdrops
Like most professional gardeners, Lucy plantes “snowman in the greenery.” That means that the flowers are dead, but the plant still has green leaves.
You can purchase “Snowdrops in the Green” from online suppliers, local nursery, or from expert snowdrop fairs.
Bulbs are dug and sold in batches – everything from about 20-100 plants.
Order anytime until the end of winter. They then arrive early in the spring. Once they arrive, Lucy suggests you split some of them.
“Plant some in groups and plant others alone,” she advises. “It will help them spread and look naturalistic.”
Plant some snowdrops in groups, others plant alone for a naturalistic appearance. It lifts and divides large chunks each year to help spread.
However, you can also purchase a snowdrop bulb in autumn (fall) and then plant it. Plant at 2-3 times the depth of the bulb, about 10-15cm/5 inches deep.
It is generally thought that it would be better to plant them “green,” but planting them as light bulbs gives you snowdrops.
Place to plant for a magical winter garden
Plant it in the grass, under trees and shrubs that have lost their leaves in the winter, along the sides of the pathway, anywhere you see in winter, or in front yards.
They are perfect “forest garden” or “cottage garden” plants, so the trick is to plant “naturally”.
Lucy says if you’re planting bulbs, throw a handful into the area you want to plant, then plant them where they fall.
The plants are “green” and plant them in groups of different sizes and several single groups.
“Don’t plant them in a continuous way. There are no blocks or straight lines,” says Lucy. Plant them in “drift” rather than lines.
Like this planting around the fireplace at Dosington Place Garden, drops of snow are planted in “drifts” rather than straight lines.
Why are there too many snowdrops over the years?
If you are planting borders, Lucy suggests you mark in some way where they are.
Otherwise, when planting borders or weeds, you could accidentally dig them. The bulbs are so small that you may not notice them.
I’ve done this several times. If the leaves die in spring, there are no signs of snowdrops on the ground. So I drove them out when planting annuals.
Lessons I don’t think I should plant snowdrops at the border. There are many other places where they can grow in peace.
Can snowdrops grow in the shade?
These plants are not happy in the perfect shade, Lucy says. But they don’t even need full sun (When I checked this on the internet, it seems AI thinks snowdrops need full sun. Don’t let them know!)
The great thing about snowdrops is that they grow well under deciduous trees and shrubs. They are ideal “forest rim plants.”
This is because “decay” means losing leaves in autumn. So, at the end of winter, emerging snowdrops are full of sunlight.
After that, many trees and shrubs do not get full leaf cover until the end of spring. By then, the snowdrop will slump and die. They disappeared completely under the Earth and returned to the next winter.
Snowdrops can be planted under trees. The photo above shows Wellintonia Avenue in Dodington Place Gardens. They are evergreen, but the lower branches are cut so that they can shine light on the lower bulb. The above shows a deciduous tree with a snowdrop at its base. They get the winter sun as the trees lose their leaves in autumn.
Lucy says snowdrops don’t grow well in the shade and therefore they can’t usually be planted under evergreens or shrubs. However, there are two exceptions.
First, snowdrops often grow at the edge of evergreen canopies, as sufficient sunlight usually reaches there.
Secondly, if the lower branches are removed to inhale more sunlight, you can often grow them under evergreen trees. Dodington Place Gardens has the spectacular paths of Wellington, all without snowdrops planted. However, these trees have a very tall canopy, with all the lower branches removed.
What type should you develop?
“I buy different types of snowdrops,” advises Lucy. Some varieties have snowmen, each with many cultivars, allowing many flowers to bloom in different heights and different flower shapes.
Galanthus nivalis or the general snowdrops are the best variety for beginners, but they are all very trouble so buy the snowdrops available in your area.
Look for snowdrops of different heights and flowers of different shapes. Dodington Place Gardens buys a mix of varieties each year to add to your collection.
Mixing adds interest, but it appears best not to mix them into chunks. For example, one of the Galanthus Elwesii might have several single snowdrops scattered in addition to the chunks of Galanthus Nivalis.
Some people are very interested in these magical winter flowers and collect hundreds of varieties. They are called the Gallant Files.
How to grow snowdrops in a pot
Like most plants, snowdrops grow well in pots. The important thing is to make sure you have good drainage.
If the soil/potted compost remains wet for too long, the bulbs will rot.
Otherwise, plant the snowdrops 2-3 times the depth of the bulb, as if on the ground.
The only difference is that they need fertilizer after they flower. And you need to water the pan so that it doesn’t dry out completely.
Here you will find more information on cultivating plants in pots.
Snowdrop Care Guide
This should be the shortest care guide in gardening history! Snowdrops requires virtually no attention once it is established.
There is no need to add fertilizer to the planting holes. Also, there is no need to add fertilizer later after the flowers die.
There is no dead head. And don’t cut down on the leaves! They will be exposed to the sun to make flowers for next year.
The only care this enchanting winter flower needs is water after planting “green” especially if you have a dry spring.
If you are planting bulbs in autumn (Autumn), you probably don’t need to water them unless there is a very dry winter.
Do snowdrops grow through bark, grass, gravel, or mulch?
Yes, they will, Lucy says. Dodington Place Gardens doesn’t necessarily clean the leaves when they fall off the tree in the fall. Leaves remain in areas where snowdrops grow. The worms help them to break down, and they turn into rich, nutritious mulch for future generations of plants.
Leave the leaves for more information on where and how to clean up in the fall.
Snowdrops also grow through mulch. Rock gardens have gravel and garden sand. The plant grows through it.
Snow drops grown through the gravel and gardening grit of a rock garden. Learn how to create a rock garden here.
They are also happy to grow up on the grass.
How long does it take for a snowdrop to grow?
Planting bulbs in autumn will cause flowers to bloom in a few months. If you are buying “Green”, you will see flowers at the end of the next winter.
However, developing a “snowdrop garden” or “snowdrop walk” is a long-term project, unless you have the time and money to plant tens of thousands of bulbs at once.
At Dodington Place Gardens, Old Fields has been added to Snowdrop collections for nearly 30 years each year.
There are two ways to grow your collection. One is to buy some new plants each year. The other is to lift and split the snowdrop clumps in the spring before the leaves return.
What do you plant with snowdrops?
Plants that flower simultaneously include Heleboles, Winter Aconite (Elanthus), Primulus and Primulus.
Winter aconite (Elanthus) with snowdrops.
Helleboles is a good companion plant. This white hellebore looks gorgeous with its white snowdrops.
Why can’t I raise snowdrops?
If you plant a snowdrop but don’t have small white flowers in the next winter, it’s probably your climate. If the weather is hot and dry or too cold and wet, these small bulbs will not grow.
They are not fussy about the type of soil, so there is no “the best soil for snowdrops”. However, Lucy says she doesn’t like sitting in very wet, heavy clay soil. And they don’t like to bake and dry bulbs in the hot summer.
Plus, of course, if they are on the border, you can accidentally dig into them.
Is snowdrops invasive?
no. They are native to Europe and are a cooler part of the Middle East, but spread all over the world without causing any problems.
In many places, they are called “naturalization.” This means they have grown in the wild for hundreds of years and are part of the ecosystem.
Other Cottage Garden and Forest Garden Ideas
Discover the 25 best cottage garden plants here. Click here to learn more about “cottage garden style and how to achieve it.”
One of the best things you can do if your garden has lots of trees or shade is to make the most of them. Lucy has some tips here on how to make something perished in your garden.
It is also important to maintain those trees, even if the forest garden is a few trees in one corner. It’s expensive to get into a good tree surgeon, but it’s worth paying for the expertise. You just need to prun the trees every 3-4 years, but you don’t want the branches hacked by amateurs to be hacked.
What should you know before calling a tree surgeon and what is the difference between an arboretum, an arboretum, a chainsaw man?
See Snowdrop Gardens for more information.
Pin to remember growing snowman in your garden
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