I am not having the best luck with snowdrops either. Their first year, which was last year, I only had a few blooms. This year, I have seen 3 bloom so far.

Check out this website for snowdrops. She specilizes in all types of snowdrops and she ships them when they still have green leaves. If you pick up the plants they will be in bloom.

http://carolynsshadegardens.com/

KarenPa_6b.... Thank you for the website info regarding snowdrops. I contacted her and placed an order. They will be shipping later this month. Hoping I have better luck getting them established in this way than with bulbs in the fall. Have you ever ordered from her? Thanks again!

No, I have not ordered from her. I live about 1.5 hrs away from Bryn Marw. I am planning to attend the event at Winterthur so I can pick up a few plants from her then.

I've ordered from Carolyn before. The bulbs will come wrapped in damp paper towels, bareroot and ready to be planted. They looked great, here's a picture from last year.

Let me know if you want me to go on and on about snowdrops. I'm trying to be good and keep it short since I'm already afraid I'm turning into that person people avoid at parties because they're sick of hearing about snowdrops.

kato please keep talking about snowdrops. I love them and am looking forward to hearing/reading more about them. My 3rd snowdrop for this year is blooming. Hopefully the others will do the same and show their pretty little faces soon.

I agree.... Please, keep informing us about snowdrops. For years I have had no luck getting these plants established. What little success I've had with planting them in fall has been disappointing. They either don't come up at all... Or are dismal failures. In any case, they never make it a second season. I'm hoping to have better luck by using snowdrops "in the green". I've read this is really the only way to get them off to a good start.

Ok, I'll try to show a little self control!

It all started late 2012 with this post....Intro to a snowdrop obsession (I hope that's a clickable link). I had a few snowdrops already but for some reason that winter something snapped and I began to feel some horrible compulsion to add a few named snowdrops to my garden. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to stomach the $20 or so for a named drop, but apparently I could and have been getting into more and more trouble since.

The only bulbs which give me good results are the giant snowdrops (g. elwesii) which you find online or in garden centers in the fall. The bulbs are usually bigger (maybe quarter sized) and are a great value for getting a lot of variety all at once. If you get a bunch from a place like Brent and Becky's there's a good chance you might even get a few fall bloomers sprinkled in which is a nice way to start the season (October).

I rarely have good luck with any of the common snowdrops (g. nivalis) types. Even from a reputable source with bulbs that look perfect I have bad results, I think it has something to do with them not getting enough time to root before winter sets in. They may or may not sprout in the spring and then struggle to grow a decent sized bulb for the next season. I think ideally the nivalis types should be planted in July if you're planting dry bulbs, but that's just my opinion, nothing based on real hard facts.

I have good results (others not so much) with 'in the green' plants. After planting water them in well (as you would any transplant) and then if it's going to be warm I shade them with a branch or a chair or anything that will keep the direct sun off them. So far so good! Let them sit unbothered during the summer and fall, and I do think it helps a little to give them a little water even during the summer, since the nivalis types seem to prefer heavier, damper soils than the elwessi ones do.

Do you mind revealing the ones you did buy? Oh and Far Reaches Farm sells potted drops (probably finished blooming for the year since their season is way ahead of us) and there's a place called The Temple Nursery which also sells in the green (no online option and already sold out for the year I'm sure).

Karen- I was debating making the drive to Winterthur but it's over two hours and I don't think there will be much in bloom this year with the way winter is going.... plus some rescheduling would be required so I opted out.

So in case it's not obvious, I'm stuck on snowdrops and spend way too much time thinking about them. Good thing my bank account and better half have much more sense than I do otherwise I'd make way too many regrettable decisions and would already be putting together excuses for when the kids want to look at colleges and I have to explain the 'no money' situation.

I knew there was another source I was forgetting.... Linden Hills Gardens also sells 'in the green' online.

I'm kicking myself... we moved away from a house that had thousands of snowdrops. Everywhere I'd dig I'd end up finding more tiny bulbs, and so some would end up in the tomato beds (which they loved-- the mix of compost manure and straw in the soil made them multiply like I've never seen), the flower beds, the compost, the pots. They were everywhere!

And now, when I'm trying to get some for our new house, I see how expensive they are. Good grief! I should have been selling them instead of composting them. I'd pull them up like weeds from some of my beds.