Planting snowdrops: tips for pots and beds

It is a real spectacle when the snowdrops begin to bloom despite the cold. We show how you can plant snowdrops yourself.

snowdrop (Galanthus) are one of the first to stretch their fresh greens out of the ground in the new year. It almost seems as if they are hiding in the last snow with their slightly hanging white flowers to carefully scout out the surroundings 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.

Snowdrop: 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. The botanical name derives from the white petals Galanthus 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 flower stem 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 as soon as a better food source is available.

Snowdrop Species and Varieties

There are a total of 20 different snowdrop species and around 500 registered varieties. Most species are found in the countries around the Black Sea. The species native to us is the small snowdrop (Galantus nivalis). This species, as well as giant snowdrops (Galanthus elwesii) and Voronov snowdrop (Galanthus woronowii) are most commonly sold commercially as ornamental plants. The following varieties are particularly beautiful:

• 'Big Boy': very large and massive flowers
• 'Cordelia': full, 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 stalk. If you've got snowdrop fever, you can read more about the different types here Types and Varieties of the Snowdrop to find out.

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 respond to the needs of the bulb when choosing the location, you will robust and floriferous snowdrops that make their way through the earth's crust year after year Find.

• Location: semi-shady to shady
• Soil: rich in humus, loose, water-storing
• Soil pH: alkaline to neutral

Snowdrops can grow alone or with other early bloomers such as crocus (Crocus), garden cyclamen (cyclamen) or hyacinths (Hyacinthus) flowering in a flower bed or pot. 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.

notice: Because of the acidic soil conditions, snowdrops do not like a place at the feet of coniferous trees.

When is snowdrop planting 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

Like any gardening task, planting snowdrop bulbs 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
• Place the bulb in the planting hole with the tip pointing upwards
• Fill the planting hole loosely with soil
• Water 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 simply take a break from growing until it is warmer again.

• Fertilizer: Not necessary, substrate that is too nutrient-rich promotes foliage and not flowering
• Watering: Always keep moist; Do not let onions dry out in summer
• cleaning out withered inflorescences; Remove leaves only after they have wilted

Cleaning 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 late 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:

• dig up plants
• Separate onions (daughter onions are used for propagation)
• Dig planting holes at a sufficient distance
• Put plant in planting hole
• Water 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.

Plant snowdrops in pots

Snowdrops not only delight people in the bed. They can also be cultivated in pots to herald spring on the balcony or terrace. In order for the forest and meadow plant to feel well tamed in the pot, the following must be observed:

• Planter: min. four times as high as the onion
• Drainage layer of gravel or broken pottery at the bottom of the planter
• Planting time: September to November (bulbs)
• 5 bulbs/ planting hole
• Pot with onions until germination in a dark place at 4 °C
• Keep soil only slightly moist
• From germination outside or another lighter, cool location
• watering: water well; always keep soil slightly moist; no waterlogging
• Fertilization: 1x after flowering
• Clean out faded inflorescences

Early 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 the basement or gazebo.

Multiply snowdrops yourself

Snowdrops can be propagated by seeds and by dividing the daughter bulbs. In this way you can expand your white sea of ​​blossoms year after year.

Sow snowdrops and grow them from seed?

With the exception of a few sterile varieties, snowdrops can be propagated from seeds. 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 germinator)
• Sow seeds 1 cm deep (dark germs)
• Soil: moist, humus rich soil
• ideal location: 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 before seedlings are ready to flower.

Multiply 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 divide the clumps and want to 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 again
• 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. giant snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii), however, rarely form 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 to circulatory disorders with sweating and drowsiness, then you should definitely see a doctor walk. The culprits for these symptoms of poisoning are chemical compounds that are found in all daffodil plants (Amaryllidaceae) can be found. Amaryllidaceae alkaloids kill cells and are toxic to humans and animals. Nevertheless, snowdrops have been used in folk medicine for a very long time. You can read more about it in our article “Snowdrops: poisonous or harmless?“.

Because snowdrops bloom so early in the year, they are particularly interesting to insects. Further insect friendly flowers see this article.