Plant of the Week: Galanthus aka the Snowdrop

My Snowdrops

Closeup of Snowdrops

Galanthus (Snowdrop)

Type: Perennial/Bulb  (Zones 2-9 but prefers 4-7)
Light Requirements: Part Sun to Shade, excellent for under deciduous trees
Moisture: prefer moist soil, although mine grow fine pretty much anywhere in the yard
Blooms: Early spring (start to bloom in February/March here through end of March). Apparently in the south they can flower all winter. Blooms are white with green highlights.
Leaves: Sprout in winter, die back in summer and come back in fall.
Pros: First thing to flower in the spring. Naturalizes both by self-seeding and bulb offsets.
Cons: If you want a large impact you need to grow a lot because they are small.
Division: After they bloom pull and take the bulb offsets.
Origin: Although these were growing in my yard they are native to Europe and Turkey.

When we bought our house there were almost no perennials or bulbs. Mostly there were overgrown bushes and lots of weedy grass. The first spring we lived here I was pleasantly surprised to find a number of snowdrops in the grass. Over the next couple of years I moved them into planting beds.  They must like my yard because they keep multiplying. It may help that I have moved most of them several times, and when I do I divide the bulbs. They are really easy to grow. You only have to dig into the ground a couple of inches and stick the tiny bulb in!