Gardeners’ World presenter Carol Klein has shared her expert snowdrop planting tips on a podcast, including the best technique for planting snowdrops in the green for a stunning spring display
Carol Klein has shared her method for growing snowdrops(Image: Tatjana Aleksejeva via Getty Images)
Gardeners’ World star Carol Klein has revealed that snowdrops will flourish perfectly if planted in a specific way. Carol, 80, made her first appearance on the programme in 1989, going on to become a permanent presenter 21 years ago.
Beyond the show, she has fronted a number of programmes centred around gardening and horticulture. These have included Grow Your Own Veg, in which Carol guided viewers through the process of harvesting their own produce.
She now regularly shares handy hints and tips for garden enthusiasts. Speaking on the Pottering About podcast with Tom Allen, she disclosed her ultimate piece of advice for successfully growing snowdrops.
The charming plants, with their pale-green leaves and distinctive white bell-shaped flowers, are amongst the earliest to bloom in spring. To ensure they perform at their finest, Carol insists they must be planted at precisely the right moment.
She explained: “You must always plant snowdrops in the green, in other words whilst they’re in growth. But when you plant them, instead of doing what they do on the telly and digging a hole and putting them all in, be very patient and get you or your gardener to dig a separate hole for each one.”
Carol Klein has shared her method for growing snowdrops(Image: (Image: Submitted))
She recommends the hole should be four inches deep, acknowledging it “sounds mad” to go so far into the soil. She continued: “Water them in well and plant them in a nice random fashion so they’ll look natural. Next January, February, they’ll come up.”
According to the RHS, snowdrops are capable of growing in virtually any soil type except waterlogged ground. They thrive best in partial shade, with spots beneath trees and shrubs described as “ideal”.
Snowdrops are best established when their foliage begins to die back, typically around late spring. Their bulbs are particularly susceptible to drying out, so they should be purchased directly from a nursery or garden centre and planted straight away.
Gardeners are advised to place them in “moist but well-drained soil” enriched with leafmould or garden compost. The RHS stresses the importance of planting them in soil that will retain moisture throughout the summer months.
This resilient flower, renowned for its ability to push through snow, requires no pruning once established. However, snowdrops do encounter certain challenges once introduced to the garden.
Snowdrops grow well in woodlands(Image: Getty Images)
They frequently suffer from damping off, a fungal disease, and can fall victim to grey mould during drier winters. Snowdrops planted as dry bulbs are also commonly disturbed by grey squirrels.
Former Gardeners’ World presenter Alan Titchmarsh has previously noted that growing snowdrops can result in a thriving “colony”. In a piece written for the Express in 2017, he said: “The great thing about snowdrops is that they are happy in almost any soil and in full sun or partial shade – they grow happily in light woodland. Over the years your colony will multiply of its own accord and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you didn’t become a galanthophile yourself.”
According to Gardeners’ World, snowdrops should be planted either between February and March or during October and November, with flowering expected between January and March.
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