{"id":14995,"date":"2024-11-21T17:55:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T22:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=14995"},"modified":"2024-11-21T16:27:49","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T21:27:49","slug":"summer-snowflakes-leucojum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2024\/11\/21\/summer-snowflakes-leucojum\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Snowflakes (Leucojum)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
Leucojum aestivium<\/em> ‘Gravetye Giant’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Summer snowflakes originate from Europe and northern Africa and are carefree spring-blooming bulbs. They belong to the Amaryllis (Amaryllidaceae) botanical family and are critter proof. (USDA hardiness zones 4-8). Flowers and foliage are similar to snowdrops, but snowflakes grow twice as tall and bloom about 2-3 months later, usually just after most daffodils. Pure white, nodding, bell-shaped flowers are decorated with lime green spots. Blooms dangle in clusters from arching stems. Bulbs\u00a0are reliably perennial and bloom reliably every spring for years to come. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t be mistaken by its common name “Summer Snowflake”. They flower in mid-spring (April into early May) and bloom over 2-3 weeks. Summer Snowflakes (Leucojum<\/em>) look a lot like snowdrops (Galanthus<\/em>) which grow a lot smaller and bloom in mid to late winter. Whereas the three outer petals of\u00a0Galanthus\u00a0<\/em>are larger than the three inner petals, all six floral petals in the\u00a0Leucojum<\/em>\u00a0genus are the same length. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A flowering stem of\u00a0summer\u00a0snowflake is likely to bear more flowers\u2014up to 6 or 7 per plant. Fewer than 2-3 flowers appear on a flowering stem, is an indication that plants are not receiving adequate sunlight. Primary snowflake species are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n