Galanthus elwesii ‘G. F. Handel’

An elegant and unusually early Galanthus elwesii var. monostictus, selected from G. elwesii material of Turkish origin in Leo Schoorl’s garden at Lisse, Netherlands, in 1997. One of the ‘composer’ snowdrops, it makes a robust clump of broad, dark green, rather enveloping leaves and produces medium-sized, pure white flowers with a neat green V-shaped mark towards the tips of the inner segments. 

One of the real attractions of ‘G.F. Handel’ is its very early flowering, often beginning in November or December and continuing into January. The combination of dark foliage, clean white flowers and crisp green marking makes it particularly effective at a time when few other snowdrops are yet in flower.

A robust and readily established cultivar, ideal for bringing the snowdrop season forward and particularly valuable to collectors of early elwesii forms.

Height: 15–20 cm
Spread: 10–15 cm
Flowering: November–January
Hardiness: H5 – fully hardy in most of the UK