Snowdrop bulb kicks up a storm by fetching a whopping £1,850 in online auction
- A rare snowdrop bulb has sold for a record-breaking £1,850 in an eBay auction
- The Galanthus plicatus Golden Tears bulb was bought by an unnamed collector
- It was created by Joe Sharman – King of the Snowdrops – from Cambridgeshire
They are currently in bloom across the country, bringing a welcome splash of brightness after the UK was pummelled by storms.
But one snowdrop has created a storm of its own – by selling for a record £1,850 in an eBay auction.
The bulb – full name Galanthus plicatus Golden Tears – was created by Joe Sharman, known as ‘King of the Snowdrops’ and was bought by an unnamed collector.
Pictured: The Galanthus plicatus Golden Tears which sold for a record-breaking £1,850
The milk flower that treats Alzheimer’s
- Famous snowdrop collectors include former Tory deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine who has more than 700 varieties
- Their Latin name Galanthus means ‘milk flower’
- Experts say they were first seen in Britain in the early 1500s
- There are 20 species of snowdrop with thousands of varieties
- A chemical found in the plants called Galantamine is used to treat symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease
- In 2019 two men were arrested for stealing 13,000 snowdrop bulbs from the Walsingham estate in Norfolk
Mr Sharman, of Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, previously sold a snowdrop bulb called Golden Fleece – which took 18 years to develop – for £1,390.
The new variety is from the same line as Golden Fleece but its petals have a more distinct ‘pixie hat’ shape.
Snowdrop fans, known as galanthophiles, say part of their charm is that the mainly white flowers ‘cross-breed’ each year – potentially creating the next ‘must have’ version.
Gardening writer Val Bourne said the bulb bought on eBay will ‘go under the knife’.
She added: ‘They’ll cut it into 20 pieces and start selling individual plants.
‘They’ll get their money back in three or four years. It’s a mad hobby.’
Mr Sharman has previously said of the snowdrop craze: ‘Security is a big problem.
‘I know people who have opened their gardens and had everything stolen.
‘I don’t open my garden or nursery. But stealing snowdrops is like stealing a Van Gogh.
‘If it’s rare, all the galanthophiles will know who propagated it and where it was stolen from.’
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