Snowdrop bulb from Cottenham’s ‘King of snowdrops’ fetches £1,850 in eBay auction
A single snowdrop, created by Joe ‘King of Snowdrops’ Sharman of Cottenham-based Monksilver Nursery, has fetched a record £1,850 in an eBay auction.
The bulb – full name Galanthus plicatus or ‘Golden Tears’ – was from the same variety as ‘Golden Fleece’, which took 18 years to develop and was sold on eBay for £1,390 in 2015.
Mr Sharman has been growing and breeding snowdrops for 35 years and selling rare varieties on eBay for 15.
The eBay listing read: “A narrow-flowered yellow pterugiform with a very large mark and bright yellow ovary. Very beautiful and distinct. Quite different from Golden Fleece. Exceptionally vigorous. 25cm.
“The result of a deliberate cross by me using the same parents that created Golden Fleece. Only one for the season.”
It received 55 bids.
Gardening writer Val Bourne told MailOnline that the bulb bought on eBay will likely “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.”
‘Galanthomania’ – an obsession with snowdrops – began in the 1980s. The season lasts just four or five weeks in January.
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