Galanthus have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. A list of Irish cultivars can be found here Propagation is by offset bulbs, either by careful division of clumps in full growth ("in the green"), or removed when the plants are dormant, immediately after the leaves have withered; or by seeds sown either when ripe, or in spring. Professional growers and keen amateurs also use such methods as "twin-scaling" to increase the stock of choice cultivars quickly. Snowdrops contain an active lectin or agglutinin named GNA for "Galanthus nivalis" agglutinin. In 1995, Árpád Pusztai genetically modified potatoes with the
Chlamydomonas nivalis cell in combination with inorganic material could enhance the darkening over the snow and reduce the surface area of white snow. Due to the absorption of solar energy by the alga, albedo would be reduced and the darker areas on the snow where the blooms form would melt more rapidly. As a result, populations of "C. nivalis" would increase, creating a feedback loop that amplifies melting and reduces sunlight absorbance which contributes to glacier retreat and lowering albedo, as shown experimentally. This is concerning to environmentalists and climate scientists. "C. nivalis" can be used as a model species for studying