Spring-flowering bulbs brighten your garden and provide valuable food for pollinators waking from hibernation. Find out when to buy and plant tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, muscari, crocuses and other spring bulbs to get the best display of flowers.
Gardening is all about planning ahead, and few jobs offer a bigger reward than planting spring-flowering bulbs. There are varieties to suit every garden, from a tiny balcony or patio space to a large garden border.
Autumn is the ideal time of year to begin preparing your garden for spring, but you can get ahead of the crowds by pre-ordering spring-flowering bulbs in August. Choose a mix of early and late-flowering varieties for continued interest from late winter through to June.
When should you plant spring bulbs?
The best time to plant most spring bulbs is in early autumn, when the soil is soft and moist, before the first frost and the coldest weather sets in. September is the ideal month for planting, especially if you want early flowers, but October will be fine in most parts of the UK.
The two exceptions to this rule are tulip bulbs and ranunculus corms. November is the best month to plant tulips, as the cooler temperatures help prevent tulip fire (a fungal disease). Ranunculus corms are not fully hardy in the UK and need planting in a frost-free greenhouse or polytunnel if you want to plant them in the autumn. Alternatively, you can plant them in late winter or early spring; they'll just flower a little later.
If you miss the ideal planting window and stumble across some forgotten unplanted bulbs in the new year, try planting them anyway. You have nothing to lose, and they won't survive until next season if left unplanted. I planted tulip bulbs in February one year, and they still flowered!
Which bulbs flower in the spring?
Spring-flowering (or hardy) bulbs are perfect for brightening up your garden or outside space when the seasons change. Top choices for spring bulbs include:
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Daffodils, e.g., Narcissus 'Jetfire' or Narcissus 'Bridal Crown'
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Crocuses, e.g., Crocus 'Ruby Giant' or Crocus chrysanthus var. fuscotinctus
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Tulips, e.g., Tulip 'Peach Blossom' or Tulip 'Queen of Night'
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Bluebells, e.g., Hyacinthoides non-scripta
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Alliums, e.g., Allium 'Globemaster' or Allium nigrum
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Snowdrops, e.g., Galanthus nivalis or Galanthus nivalis f. pleniflorus 'Flore Pleno'
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Muscari, e.g., Muscari armeniacum or Muscari 'Pink Sunrise'
Snowdrops, crocuses and narcissi typically flower first, followed by hyacinths, tulips and muscari in mid-spring. Plant bluebells, late tulips, late daffodils and alliums for late-spring colour. Find out more about different varieties of spring flowering bulbs and where to plant them in our guide to the Top 10 Bulbs That Flower in Spring in the UK.
When should you buy your spring bulbs?
August is the ideal time to think about which spring bulbs to buy. Bulbs may not be available to buy in garden centres yet, but you can pre-order your spring-flowering bulbs online for delivery in September. Ordering early means you get a wider choice of bulbs, and you can get your hands on unusual varieties before they sell out.
If you can't plant your spring bulbs right away, store them in a cool, dry place. Tulips tend to store better than other bulbs, so don't worry about waiting to plant these until the weather is cooler. Before planting, check each bulb to make sure it's healthy. Discard any bulbs that feel soft or are showing any signs of rot.
Where should you plant your spring bulbs?
Most spring bulbs originate from dry, sunny climates. This means they like plenty of sun and well-drained soil. Snowdrops, bluebells and winter aconites are woodland plants that prefer partial or dappled shade and moist soil.
Planting bulbs in beds and borders
You can plant spring bulbs in a dedicated cut flower bed, but most people intersperse them with perennials and shrubs in a mixed border. This provides a backdrop for the colourful flowers and the other plants help disguise the bulbs' yellowing foliage in late spring. If you have large borders, swathes of tulips or daffodils look very dramatic.
Many spring bulbs come back year after year, but a lot of tulips are treated as annuals, as they don't reliably flower in successive seasons. Find out which varieties are most likely to flower again in our guide to different types of tulips. Hyacinths may flower the following year, but the flower spikes may not be as impressive.
Planting bulbs in lawns
Spring bulbs are perfect for brightening up your lawn or scattering naturally around the base of trees. While you can plant most bulbs in lawns, if you want to mow the grass in late spring, choose early-flowering bulbs, such as crocuses, daffodils and Scilla siberica.
Planting bulbs in tubs
Spring bulbs are perfect for planting in pots. As well as adding colour to patios, you can place them strategically around your garden. Either plant one variety per pot for short, intense bursts of colour or combine different spring bulbs in one pot to create a long-lasting display. This is often called a "bulb lasagne" as you plant bulbs at different levels in the pot.
Tips for planting spring-flowering bulbs
To get the best display of flowers from your bulbs, follow these tips:
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Plant your bulbs at the right time of year (September for most spring bulbs, November for tulips).
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Plant your spring bulbs within a week of receiving them.
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Plant bulbs in their preferred conditions – generally, full sun and well-drained soil, unless you're planting woodland bulbs.
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Plant bulbs facing upwards, at 2–3 times their depth.
Find out everything you need to know about planting spring bulbs in beds, lawns and pots, how to protect bulbs from squirrels and the best varieties for a "bulb lasagne" pot in our complete guide to planting bulbs.
Related pages
Get more detailed information on planting different types of flower bulbs on our plant care pages:
FAQ
When do you plant spring bulbs?
September and October are the best months to plant most spring bulbs. Tulips are often planted later, in November, as the colder temperatures mean there's less risk of the fungal disease, tulip fire. You can plant bulbs later than this, in December or even January, but they'll flower later or may not flower at all.
Do spring bulbs come back every year?
Lots of spring bulbs, including snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils, muscari and camassias flower year after year. People often treat tulips as annuals, discarding the bulbs once the flowers have faded, but many will flower the following year if replanted. Find out which types of tulips bloom for multiple years in our guide to tulip types.
Is it too late to plant spring bulbs?
Ideally, bulbs that flower in spring should be planted in early autumn (or late autumn for tulips). This doesn't mean that bulbs planted later won't flower, and I always think it's worth giving them a go, as long as the bulbs are firm and don't show signs of rot.
