Best Bulb Picks
Plant in fall for a sensational spring show.
The sweet scent of hyacinth fills the air...colorful crocuses poke their pretty heads up through the melting snow...tulips make their elegant entrance—all signs that spring has sprung. And though the season of rebirth is still a few months away, the time to plant spring-blooming bulbs is now. Here are some favorites...
Common Hyacinth
This gardeners' favorite is loved for its showy and fragrant spring show.
Hardiness: Zones 4 to 9.
Size: 6 to 10 inches high; 6 to 9 inches wide.
Flower colors: White, cream, yellow, orange, apricot, salmon, blue, violet, pink, purple and red.
Growing advice: Plant bulbs 6 inches deep, 6 to 9 inches apart.
Recommendation: 'Hollyhocks,' with its double raspberry-red flowers.
Allium
Its eye-catching, lollipop-shaped blooms are what this bulb is best known for.
Hardiness: Zones 2 to 10.
Bloom time: Late spring to fall, depending on variety.
Size: 6 inches to 5 feet high; 12 to 18 inches wide.
Flower colors: White, purple, blue, pink and yellow.
Growing advice: In fall, plant bulbs at a depth of two to three times their height, but no deeper than 4 inches.
Recommendation: Drumstick allium is easy to blend into the garden, with 2-inch flowers on 3-foot stems.
Crocus
This hardy beauty signals the start of spring with its display of cup-shaped blooms.
Hardiness: Zones 3 to 8.
Bloom time: Early spring to mid-spring.
Size: 2 to 6 inches high; 2 to 3 inches wide.
Flower colors: Purple, pink, yellow, white, and purple-and-white-striped.
Growing advice: Plant corms two to three times height deep, three to four times width apart.
Recommendations: Crocus tommasinianus is less favored by squirrels. Crocus speciosum will provide fall color.
Winter Aconite
An effective spring ground cover, this early bloomer is fast to form a carpet of color.
Hardiness: Zones 4 to 9.
Bloom time: Late winter to early spring.
Size: 2 to 3 inches high and wide.
Flower color: Yellow.
Growing advice: Plant tubers 2 inches deep; full sun or light, dappled shade.
Recommendation: 'Guinea Gold' has large flowers and bronze-tinted foliage.
Daffodil
Elegant and easy to grow, its cheery, trumpet-shaped blooms are a must-have.
Hardiness: Zones 2 to 9.
Bloom time: Spring.
Size: 6 to 20 inches high; 3 to 4o inches wide.
Flower colors: Yellow or white; some have orange, pink or red-orange flower parts.
Growing advice: Northern gardeners should plant bulb sin early fall; southern gardeners should wait until late fall.
Recommendation: Dwarf 'Rip Van Winkle' grows 6 to 8 inches tall with double flowers of narrow, twisted petals.
Tulip
With so many shapes and colors available, it's easy to love these classic beauties.
Hardiness: Zones 4 to 6; some tolerate heat of Zones 7 and 8. They are treated as annuals in Zones 9 and 10.
Bloom time: Spring.
Size: 6 to 32 inches high; 4 to 6 inches wide.
Flower colors: A wide variety of hues is available.
Growing advice: Plant pre-cooled bulbs in late winter in warm regions.
Recommendation: Long-lived Tulipa tarda has up to five yellow-and-white flowers on a stem.
Snowdrop
This plant is one of the first to bloom, often when there's still snow on the ground.
Hardiness: Zones 3 to 8.
Bloom time: Late winter to early spring.
Size: 4 to 6 inches high; 8 to 12 inches wide.
Flower colors: White with green-tipped inner petals.
Growing advice: Plant bulbs 3 to 4 inches deep and apart.
Recommendation: Galanthus elwesii has larger flowers and is hardy in Zones 4 to 7.
Grecian Windflower
Dainty, daisy-like flowers grace this deer-, rabbit- and squirrel-resistant plant.
Hardiness: Zones 4 to 8.
Bloom time: Spring.
Size: 6 inches high and wide.
Flower colors: Blue, white, purple and pink.
Growing advice: Full sun; plant tubers 5 inches deep.
Recommendation: 'White Splendor' has long-lasting, pure-white flowers with twice as many "petals."
Checkered Lily
As its name suggests, its checkered pattern turns heads.
Hardiness: Zones 4 to 8.
Bloom time: Spring.
Size: Up to 12 inches high.
Flower colors: Purple, pinkish purple or white, with purple-pink checkering.
Growing advice: Adapts well to most any soil; full sun to light shade is preferred.
Recommendations: 'Charon' has deep-purple blooms; 'Saturnus' bears reddish purple flowers.
Glory of the Snow
A deer- and rodent-resistant plant that boasts drifts of star-shaped flowers.
Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.
Bloom time: Spring.
Size: 4 to 8 inches high.
Flower colors: Blue, white and pink.
Growing advice: Plant bulbs 3 inches deep in autumn; plant in full sun.
Recommendations: 'Alba' boasts white flowers; 'Pink Giant' has pink blooms with white centers.