When Do Bulbs Flower? — Month-by-Month Flowering Chart

One of the great things about spring bulbs is their season is so long. Start with snowdrops in January and you can have bulbs in flower right through to drumstick alliums in July. If you are new to gardening, just consider that for a moment; six months of colour from plants that need almost no maintenance. This guide is designed to help you choose varieties that hand over to each other, so there's no gap between one flush finishing and the next beginning.

So this chart shows when each genus (type) and key variety flowers in an average UK season. "Average" matters — a mild winter in Cornwall can bring matters forward there by two or three weeks; a cold one in Yorkshire will push flowering back in northern parts. But the sequence stays the same. Snowdrops always come before crocus, crocus before daffodils, daffodils before tulips, tulips before alliums. What shifts is the calendar, not the order.

Bulb Flowering Times Chart

January

Snowdrops. It begins. Common snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis a.k.a the Herald of Spring) start opening in mild spells from early January, though in colder areas they may wait until February. Elwes's Greater Snowdrop (G. elwesii) is among the earliest and the largest — a noticeably bigger flower than the common species.

Winter aconites. (Eranthis hyemalis) — acid-yellow buttercup flowers with a ruff of green leaves. They overlap with the earliest snowdrops and the two look wonderful together naturalised under deciduous trees.

Early crocus. The species crocus start now. Tommasini's crocus (C. tommasinianus) is one of the first, opening its slender lilac flowers in January in mild areas. It naturalises brilliantly in grass; the lawn at Great Dixter in Kent is one of the wonders of the world at this time of year.

Cyclamen coum. Incredibly hardy, incredibly dainty pink or white flowers above rounded, often silver-marked leaves. Superb under trees where little else flowers this early.

February

Snowdrops. Started in January but now at their peak. This is the month for snowdrop walks and garden openings. Double snowdrops tend to be slightly later than the singles.

Crocus. Species crocus in full swing. Sieberi Tricolor (purple, white, and yellow banding) opens now. The larger Dutch crocus varieties are just starting.

Dwarf iris. Harmony, Alida, and Painted Lady (all Iris reticulata) are some of the most intensely coloured flowers of the entire year. Tiny plants (10cm) with vivid blues, purples, and bicolours.

Early daffodils. February Gold lives up to its name in most years. Tête-à-Tête often starts opening in late February too, though March is its main month.

Anemone blanda. Blue Shades carpets ground under trees with starry blue flowers. They close in the evening and on overcast days, a daisy-family habit.

March

The busiest month in the bulb calendar. Almost everything overlaps here.

Crocus. Dutch large-flowered varieties are at their best. Pickwick (purple-striped), Joan of Arc (white), Yellow Mammoth — bold, fat flowers in blocks of colour. They finish as the daffodils take over.

Daffodils. And the season opens properly. Tête-à-Tête at its peak. Jetfire (orange cup, swept-back yellow petals) is another early cyclamineus type. Minnow (tiny, multi-headed, delicate) is one of the loveliest miniatures. Standard-sized daffodils like Carlton, King Alfred, and Ice Follies start opening in late March.

Hyacinths. The most powerfully scented spring bulb. All our varieties (Delft Blue, Carnegie, Jan Bos, Fondant, City of Haarlem) flower in March or early April. Plant them near a path or doorway where you'll catch the scent.

Early tulips. Kaufmanniana types (Heart's Delight, Stresa, Albion Star) are short, sturdy, and among the first tulips to open. Red Riding Hood (Greigii) follows close behind, with the bonus of striped foliage.

Muscari (Grape Hyacinths). Armenian grape hyacinths form sheets of intense blue. Plant them at the front of a border or naturalise in gravel. They multiply freely.

Scilla. Siberian squill is a vivid electric blue that looks extraordinary under silver birch.

April

Daffodils. The main season. Large-cupped varieties (Fortune, Sempre Avanti), trumpets (Mount Hood), doubles (Bridal Crown, Cheerfulness, Ice King), and the beautifully fragrant jonquilla types (Pipit, Sweetness) are all in flower. Thalia (pure white, multi-headed) appears now and carries through into May.

Tulips. And here comes a riot of colour. Single Early types (Princess Irene, Candy Prince, Apricot Foxx) and Darwin Hybrids (Apeldoorn, Pink Impression) are at their best. Double Earlies (Foxtrot, Peach Blossom) are the peony-flowered tulips, lush, full, and utterly gorgeous in a vase.

Fritillaries. Snake's head fritillaries nod their chequered bells in damp meadow grass. Crown Imperials (Lutea, Rubra) stand a metre tall and are unmistakable: a crown of pendant flowers topped by a tuft of leaves. And yes, they smell of fox.

Bluebells. Native English bluebells at their peak in woodland and hedgerows. One of the defining sights of the British spring. And one of very few plants capable of growing in a beech wood – try it and see.

Leucojum. Gravetye Giant snowflake looks like a tall, graceful snowdrop and flowers from now into May in damp soil.

May

Tulips. Peak month. The Triumph types (Negrita, Purple Flag, Sunlover), Single Late (Queen of Night, Dordogne, Menton), Lily-flowered (Ballerina, Claudia), Parrots (Black Parrot, Caribbean Parrot), and Double Late (Crème Upstar, Finola) are all flowering now. This is the month for tulip borders and cutting garden harvests. The Ashridges always pot up any leftover tulips from the autumn selling season, in any old compost, in any well used pots lying around. These are all brought out now to give whoever is doing the washing-up a lift when they look out of the window over the kitchen sink...

Alliums. Time for a taller display – essential as borders are really in growth now. Purple Sensation and Aflatunense open their purple globes in mid-to-late May, just as the tulips fade. Christophii (Star of Persia) produces enormous, metallic-violet spheres, some of the most photogenic flowers in the garden. Sicilian honey garlic (technically Nectaroscordum, not allium, but always sold with alliums) has pendant bell flowers in green, cream, and dusky pink (excellent in the shade).

Late daffodils. Old Pheasant's Eye is one of the last narcissi to flower, often well into May. Intensely fragrant, with white petals and a tiny red-rimmed cup. It closes the daffodil season beautifully.

Camassia. Blue camassia and white camassia produce tall spikes of starry flowers. They love damp soil and look wonderful in a meadow planting with late tulips.

June and July

The spring bulb season proper is over, but a few stragglers carry the display into summer.

Alliums. Drumstick alliums (A. sphaerocephalon) don't open until late June or July. Their claret-purple oval heads on thin stems are completely different from the big globe alliums. Useful for filling the gap between the spring and summer border. Red Mohican flowers in June–July too.

Allium seedheads. Even after the petals have fallen, the architectural seedheads of Christophii, Purple Sensation, and the large alliums are worth their place in the border for months. Leave them standing or cut them, hang them upside down to dry and use them in dried flower arrangements.

After July, the spring bulb year is done, and it's time to start ordering from Ashridge for next autumn. The cycle begins again in September.

Planning for Succession

The point of this chart is to help you avoid the classic mistake: planting a hundred daffodils and then having nothing for the rest of spring. A well-planned bulb scheme covers January to July with minimal overlap gaps. Here's a simple five-variety succession that would give you continuous colour for six months:

• January–February: Snowdrops + Tommasini's crocus
• March: Tête-à-Tête daffodils + muscari
• April: Thalia daffodils + Princess Irene tulips
• May: Queen of Night tulips + Purple Sensation alliums
• June–July: Drumstick alliums

That's seven varieties, all available from our bulb collection, covering the entire spring season. Add more for depth and variety, but that skeleton would give you something to look at every week from the new year to midsummer.

Gardening is fun, so enjoy, relax and watch your garden grow...