When people think of spring flowers daffodils and hyacinths immediately come to mind. But while those two bulb flowers are beautiful, they are just the beginning of the many different types of flowering bulbs available to plant in the fall for spring blooms. This list of 20 fabulous bulbs to plant in the fall for spring blooms includes photos of the flowers, their US Hardiness Zone and what types of wildlife they are resistant to. Surprisingly, many bulbs are deer resistant! While bulbs generally do well in cooler climates, there are a number listed that will do well down south too.
Plant your bulbs when evening temperatures average 45-50 degrees, but at least 6 weeks before the ground freezes. In the south, since the ground does not always freeze consider November a good time to plant bulbs.
Generally you want to plant in well drained, loose soil. Unless otherwise stated on bulb packaging, plant large bulbs 7-8” down, small bulbs about 5” down, with the pointing side of the bulb facing upward. Return soil over the bulb, packing loosely. Water well. Generally, bulbs like full sun although there are several listed that will grow nicely in just partial sun.
Remember that bulb flowers generally look better in clusters than in rows (there are exception to every rule, but for the most part this is true). Plant your smaller flower bulbs in front of your taller flower bulbs. It will look better and the small flowers won’t be hidden behind the larger blooms
20 Fabulous Bulbs to Plant in the Fall for Spring Blooms
• Allium
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-9
• Grows in full sun
• Resistant to Cold, Deer, Drought, Heat, Rabbit
• Anemones
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 7-10
• Grows in full sun
• Resistant to Deer
• Bluebells
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-7
• Grows in full to partial shade
• Resistant to Deer
• Camassia
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-8
• Grows in full sun
• Grows well even in poor soil
• Corydalis
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-8
• Grows in partial shade
• Crocus
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-7
• Grows in full to partial sun
• Resistant to Cold, Deer
• Flowers in February or March
• Daffodils
• USDA Hardiness Zones 3- 8
• Grows in full to partial sun
• Resistant to Cold, Deer
• May be grown in a pot or in the ground
• Fritillaria
• USDA Hardiness Zones 4- 8
• Grows in full to partial sun
• Resistant to Cold, Deer
• Glory of the Snow
• USDA Hardiness Zones 3- 8
• Grows in full sun
• Resistant to Cold, Deer
• Hyacinth
• USDA Hardiness Zones 4- 8
• Grows in full to partial sun
• Resistant to Deer
• Iris
• USDA Hardiness Zones 3- 9
• Grows in full to partial sun
• Resistant to Deer
• Narcissus
• USDA Hardiness Zones 3- 10
• Grows in full to partial sun
• Resistant to Cold, Deer
• May be grown in a pot or in the ground
• Orange Candleflower
• USDA Hardiness Zones 4- 9
• Grows in full to partial shade
• Does not bloom until late spring
• Persian Buttercups
• USDA Hardiness Zones 8-10
• Grows in full sun
• Scilla
• USDA Hardiness Zones 4- 8
• Grows in full to partial sun
• Resistant to Cold
• Snowdrops
• USDA Hardiness Zones 3- 9
• Grows in full shade, full sun, partial sun
• Resistant to Cold, Deer, Rabbit
• Star of Bethlehem
• USDA Hardiness Zones 5- 9
• Grows in full sun to medium shade
• Starflowers
• USDA Hardiness Zones 5- 9
• Grows in full shade, partial sun
• Resistant to Deer, Rabbit
• Tulips
• USDA Hardiness Zones 4- 8
• Grows in full sun
• Resistant to Cold
• May be grown in a pot or in the ground
• Winter Aconite
• USDA Hardiness Zones 4- 7
• Grows in full sun, partial sun
• This will bloom before crocus
I hope you find this post useful. I wanted to show you what each bulb looked like… well, at least one variety of each bulb, some have many types of different flowers like tulips and hyacinths. Spring bulbs are truly beautiful. You can start off small … say 20-30 bulbs, and then add year after year. The nice thing about bulbs is they can be divided in a few years for more flowers!
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