When to Plant Bulbs

Flowering bulbs are easy and rewarding plants to grow - child's play to plant, and they pop up year after year with little effort required.

But they are highly seasonal, and you do need to plant them at the right time for best results.

That's because flowering bulbs respond to changes in temperature and light levels, to trigger growth and tell them it's time to start flowering.

• Plants & Light - Long Days, Short Days : how plants respond to changes in day length
• Light & Plants - How Do Plants Use Light To Grow : how plants respond to changes in light quality and intensity

We sell flowering bulbs when it's the perfect time to plant them, which is why you won't find them on our website all year round.

 

Spring Flowering Bulbs :

available to plant from March

allium • amaryllis belladonna • anemone • babiana • belladonna lily • black pearl lily • brodaiea • chincherinchee • crocus • daffodil • dutch iris • dwarf iris • freesia • gladiolus • grape hyacinth • guernsey lily • hyacinth • ipheion • ixia • jonquil • lycoris • muscari • nerine • ornithogalum • peacock iris • ranunculus • saffron crocus • scilla • sparaxis • spider lily • star of bethlehem • starflower • triteleia • tulip

Summer Flowering Bulbs :

available to plant from June, or August

amaryllis • asiatic lily • bearded iris • calla • canna • christmas lily • dahlia • eucomis • gladiolus • hippeastrum • jacobean lily • lily of the valley • oriental lily • peony • pineapple lily • sprekelia • storm lily • tree dahlia • tree lily • tuberose • water lily • zephyranthes

Summer Flowering Root Crowns:

available to plant from June, or August
bare rooted plants packed in soil

alstroemeria • aquilegia • astilbe • bleeding hearts • dicentra • gayfeather • hellebore • kniphofia • liatris • red hot poker • solomon's seal

Summer Flowering Produce:

available to plant from June

asparagus • blackberry • boysenberry • gooseberry • horseradish • seed potatoes • raspberry • redcurrant • rhubarb • strawberry • tayberry • wasabi • white currant • youngberry

The right time to plant

Plant for spring in autumn

A little easy bulb planting in autumn, and you can enjoy a bright fragrant garden from the tail end of winter to the start of next summer, for years to come.

Spring flowering bulbs need six months of growing before they flower; they're working hard under the soil pushing out roots, before the first green shoots emerge in spring.
Some need a cold spell too, to trigger flowering - so shop for your winter climate.

 

Plant for summer in spring

The garden party can keep on going, right until first frosts, with summer bulbs. It's easy to squeeze them into any gaps in your borders and pots.

Summer flowering bulbs only need three months of growing before they flower. We have two phases of supply, with bearded iris, peony and gladioli coming first for spring-summer blooms; followed by dahlias, canna and lilies in early spring for summer-autumn blooms.

• How To Plant Spring Bulbs, and most summer bulbs too
• How To Plant Peonies & Dahlias and other tubers & rhizomes, like bearded iris