6 Easy-to-Grow Bulbs for Beautiful Spring Flowers

By
Marie Iannotti
Garden Writer Marie Iannotti
Marie Iannotti
Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. She's also an author of three gardening books, a plant photographer, public speaker, and a former Cornell Cooperative Extension Horticulture Educator. Marie's garden writing has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide and she has been interviewed for Martha Stewart Radio, National Public Radio, and numerous articles.
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Updated on 02/03/22
Reviewed by
Mary Marlowe Leverette
Mary Marlowe Leverette 2018
Reviewed by Mary Marlowe Leverette
Mary Marlowe Leverette is one of the industry's most highly-regarded housekeeping and fabric care experts, sharing her knowledge on efficient housekeeping, laundry, and textile conservation. She is also a Master Gardener with over 40 years' experience; writing for over 20 years.
Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board
White and purple hyacinth flowers next to pink and yellow tulips in garden

The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova

For gardeners who've been waiting all winter to see green again, nothing is more welcome than the sight of early spring flowers. And few plants are as easy to grow as spring-blooming bulbs. You plant them in the fall and wait. The hard part is being patient.

Spring-blooming bulbs start growing almost immediately. They send down roots in the fall and can continue growing at a slower rate throughout the winter. That's why it's so important to get them off to a good start. Choose a site that will get plenty of sunshine in the spring. Add a little organic matter and some bulb food or bone meal at planting time. And make sure ​you keep them watered until the ground freezes.

These six spring bulbs are the easiest to grow and will give you the biggest bang for your buck. There are plenty of choices to choose from for each bulb type. Planting several varieties will keep your garden in bloom all spring.

  • 01 of 06

    Crocus

    Close-Up Of Purple Crocus Blooming On Field

    Monori Gbor / EyeEm / Getty Images

    There are more than 80 species of crocus, but most people plant a mix of hybrids without really thinking about it. The hybrids tend to be a little larger and bloom a little later. However, the crocus is still one of the earliest flowers to appear in the spring, often with snow still on the ground.

    Crocus is a wonderful choice for naturalizing or planting in lawns. They are also incredibly easy to grow or force in containers.

  • 02 of 06

    Daffodils

    Light yellow and orange daffodil flowers

    The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova

    Daffodils (Narcissus) have so many wonderful qualities. They live longer than you will, with a lot less care. Deer and rodents don't touch them. They come in luscious shades of yellow, cream, and pink, and many are fragrant. There are even daffodils that don't require cold weather to set blooms.

  • 03 of 06

    Hyacinth

    Purple hyacinth flowers with small clustered petals

    The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova

    The big, puffy flower heads of hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) are made up of dozens of small, fragrant, tubular flowers. Take a look at each one individually, smell its overwhelming perfume, and you're bound to notice a family resemblance to the lily. Hyacinths are in the lily family.

    Hyacinth flowers come in colors that many other bulbs do not (blues and purples), so it's nice that they bloom in time to mix with daffodils and tulips.

  • 04 of 06

    Siberian Squill

    Siberain Squill Bulbs

    Ingunn B. Haslekås / Getty Images

    It's hard to miss a naturalized drift of blue Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) in the spring. Plant them where they'll have plenty of room to roam—​because they will. Luckily the foliage is low and wispy, so you won't have to watch it fade away for weeks after the flowers disappear.

    Plant them in the lawn, along paths, under trees, and in rock gardens, and watch your yard turn into a river of blue.

    Continue to 5 of 6 below.
  • 05 of 06

    Snowdrops

    Snowdrops

    Nickola Beck / Getty Images

    How can you not love a plant that pushes its way up through snow-covered ground? Snowdrops (Galanthus) look deceptively dainty but they can take cold winds and icy temperatures and keep on blooming.

    They are very long-lived, and while they tend to be well-behaved clump-formers, they also spread by seed, and you'll find them popping up in surprising places.

  • 06 of 06

    Tulips

    Tulip (Tulipa gesneriana) garden
    Steve Satushek / Getty Images

    Is there a flower that comes in more bright and cheery colors than tulips? Stagger planting times and varieties and you can get three months' worth of bloom time from them. The earliest varieties will start blooming in March.

    The latecomers will mingle with columbines and bleeding hearts—that is, if you can protect them from the deer, squirrels, and all the other animals attracted by their tasty petals.