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Bulbs

Plants that store energy in bulbs, corms or tubers and return each year.

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All 34 bulbs in the catalogue, alphabetical by common name. Each links to a full page with its ratings across the USDA, RHS, Canadian and Australian systems.

  • Autumn crocus (Meadow saffron) Colchicum autumnale – Crocus-like bulb that throws up leafless pale lilac-pink goblet flowers from bare ground in late summer and early autumn. Strap-like leaves follow in spring. USDA zones 4–9
  • Autumn daffodil Sternbergia lutea – Mediterranean bulb with goblet-shaped buttercup-yellow flowers — looking like crocuses but actually in the amaryllis family — emerging straight from bare ground in autumn alongside the new strap-like leaves. USDA zones 6–9
  • Belladonna lily (Naked ladies) Amaryllis belladonna – South African bulb that produces tall bare stems carrying clusters of fragrant pink trumpet flowers in late summer — hence the common name “naked ladies”, because the leaves are entirely absent at flowering time. USDA zones 7–10
  • Bugle lily Watsonia borbonica – Tall Cape fynbos cormous perennial with sword-shaped leaves and elegant spires of pink, salmon, or white trumpet flowers in spring. The largest and most widely grown Watsonia species. USDA zones 8–10
  • Canna lily Canna × generalis – Bold tropical-looking perennial with large paddle leaves and showy flowers in summer. USDA zones 7–11
  • Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ – Tall corm-forming perennial with sword-shaped foliage and arching sprays of brilliant flame-red tubular flowers in midsummer. The dominant flowering cultivar in temperate gardens. USDA zones 5–9
  • Crown imperial Fritillaria imperialis – Tall bulb (90 cm or more) with a crown of pendant orange, yellow or red bell flowers topped by a tuft of leaf-like bracts. A dramatic mid-spring statement plant. USDA zones 5–9
  • Daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus – Spring-flowering bulb; naturalises well in grass and under deciduous trees. USDA zones 3–9
  • English bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta – Native woodland bulb forming sheets of nodding deep violet-blue bells in April and May. Bluebell woods are an internationally recognised UK habitat. USDA zones 4–8
  • European dog’s tooth violet Erythronium dens-canis – Diminutive European spring ephemeral with mottled leaves and nodding pink or lilac flowers with strongly recurved petals. Bulb shape suggests a dog’s tooth, giving rise to the name. USDA zones 3–8
  • Garden gladiolus Gladiolus × hortulanus – Tall South African origin hybrid corm with sword-shaped fan of leaves and one-sided spires of funnel-shaped flowers in every colour from cream to deep purple through high summer. USDA zones 7–10
  • Giant onion Allium giganteum – Tall central Asian ornamental allium with stems reaching 1.5 m and dense 15 cm spheres of small lilac-purple star flowers above broad strap-like leaves. A dramatic vertical accent for the late-spring border. USDA zones 5–9
  • Globemaster ornamental allium Allium ‘Globemaster’ – Hybrid ornamental allium with massive 25 cm spherical heads of small star-shaped violet flowers held on tall stems above strap-like grey-green leaves. The most dramatic of the ornamental alliums. USDA zones 4–9
  • Glory of the snow Chionodoxa forbesii – Small early-spring bulb with star-shaped sky-blue flowers carried six-to-the-stem above strap-like leaves. Often emerges through the last of the snow, giving rise to its common name. USDA zones 3–8
  • Grape hyacinth Muscari armeniacum – Hardy spring bulb with dense spikes of small, blue, grape-like flowers. USDA zones 4–8
  • Guernsey lily Nerine sarniensis – South African bulb with brilliant scarlet or pink autumn flowers carried in umbels on bare stems. Petals appear dusted with gold or silver in low light. The traditional Guernsey hothouse flower. USDA zones 8–10
  • Hardy nerine Nerine bowdenii – South African bulb with strap-like leaves and umbels of bright pink trumpet flowers with rolled-back petals on bare stems in autumn. The hardiest of the cultivated nerines. USDA zones 7–10
  • Martagon lily (Turk’s cap lily) Lilium martagon – European mountain native lily with whorls of broad leaves and tall stems carrying many small downward-facing flowers with strongly recurved petals (Turk’s cap form) in dusty pink or white speckled with darker spots. USDA zones 3–8
  • Montbretia Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora – South African origin garden hybrid corm forming naturalised drifts of sword-shaped leaves and arching one-sided spires of small orange trumpet flowers in summer. The familiar wild orange "crocosmia" of British and Irish roadsides. USDA zones 6–10
  • Regal lily Lilium regale – Chinese mountain lily with tall stout stems carrying large outward-facing white trumpet flowers, flushed pink or purple on the outside and yellow within. The most powerfully fragrant of the common garden lilies. USDA zones 3–8
  • Reticulated iris Iris reticulata – Diminutive dwarf iris flowering at just 10–15 cm tall in late winter, with deep violet, blue or purple falls strikingly marked in yellow. USDA zones 5–9
  • Saffron crocus Crocus sativus – Autumn-flowering corm whose dried red stigmas are the spice saffron. USDA zones 6–9
  • Showy autumn crocus Colchicum speciosum – Caucasian colchicum with larger goblet-shaped flowers than the European species, in deep rose-pink with a white throat. The most spectacular of the autumn-flowering colchicums. USDA zones 4–9
  • Siberian squill Scilla siberica – Small bulb with nodding deep blue bell flowers in earliest spring. One of the most cold-hardy spring bulbs — flowers reliably where temperatures regularly drop below -30 °C. USDA zones 2–8
  • Snake’s head fritillary Fritillaria meleagris – Slender bulb with pendant chequered purple or white bell flowers on wiry stems in mid-spring. Once carpeted English damp meadows, now mostly seen at a handful of protected sites. USDA zones 3–8
  • Snow crocus Crocus chrysanthus – Small early-flowering crocus species with golden or cream flowers, often pushing through the last snow. Several weeks ahead of the larger spring crocus (C. vernus). USDA zones 3–8
  • Snowdrop Galanthus nivalis – Nodding white winter bulb that often pierces snow to flower. Naturalises freely in woodland, hedge banks and short grass. USDA zones 3–8
  • Spring crocus Crocus vernus – Cup-shaped purple, lilac or white spring bulb that opens in the first warm sun of the year. Critical pollen source for emerging queen bumblebees. USDA zones 3–8
  • Star of Persia Allium christophii – Central Asian ornamental allium with enormous loose open umbels of metallic lilac-violet star-shaped flowers — each head 20 cm across — on short sturdy stems. Spectacular and self-seeding once established. USDA zones 4–8
  • Trout lily (Dogtooth violet) Erythronium americanum – Diminutive eastern North American spring ephemeral with mottled leaves and nodding pale yellow flowers, reflexing back like miniature turkscap lilies. USDA zones 3–8
  • Tulip Tulipa gesneriana – Spring-flowering bulb with cup-shaped flowers in almost every colour. Needs winter chill to flower reliably. USDA zones 3–8
  • Two-leaf squill Scilla bifolia – Small bulb with star-shaped deep blue flowers held above just two strap-like leaves, opening with the snowdrops or shortly after in earliest spring. USDA zones 4–8
  • Winter aconite Eranthis hyemalis – Low buttercup-yellow flower with a green leafy ruff, opening with the snowdrops in the depths of winter. Carpet-forming under deciduous trees. USDA zones 4–8
  • Woodland crocus (Tommies) Crocus tommasinianus – Slender lavender-purple crocus that naturalises into great sheets under deciduous trees. Among the earliest crocuses and notable for being largely ignored by squirrels. USDA zones 3–8

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