PRACTICAL GARDENING RESEARCH What to grow. What to buy. How to choose.
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Explore / Bulbs & summer tubers

Bulbs & summer tubers

Plan beyond the first flower.

Compare spring bulbs, summer tubers and corms by season, growing space and the care they need after flowering. Match the purchase to your climate and garden routine.

Plant comparison →
A wild daffodil flower with six pale yellow tepals surrounding a deeper yellow trumpet, above narrow green leaves.
Wild daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus). Editorial photography · Björn S... · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized/compressed; image credits.

A useful place to start

Plan the display and what follows it.

Spring bulbs and summer tubers occupy the garden beyond their flowers. Choose the seasonal routine, then work through the decisions for the plant you want.

  1. 01 / Match the growing season

    Plant Spring-Flowering Bulbs for Your Region, Drainage and Winter Chill

    Separate regional planting conditions, drainage and chilling requirements.

  2. 02 / Leave room for aftercare

    Naturalize Wild Daffodils Where the Mowing Plan Lets Them Return

    Plan mowing and access around leaves that remain after flowering.

  3. 03 / Choose a return strategy

    Buy Tulips for an Annual Display or a Labeled Return Trial

    Decide between a planned annual display and a labeled trial over several seasons.

  4. 04 / Plan summer growth

    Choose Dahlia Starts and Pinching for the Flowers You Want First

    Match the starting material, support and branching decisions to the remaining season.

Get to know the plants

Outdoor ornamentals

Wild daffodil

Narcissus pseudonarcissus

A small spring trumpet daffodil for a persistent planting where its leaves can finish growing before mowing or summer changeover.

Full sunPart shade
Growing reference

Outdoor ornamentals

Garden dahlia

Dahlia garden hybrids (mixed parentage)

Tender garden hybrids grown from tuberous roots, rooted cuttings or seed, with size and flower form that determine support and summer care.

Full sunPart shade
Growing reference

Outdoor ornamentals

Garden gladiolus

Gladiolus garden hybrids (chiefly large-flowered types)

Summer-flowering garden hybrids grown from corms, suited to upright border accents and planned successions of cut-flower spikes.

Full sun
Growing reference

Outdoor ornamentals

Garden tulip

Tulipa gesneriana and associated garden hybrids

Garden border tulips offer a spring display whose timing, height and likelihood of returning depend on the named group and growing conditions.

Full sun
Growing reference

Bulbs & summer tubers: the field guides

Clear explanations. Practical next steps.

The next useful connection.

A successful setup brings the plant, growing conditions and equipment together. These related topics help you work through the next decision.

Flowers & pollinators →Container gardening →Seasonal gardening →Hand tools →