When to plant snowdrop bulbs
Snowdrops are one of the first signs of spring. Here’s all you need to know about planting these bulbs to fill your garden with their dainty, white heads.
Why plant snowdrop bulbs?
Snowdrops pushing up through the soil (or snow) are one of the first signs of spring. And what a sight. They grow in drifts, turning the ground white and filling our winter-worn hearts with hope, often as early as January or February.
These little troopers have delicate, bell-shaped blooms with distinctive green splodges on their petals and provide much-appreciated early food for bees and other pollinators.
Their bulbs are brilliant for naturalising, which means they’ll spread out and gradually carpet parts of your garden.
When to plant snowdrop bulbs in the UK
Plant snowdrop bulbs in a partly shady spot in October or November and they’ll flower during the last days of winter and the first of spring.
Alternatively, you can start snowdrops off ‘in the green’, which can help them to establish better. This involves digging up and replanting existing snowdrop plants just after they’ve flowered, but before their leaves turn yellow. Have a go at this in spring to help them spread.
Where to plant snowdrops
Snowdrops ain’t fussy. They cope with most types of soil or compost. But if you can find them a moist, well-drained patch in a bed, border or lawn, they’ll thank you for it.
Being woodland dwellers, snowdrops will thrive in a spot of shade under a deciduous tree (the ones that lose their leaves in winter) where they can bask in soil that’s rich with leaf mould and flower before the foliage overhead blocks out the light. Over summer, the canopy will prevent their soil from drying out too much.
How to plant snowdrop bulbs in the ground
In the ground, snowdrop bulbs will naturalise over time, spreading out from the spot where you’ve planted them and producing large swathes of white and green flowers.
Scatter your snowdrop bulbs on the ground or over a lawn in groups and use a trowel or a trusty bulb planter to make holes where they fall. How deep do you plant snowdrop bulbs? 10cm below the soil and 10cm apart is a good rule of thumb. Drop them in pointy side up and cover them over. Give them a drop of water once they’re underground to welcome them to the fold.
To plant snowdrop plants ‘in the green’, lift the plants with a fork after the flowers have faded but before the foliage dies off. Make another hole - one that will fit their roots - and plant them so any white stems and leaves are underground, before backfilling with soil and watering them in.
Planting snowdrop bulbs in pots
Snowdrops grow well in containers for a season or two. After that, they’ll survive better in the ground.
Fill a free-draining pot with peat-free compost (and some leaf mould or garden compost, if you can). Plant the bulbs 10cm deep and 10cm apart and give them a good watering in.
Alternatively, grow them as part of an early spring display with vibrant green ivy and rustic-looking hellebores.
Keep the pot moist and out of the sun in summer. After a couple of years of glory, remove the snowdrop bulbs and pop them in the garden to live out the rest of their days and multiply.
Snowdrop bulb care
Snowdrops are super low maintenance but there’s nothing that riles them more than their bulbs being too dry. Ensure bulbs in containers stay lightly moist, which may mean watering them from time to time during long, dry summers.
Keep an eye out for dratted squirrels digging up your freshly planted bulblets in autumn. If they’re being a complete nuisance, add some netting over the area until they naff off.
For snowdrops in lawns, wait until the foliage has died back before getting out the mower. This will give them the best chance of coming back next year.
