Best Flowering Bulbs For Your Rock Garden
Spring Bulbs, Fall Bulbs
Rock gardens offer the perfect home for an extensive array of plants including evergreens, deciduous shrubs, perennials, annuals, and flowering bulbs.
A surprisingly large number of perennial bulbs do well in rock gardens, such as snowdrops (Galanthus), crocuses (Crocus), wild tulips (Tulipa), miniature daffodils (Narcissus) and plenty others charming bulbs. They all look stunning tucked against rocks and boulders and despite being small, they can make a great impact. Left undisturbed in the ground, they will emerge year after year, and some will also gently multiply as long as they receive the right light conditions and are planted in soil with the proper drainage.
The following list of perennial bulbs thrive in rock garden conditions and you will be delighted to see them every spring or fall.
1 - Pretty Bulbs For Your Rock Garden
Allium oreophilum (Pink Lily Leek)
Allium oreophilum (Pink Lily Leek) is a compact, hardy bulb with delicate, loose umbels of rosy reddish-pink, star-shaped flowers adorned with darker midveins. The blossoms are mounted on wiry gray-mauve stems and rise above narrow, semi-erect, gray-green leaves. Blooming in late spring to early summer, this charming Allium enjoys long-lasting blooms and remains ornamental in the garden well into summer. Growing up to 8-12 in. high (20-30 cm), this beauty naturalizes easily and will slowly spread to form lovely colonies!
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My CollectionHardiness | 4 - 9 |
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Exposure | Full Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Late) Summer (Early) |
Height | 8" - 1' (20cm - 30cm) |
Colchicum cilicicum (Autumn Crocus)
Native to southeast Turkey to Syria, Colchicum cilicicum is a fall-blooming Colchicum which bears up to 25 small, funnel-shaped, rose-purple flowers borne on short stems. Appearing long before the leaves, the flowers often have deeper tips to the petals. This perennial makes a truly unique display in the fall garden. Resembling crocuses, this small-flowered Colchicum produces its 4-6 dark green lance-shaped leaves, way later, in spring. Growing up to 4-6 inches tall and wide (10-15 cm), this Colchicum naturalizes easily and will come back year after year!
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My CollectionHardiness | 4 - 9 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Fall |
Height | 4" - 6" (10cm - 15cm) |
Crocus chrysanthus 'Cream Beauty' (Snow Crocus)
Wonderfully fragrant, Crocus Chrysanthus 'Cream Beauty' is considered one of the best spring flowering crocuses. Winner of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit, it displays plump, creamy-yellow flowers on the outside with purple margins and a bronzy green base. Bright orange stamens add a fiery spark! This crocus is not only attractive, but also floriferous, vigorous and reliable.
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My CollectionHardiness | 3 - 8 |
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Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Early) Winter |
Height | 3" - 4" (7cm - 10cm) |
Crocus speciosus 'Conqueror' (Autumn Crocus)
Crocus speciosus 'Conqueror is a lovely fall-blooming Crocus with large, goblet shaped, rich violet blue blooms adorned with bright orange anthers. Usually the earliest fall crocus to bloom, 'Conqueror' also boasts the largest blooms within the Crocus speciosus varieties. The grassy, green foliage emerges after flowering and may remain until spring, depending on your location.
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My CollectionHardiness | 4 - 8 |
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Exposure | Full Sun |
Season of Interest |
Fall |
Height | 3" - 5" (7cm - 12cm) |
Cyclamen cilicium (Cilician Cyclamen)
Award-winning Cyclamen cicilium (Cicilian Cyclamen) is a lovely fall-flowering bulb with delicate flowers, in shade of white or rosy-pink, 1 in. wide (2-3 cm), with reflexed, twisted petals marked with a magenta blotch at their mouth. Appearing at the same time as the foliage, their cheerful blooms, slightly honey-scented, generally last for several weeks. They rise elegantly above the decorative foliage which consists of broad, heart-shaped, mid green leaves adorned with pretty silver patterns, that usually remain attractive throughout the winter. Growing up to 3-6 inches tall and wide (7-15 cm), this species is quite hardy and will survive very low temperatures. It will self-seed and naturalize, creating a small colony over time.
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My CollectionHardiness | 5 - 9 |
---|---|
Exposure | Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Fall |
Height | 3" - 6" (7cm - 15cm) |
Cyclamen hederifolium (Ivy-Leaved Cyclamen)
Popping up in the fall garden when most plants have finished blooming, award-winning Cyclamen hederifolium is a perennial plant which creates a captivating sight when massed. Opening before or with the leaves, elegant nodding flowers, in shades of rich magenta to white, 1 in. across (2.5 cm), rise above the foliage in late summer to mid fall. Sometimes fragrant, they are borne on 4-6 in. stems (10-15 cm) and feature gracefully, upswept petals, darker around the mouth. Equally decorative is the variegated foliage of large, ivy-shaped leaves, in shades of green, gray, pewter or silver. Long-lasting, it creates an almost evergreen groundcover and adds color and beauty to the garden during the winter months and well into spring.
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My CollectionHardiness | 5 - 9 |
---|---|
Exposure | Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Summer (Late) Fall |
Height | 4" - 6" (10cm - 15cm) |
Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite)
Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite) is a charming tuberous perennial that bursts from the ground in late winter (before crocuses) with cup-shaped, upward-facing, bright yellow flowers (1 in. wide or 3 cm), surrounded by divided leafy bracts. The foliage of rich green leaves, divided into several lobes, emerges after the flowers. Winter Aconites go dormant by late spring.
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My CollectionHardiness | 4 - 9 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Early) Winter |
Height | 4" (10cm) |
Fritillaria meleagris var. unicolor subvar. alba (Checkered Lily)
Fritillaria meleagris 'Alba' (Checkered Lily) is a bulbous perennial with charming pendant, pure white, bell-shaped flowers on slender stems in mid to late spring. Its pure white petals are adorned with a faint check pattern like a watermark. The delicate flowers are complimented by lance-shaped, grass-like bluish-green leaves. Not bright or showy, this unusual spring flower invites a further look!
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My CollectionHardiness | 4 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Mid,Late) |
Height | 8" - 1' (20cm - 30cm) |
Fritillaria michailovskyi (Michael’s Flower)
Native to Northeastern Turkey, Fritillaria michailovskyi (Michael’s Flower) is a bulbous perennial that grows up to 8-10 in. tall (20-25 cm) in a beautiful display of nodding, broadly bell-shaped, deep purplish-brown flowers adorned with bright yellow tips. Borne atop slender stems in mid to late spring, the delicate flowers, 1 to 4 per bulb, are complimented by lance-shaped, narrow, gray-green leaves. Spectacular in groupings in borders, containers, rock gardens or naturalized areas. Hardiness Zones: 5-8.
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My CollectionHardiness | 5 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Mid,Late) |
Height | 8" - 10" (20cm - 25cm) |
Galanthus 'Atkinsii' (Snowdrop)
Very early and vigorous, award-winning Galanthus 'Atkinsii' is a distinctive and great garden Snowdrop. It produces nodding white flowers with long and slender outer petals which nicely enclose inner petals bearing a prominent green heart-shaped mark at their tips. Slightly honey-scented, the dainty blooms rise atop a foliage of erect, glaucous leaves in late winter - early spring. This small bulbous perennial is one of the earliest and loveliest spring flowering bulbs, adding several weeks of color and beauty to the garden.
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My CollectionHardiness | 3 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Early) Winter |
Height | 8" - 10" (20cm - 25cm) |
Narcissus 'Minnow' (Tazetta Daffodil)
Robust and delightfully fragrant, award-winner Narcissus 'Minnow' is a charming Miniature Daffodil with clusters of 2-5 flowers per stem, adorned with pale yellow petals and buttercup yellow cups in mid spring. The petals gradually fade with age. Ideal for warmer climates, it is a great choice for rock gardens or containers.
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My CollectionHardiness | 5 - 9 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Mid) |
Height | 6" - 8" (15cm - 20cm) |
Ornithogalum nutans (Dropping Star of Bethlehem)
Native to Bulgaria and Turkey, Ornithogalum nutans is an attractive bulbous perennial boasting one-sided racemes of up to 15 fragrant, nodding, bell-shaped, white flowers in mid to late spring. Each blossom consists of 6 tepals adorned with white edges and a green stripe on the outside. Very pretty, the flowers open up into a star shape and last well when picked. The narrow, strap-shaped bright green leaves feature a silver central vein. A striking cut flower and wonderful naturalizer.
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My CollectionHardiness | 6 - 10 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Mid,Late) |
Height | 1' - 2' (30cm - 60cm) |
Oxalis adenophylla (Silver Shamrock)
Native to Chile and Argentina, Oxalis adelophylla (Silver Shamrock) is a bulbous perennial forming a dense clump of finely incised gray-green leaves composed of several heart-shaped leaflets. In late spring to early summer, open-faced, white flowers, 1 in. across, flushed with purple toward their petal tips and adorned with lilac veins, appear above the handsome, clover-like foliage. Very cold hardy, Silver Shamrock also does well in mild climates as long as the soil is kept moist but well-drained. Its considerable ornamental appeal makes it a first rate plant for rock gardens, borders and containers.
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My CollectionHardiness | 4 - 9 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Late) Summer (Early) |
Height | 3" - 4" (7cm - 10cm) |
Tulipa batalinii 'Bright Gem' (Botanical Tulip)
A charmingly true and perennial tulip, Tulip 'Bright Gem' is an adorable little tulip with sulphur yellow, rounded flowers delicately flushed with apricot. The flowers are proudly held on short stems just above the narrow gray-green leaves. Growing up to 6 inches tall (15 cm), this tulip naturalizes easily and will form larger colonies with each passing year.
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My CollectionHardiness | 3 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Mid,Late) |
Height | 5" - 6" (12cm - 15cm) |
Tulipa clusiana 'Cynthia' (Botanical Tulip)
Long-lasting, Tulip 'Cynthia' is a lovely bi-color tulip that will make your heart race. This heirloom tulip sends up gray leaves and eye-catching pale yellow flowers delicately flamed rose-red. The blossoms close at night or on a cloudy day, but are completely opened on sunny days, forming a perfect star. This botanical tulip naturalizes easily and will form larger colonies with each passing year. Grows up to 10 inches tall (25 cm)
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My CollectionHardiness | 3 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Mid) |
Height | 10" (25cm) |
Tulipa Clusiana 'Lady Jane' (Botanical Tulip)
Tulip 'Lady Jane' is quite short but makes a striking impact with its lovely color combination: rosy red with white margins on the outside, snow-white on the inside. The completely opened flower forms a star during the sunny hours. Wet, windy weather during its flowering period in mid spring will have little effect on 'Lady Jane'!
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My CollectionHardiness | 3 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Mid) |
Height | 10" (25cm) |
Tulipa clusiana 'Peppermint Stick' (Botanical Tulip)
Resembling candy canes, Tulip 'Peppermint Stick' is a lovely bi-color tulip that will make your heart race. This small hybrid tulip sends up slender, upright leaves and eye-catching, narrow and pointed, white flowers striped with cherry red lines on their outer tepals. The blossoms close at night or on a cloudy day, but are completely opened on sunny days, forming a perfect star. A beautiful sight! Wet, windy weather during its flowering period in mid spring will have little effect on ‘Peppermint Stick’! A member of the Botanical Tulips, this tulip is quite versatile in the garden. Grows up to 12 inches tall (30 cm)
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My CollectionHardiness | 3 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Mid) |
Height | 1' (30cm) |
Tulipa clusiana chrysantha 'Tubergen's Gem' (Botanical Tulip)
Award-winning Tulip 'Tubergen's Gem' is incredibly beautiful with its striking color combination: rhodonite red with sulphur-yellow margins on the outside, canary yellow on the inside. The completely opened flower forms a star during the sunny hours. A lovely sight! Wet, windy weather during its flowering period in mid spring, will have little effect on this gem! Growing up to 10 inches tall (25 cm), this tulip naturalizes easily and will come back year after year!
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My CollectionHardiness | 3 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Mid) |
Height | 10" (25cm) |
Tulipa humilis 'Alba Coerulea Oculata' (Botanical Tulip)
Such a delicate beauty! Tulipa humilis 'Alba Coreulea Oculata' is so refined with its goblet-shaped white flowers with pointed petals and their deep blue heart! A real delight in the garden with its starry flowers opening to expose their steel-blue heart in full sun! Quite short, this gem still makes a striking impact! Flowering in early-mid spring, this small but spectacular tulip grows up 4-6 inches tall (10-15 cm) and naturalizes easily
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My CollectionHardiness | 4 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Early,Mid) |
Height | 4" - 6" (10cm - 15cm) |
Tulipa tarda (Botanical Tulip)
Multiple award-winning Tulip 'Tarda' is a top performer, boasting elegant star-shaped flowers with yellow petals adorned with white tips. Clustered tightly together, they make a striking impact with their lovely color combination, specifically when the completely opened flowers form a star during the sunny hours.
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My CollectionHardiness | 3 - 10 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Early) |
Height | 6" (15cm) |
Anemone blanda (Grecian Windflower)
Anemone blanda (Grecian Windflower) is a rewarding little plant that can easily provide a great deal of pleasure! Offering dabs of bright colors in mid spring, mounds of abundant daisy-like flowers show off in shades of white, blue and pink over a finely cut fernlike foliage. These daisies seem to last for weeks.
Hardiness | 4 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Mid) |
Cyclamineus Narcissus Group
Elegant and graceful, the Cyclamineus or Miniature Daffodils feature small flowers, one per stem, with slightly to strongly swept-back petals and straight-sided trumpets. Sometimes, they resemble cyclamen, therefore the name of their group. Among the first hybrid daffodils to bloom, they can be admired from early to mid spring and sometimes later in the season, depending on cultivars and weather conditions. More shade tolerant than most daffodil varieties, these Miniature Daffodils naturalize easily. Great choices for rock gardens, containers and forcing.
Hardiness | 3 - 9 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Early,Mid) |
Ipheion (Spring Starflower)
Robust and hardy, Ipheion (Spring Starflower) are small bulbous perennials with lovely star-shaped, sweet violet scented flowers borne on long slender scapes in mid to late spring. Blooming for up to 8 weeks, the dainty blossoms rise atop a cushion of narrow, pale, delicate and grass-like leaves. Regarded to be one of the easiest bulbs to grow, the plants die down in early summer and the flowers can be cut for pretty indoor decoration.
Hardiness | 5 - 9 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Mid,Late) |
Iris reticulata (Dwarf Iris)
Dwarf Iris (Iris reticulata) is a 4 in. tall beauty (10 cm) with grass-like leaves and a violet-blue or purple flower with yellow markings that bursts into bloom in early spring to create an effect reminiscent of butterflies hovering low to the ground. This sight brightens the aspect of late winter days in February and March. Perfect in pots and rock gardens, Iris reticulata will naturalize readily.
Hardiness | 5 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun , Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Early) Winter |
Kaufmanniana Tulips
Have you ever seen Kaufmanniana Tulips? If you have, no doubt you opted to plant them in your garden or your containers. The flowers open wide during the sunny hours of the day providing an entirely different color effect than when closed. The flower shape also changes dramatically; when open they resemble a shining star. The foliage is quite attractive too. A beautiful sight on display in the early spring garden!
Hardiness | 3 - 8 |
---|---|
Exposure | Full Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Early) |
2 - Plant your Bulbs Properly
- Plant all the suggested plants in open, sunny sites with good drainage and reasonably fertile soil
- Plant them in small groups but remember to leave room for their natural increase. As these bulbs will be in place for several years, you want to avoid overcrowding that would reduce flowering.
- Dig planting holes with a trowel or bulb planter. The holes need to be about three times the height of the bulb.
- Plant the bulbs with their points facing up and their roots facing down.
- Fill the hole with the previously removed soil and tamp the surface gently.
You may want to review these useful guides
12 Top Performing Spring Bulbs that Come Back Year After Year!
A sampling of top-performing bulbs that can be counted upon to perennialize -- and, if happy where you plant them, will most likely naturalize, too, to come back to bloom for years.
Brighten Up Your Garden From January Through May with Colorful Flower Bulbs
Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and crocus: these are the spring bloomers everyone knows. But there are hundreds of other, lesser-known beauties to plant in fall. Some are small and delicate, others tall and ungainly. All are fabulous. Wait till you see them!
Combining Tulips with Annuals and Perennials
Although tulips look fabulous when planted in large drifts, they look even better when combined with other flowering bulbs, annuals or perennials. Here are some lovely combination ideas that are easy to replicate in your own garden.
Great Daffodils that Come Back Every Year
Naturalizing bulbs is a terrific way to brighten up lawns, prairies or meadows in spring. They also make gardening easy. Once planted, there is nothing left to do: these bulbs can stay right where they are and produce flowers year after year. What could be better?
Most Fragrant Daffodils
If you look for more than a beautiful drift of creamy or golden flowers, and wish to add another terrific dimension to your spring garden, plant fragrant Narcissus cultivars. While many daffodil bulbs are fragrant, most do not have a perfume powerful enough to enjoy unless you stick your nose directly into the bulb.
Pretty Tulips that Come Back Every Year
Many tulips are not strongly perennial and their floral display tends to decline from season to season. They bloom well the first year, but then peter out after a couple of years. But if you select the right tulip varieties, plant them in the right spot and provide the proper care, you can be rewarded with a magnificent spring display year after year.
Guide Information
Plant Type | Bulbs, Perennials |
---|---|
Plant Family | Crocus, Galanthus - Snowdrops, Narcissus - Daffodils, Tulipa - Tulips |
Exposure | Full Sun, Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Early,Mid,Late) Fall |
Water Needs | Average |
Maintenance | Low |
Soil Drainage | Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained |
Tolerance | Deer, Rabbit |
Garden Styles | Gravel and Rock Garden |
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While every effort has been made to describe these plants accurately, please keep in mind that height, bloom time, and color may differ in various climates. The description of these plants has been written based on numerous outside resources.
Guide Information
Plant Type | Bulbs, Perennials |
---|---|
Plant Family | Crocus, Galanthus - Snowdrops, Narcissus - Daffodils, Tulipa - Tulips |
Exposure | Full Sun, Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Early,Mid,Late) Fall |
Water Needs | Average |
Maintenance | Low |
Soil Drainage | Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained |
Tolerance | Deer, Rabbit |
Garden Styles | Gravel and Rock Garden |
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