15 Low-Growing Bulbs for the Front of the Border
While low-growing bulbs are small in stature, they’re big on effortless beauty. Often the first to welcome the season, dwarf growers bring early color to layer the display and soften edges. Explore low-growing selections for recurrent color with gardening expert Katherine Rowe.
Contents
There’s no doubt about the standout beauty of flowering bulbs that rise on long, slender stems. But the tall beauties aren’t complete without a cushion of color below, layering the display, and often the first to greet the season and bring joy to the beholder.
In late winter, even through the snow and frosty ground, miniature bulbs spring to life in sweet drifts to line a walkway, define a bed, or highlight a border edge. Low-growing selections are space-saving and versatile in numerous garden spaces, from tucking into containers to spanning a woodland floor.
Because of their small size, they’re also incredibly easy to plant. Plant them in numbers for the greatest impact. They’ll reward you with a blanket of color as temperatures warm in the spring, paving the way for beloved tall bulbs, too.
Our Favorite Low-Growing Bulbs
Romance Crocus Bulbs
Sunshine Spring Crocus Bulbs
Blueberry Lemonade Bulb Mix
Grape Hyacinths, Milena Daffodils, Polar Hunter Daffodils
Minnow Daffodil Bulbs
Miniature Daffodil Bulbs
Miniature Daffodil
botanical name Narcissus spp. | |
sun requirements Full sun to partial shade | |
height 6-8” | |
hardiness zones 3-9 |
Daffodils spring into color with trumpet blooms that announce winter’s end. Miniature daffodils offer picture-perfect cupped blossoms in cheery yellows, whites, and peaches.
‘Tete-a-tete’ is an early-season daffodil with buttery yellow cups and multiple blooms per stem. It’s one of the first to flower and has numerous buds. The RHS Award of Garden Merit winner is a sturdy, floriferous dwarf variety.
‘Minnow’ is another RHS winner with up to five clustered blooms per stem. Outer petals are creamy yellow-white with pale yellow cups.
Plant daffodil bulbs in the fall and cluster them in groupings at three to six inches apart. You can also “force” daffodil bulbs indoors to have them bloom earlier than they would in the winter landscape for a burst of petite cheer.
Grape Hyacinth
botanical name Muscari armeniacum | |
sun requirements Full sun to partial shade | |
height 6-9” | |
hardiness zones 4-8 |
Grape hyacinth is a dwarf bulb that complements any spring arrangement. It’s a stand out for the front of the border, as a cut flower, and in container displays.
The versatility of the mid-to-late season bloomer earned it the Award of Garden Merit status. Stems hold tightly packed clusters of small bell flowers in cobalt, sky, and violet-blue, with cultivars in pink, purple, yellow, and white. The blossoms open from the bottom up.
Bladed deep green leaves emerge before the blooms, die back after flowering, and may reemerge in fall. Grape hyacinth spread in optimal conditions, both by roots and seeds. Divide them to keep them in bounds.
Dwarf Tulip
botanical name Tulipa spp. | |
sun requirements Full sun | |
height 4-8” | |
hardiness zones 3-8 |
Dwarf tulips pair perfectly with mini daffodils and grape hyacinths for a mixed bed-front or container display. Some selections flower for a season or two, while others perennialize for recurrent color.
‘Little Princess’ is a hybrid with fiery red-orange petals and a yellow ring around deep chocolate centers. While only several inches tall, their bright blooms are eye-catching in the early garden. ‘Little Princess’ naturalizes in the right growing conditions and is an Award of Garden Merit.
Tulipa ‘Red Riding Hood’ is also an AGM recipient and a favorite with striking flowers and foliage. Carmine petals top gray-blue leaves that have delicate deep red streaks. ‘Red Riding Hood’ grows six to eight inches tall and perennializes well.
Glory of the Snow
botanical name Chionodoxa luciliae | |
sun requirements Full sun to partial shade | |
height 4-6” | |
hardiness zones 3-8 |
Glory of the snow appears in late winter, popping up through the snow with fresh, green shoots. Starry purple-blue petals with white centers bring delicate beauty to the quiet landscape. C. luciliae is a large-flowered species with multiple buds and stems per bulb.
Foliage fades by late spring or early summer. While not invasive, glory of the snow naturalizes and self-seeds. It makes a graceful, naturalistic ground cover, rock garden, or woodland spray of color.
Plant bulbs in the fall, placing them close together, two to three inches apart, and three inches deep in the soil.
Dwarf Crested Iris
botanical name Iris cristata | |
sun requirements Full sun to partial shade | |
height 6-9” | |
hardiness zones 3-9 |
This little native iris yields a wash of blue as a woodland groundcover. The watercolor petals are rich purple-blue with white and yellow markings.
Color begins in spring and early summer, with foliage remaining post-bloom. It forms a layer of green sword-shaped leaves that are attractive even when not in flower.
Dwarf crested iris are easygoing perennials that prefer loamy soils and spread through rhizomes. They’re ideal in drifts and along border and walkway edges.
Snowdrops
botanical name Galanthus nivalis | |
sun requirements Full sun to partial shade | |
height 4-10” | |
hardiness zones 3-9 |
Snowdrops show delicate white bells with a light, fresh perfume. Green stems poke up through frosty ground in the late winter landscape with blooms as early as January.
‘Viridi-apice’ has unique green tips on its white inner petals and green blotches on its outer petals. It brings a fresh look and a more robust habit than the species.
‘Atkinsii’ is an especially early-blooming variety whose slender petals have a distinct green heart marked on their tips. The delicate beauty is a recipient of the Royal Horticulture Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
Plant snowdrops in the fall at two to three inches apart and four inches deep. They spread to form colonies. Divide clumps if crowding becomes an issue.
Winter Aconite
botanical name Eranthis hyemalis | |
sun requirements Full sun to partial shade | |
height 6” | |
hardiness zones 3-7 |
To complement snowdrops, glory of the snow, and other early risers, winter aconite cheers the winter scene with bright yellow buttercup flowers. They blanket low-growing foliage on short stems.
Winter aconite makes the most significant impact when planted close together (two to three inches apart and three inches deep). Soak tubers overnight before planting in autumn. Winter aconite is dormant in the warm season but still requires some moisture during dormancy.
Crocus
botanical name Crocus vernus | |
sun requirements Full sun to partial shade | |
height 3-6” | |
hardiness zones 3-8 |
Crocus has the special ability to bring great joy despite their diminutive size. Fine blades hold cupped blooms that pop up before their taller bulb companions. Perfect along walkways and in grassy areas, they bloom in early spring with flowers that open by day and close at night.
Crocus ranges from white to lilac to deep violet with contrasting gold centers. They naturalize well, slowly spreading to form a cluster that may benefit from dividing after several years.
For a twist on the season, plant fall-flowering Colchichum spp. or Crocus sativus (autumn crocus) in spring or summer. The pretty lavender flowers and associated cultivars aren’t just for spring!
Dwarf Allium
botanical name Allium spp. | |
sun requirements Full sun to partial shade | |
height 8-18” | |
hardiness zones 3-8 |
Ornamental alliums are known for their spectacle of late spring and early summer flowers, often in clustered spheres on tall, slender stems. More compact varieties lend themselves to smaller situations and
Allium moly ‘Jeannine’ has clusters of yellow flowers among blue-green, glossy leaves. Allium karataviense ‘Ivory Queen’ (Turkistan onion) is an heirloom variety that reaches only eight inches tall with showy five-inch globes of ivory florets.
A. christophii is a giant allium variety slightly taller at 12 to 18 inches tall but still compact for a giant type. Dusky purple eight-inch globes are stunners in the border.
Hyacinth
botanical name Hyacinthus orientalis | |
sun requirements Full sun to partial shade | |
height 8-12” | |
hardiness zones 4-8 |
Hyacinth greets warming temperatures with dense stalks of color and fragrance. Flowers emerge on a single stem in white, pink, lavender, gold, or blue with an intensely sweet perfume. Lovely in the vase, a single bloom fills a room with fragrance.
The perennials grow best in rich, well-drained soils. They make gorgeous woodland plantings, naturalizing under the tree canopies in dappled sun. Easily divide bulbs to reduce crowding and expand the colony.
Windflower
botanical name Anemone blanda | |
sun requirements Full sun to partial shade | |
height 4-8” | |
hardiness zones 3-9 |
These dwarf anemones create a carpet of lilac-blue, pink, or white blooms. The clump-forming perennial spreads through seeds and rhizomes to form a mat of deep, ferny foliage.
‘Blue Shades’ is an April beauty with rich blue, daisy-ray flowers. Yellow centers give a springy contrast. Award of Garden Merit recipient ‘White Splendour’ in brilliant white has rosy pink backs to highlight the blossoms among fine-textured foliage.
Windflower prefers rich, moist soil with good drainage. Protect plants from drying winds and sun for the best vigor.
Wood Anemone
botanical name Anemone nemorosa | |
sun requirements Partial shade | |
height 5-6” | |
hardiness zones 5-8 |
Wood anemones bear a profusion of star-shaped, single blooms in early to late spring. The North American natives naturalize under tree canopy and go perfectly as an edge planting for Virginia bluebells and daffodils.
‘Robinsoniana’ has Award of Garden Merit honors with pale lavender blooms and creamy gray reverses. The flowers follow the sun during the day and close in the evening. ‘Royal Blue’ has periwinkle flowers with yellow centers on upright stems that reach a mere three to four inches.
The fine-textured leaves are deeply lobed. Wood types spread through rhizomes to form a low-growing mat.
Hardy Cyclamen
botanical name Cyclamen coum | |
sun requirements Partial shade | |
height 3-6” | |
hardiness zones 4-8 |
With mottled, heart-shaped leaves, cyclamen offer white, pink, purple, red, or bicolor flowers for winter and spring. Cyclamen blooms from November through April, giving months of color and active growing until summer dormancy, when they thrive on neglect.
Cyclamen coum, or Persian violet, is a hardy cyclamen for perennial color. With small, glossy leaves and flowers from rose-purple to white, the award-winners bring weeks of late winter and early spring interest. The many blossoms cover the dark leaves.
Persian violets are small relatives of the florist’s cyclamen, C. persicum, which needs protection from cold and hot extremes. Feature hardy cyclamen as a massed single specimen or pair them with late bloomers like hellebore, winter aconite, glory of the snow, and snowdrops.
Ipheion
botanical name Ipheion uniflorum | |
sun requirements Full sun to partial shade | |
height 4-6” | |
hardiness zones 5-9 |
Spring starflowers rise on six-inch stems in a show of fragrant lavender-blue and white blooms. Each bulb produces five to six flowering stems in April.
‘Rolf Fiedler’ is an award-winner in rich blue brushed with a dark central stripe. ‘Alberto Castillo’ out of Argentina is a vigorous selection and also an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Clear white petals with a pale green stripe grace the border front.
One of the easiest bulbs to grow, Ipheion spreads through seeds and offsets and adapts to a range of soil types. The South American ground cover does best in moist soils but tolerates moderate drought.
Dwarf Asiatic Lily
botanical name Lilium spp. | |
sun requirements Partial sun | |
height 16” | |
hardiness zones 3-9 |
Asiatic lilies round out our selection of low-growers and extend the season into mid-summer. White stunning as tall selections, miniature cultivars make a showy edge and cut flower.
Lily Looks ‘Tiny Rocket’ has satiny petals in shades of red on sturdy, compact stems. Petals have dark freckles and gold-rimmed edges. ‘Tiny Pearl’ has deep rose-pink blooms, with five to seven buds per stem. ‘Sugar Love’ is a carpet border lily with six to eight buds per bulb. The sweet cultivar has white interiors with tips brushed in cerise pink.
Lilies emerge with new growth in the spring, growing and flowering through the summer months until yellowing and dying back in the fall. Divide bulbs over time to produce more lilies.