Skip to main content

Plant these flowers to have the earliest spring blooms

April showers bring May flowers, but what if you can’t wait until May? Or April, for that matter? What flowers can you plant to get beautiful flowers as early as possible? These questions and more are answered, just for you!

What is the earliest blooming spring flower?

Three snowdrop plants outdoors

There are several flowers you can plant for early blooms, and some that begin blooming in late winter. Snowdrops, reticulated iris, and winter jasmine all put out blooms in late winter, making them stand out among the rest as early risers. Snowdrops have small flowers with white, oblong petals. Reticulated iris have blue or purple flowers and curving petals. Winter jasmine is a shrub that looks similar to forsythia, an early spring shrub, with little, bright yellow flowers dotting the branches.

If you’re looking for the first flowers to bloom after the last snow melts, then you’ll likely want crocus, hellebore, or pansies. Crocus are small, cup-shaped flowers, typically blue, purple, or white. Hellebore have flowers that, interestingly, face downward and come in a wide array of purples. Pansies come in almost any color or combination of colors.

What flowers bloom in spring?

Many flowers begin blooming in spring, although not all do. There are a few flowers that have become almost synonymous with spring. Aside from those listed above, there are daffodils, tulips, camellias, hyacinth, and primrose.

Daffodils in particular are known, especially throughout the American South, as the flowers of spring. Although they aren’t the earliest bloomers, they mark the beginning of spring for many people with their cheery yellow blooms.

Daffodils in sunlight

Tulips come in a variety of colors, from classic red to unconventional parrot tulips, and are a cornerstone of Mother’s Day.

Hyacinth comes in blue, pink, and yellow, and the grape hyacinth, which shares a name but is not related, is a common purple wildflower that blooms in early spring, as well.

Camellias bloom in stunning reds, elegant whites, and soft pinks. Primrose is a delicate, round flower that typically has two or even three colors per blossom.

When should you plant flowers to bloom in spring?

The majority of plants can be planted in the fall and will lay dormant through the winter to bloom in spring. The exact time will depend on the climate where you live. In general, you want to plant them just as the weather begins cooling. If they’re planted when it is still warm, they may begin sprouting before winter, and the frosts will likely kill them. However, if you wait too long, it will be too cold and the ground too hard for planting. Make sure your plants are nice and warm with a layer of leaf mulch, and all you have to do is wait!

Purple and blue pansies outdoors

In general, seeds need to be just an inch or two under the surface. Bulbs, due to their bigger size, need to be planted an inch or two deeper than seeds, and larger bulbs may need to be planted another inch or so below that. Planting mature plants depends much more on the exact plant you have, but, in general, you want a hole the same depth as the root ball and twice as wide.

If you’re worried about your plants surviving the winter, you can always start them inside and transfer them to your garden in the spring. All you need is a container a few inches across for each seed, and 5 to 6 inches across for each bulb. Plant your seeds or bulbs as you would in the garden, make sure they get plenty of sun, supplementing with artificial light when necessary, and keep an eye on the soil. Seeds can’t store water for very long, so they need soil that is consistently moist but not damp.

Bulbs have a little more storage capacity, but they still need a fair amount of water. You can create a humidity dome or a mini greenhouse, made out of clear plastic, for your seeds and bulbs. This traps humidity and heat, while allowing in sunlight. It essentially tricks the plants into thinking it’s already spring!

So now comes the fun part: Picking what flowers you’ll plant! Which ones were your favorite? Which really spoke to you? No matter which you choose, you can’t possibly go wrong with these phenomenal early bloomers.

Looking for more inspiration? Plan a four-season garden with us and learn about the things you must consider during the whole process!

Editors' Recommendations

Cayla Leonard
Cayla Leonard is a writer from North Carolina who is passionate about plants.  She enjoys reading and writing fiction and…
Turn your pothos plant into a hydroponic oasis
How to propagate a golden pothos from cuttings
Hanging pothos plant

Golden pothos brighten up any home garden and they are one of the easiest plants to propagate in either water or soil. Pothos propagation can be done one of two ways -- either hydroponically or in soil. Try both options out to determine which one works best for your space. There are many different types of pothos plants, also known as pipremnum aureum or Devil's Ivy.

This guide for how to propagate pothos works for pretty much all of them. Golden pothos, one of the most common varieties, is characterized by its yellow undertones. It's important to note that leaves in a propagated golden pothos plant may contain less yellow spots than the parent plant. Though losing some color still leaves you with not one but two beautiful plants.
Why you might want to propagate a golden pothos
Whether it's a golden pothos or any other pothos variety, you'll soon find that these plants grow quickly. So even if you're not interested in creating more baby plants, cutting and pruning your pothos is vital to keeping it healthy and managing the amount of space it takes up. Your pothos might be hanging and reaching the floor, or it might be threatening to take over the wall you've been training it to vine over. Either way, cutting off a bit here and there will allow you to grow baby plants and will also encourage the plant to grow bushier and healthier vines.

Read more
Zone 9b planting guide: Everything you need to know about nourishing a garden in this warm climate
The best plants to grow in zone 9b and when to grow them
A happy gardener with gloves

From show-stopping roses to hardy agave, zone 9b is home to plants of all stripes, thanks to its warm, sunny conditions. It’s also an ideal environment for a wide range of fruits and veggies, whether you’re partial to hot peppers or sweet cherries. Its hot summers can be challenging, but it’s generally a productive and lush area for thriving plant life. Here’s your zone 9b planting guide so you can nourish a fruitful and beautiful garden in one of the country's warmest areas.
What is a climate zone?
With climate zones on the Plant Hardiness Zone Map, the United States Department of Agriculture divides the country into 13 regions based on average annual minimum temperature ranges. The temperature ranges go from coldest to hottest as we move from zone 1 to 13. Zone 9b, as you may have already guessed, falls on the warmer parts of the map.

Whenever you buy a plant from a store, look for the label that indicates the "plant hardiness zone." If your zone is within that range, the plant is a perennial in your area, meaning it’ll last more than one growing season there. If not, you’ll have an annual on your hands, which means it probably won't survive more than one growing season in your region.

Read more
Focus on color: The most vibrantly purple plants to add to your garden this season
Want more purple in your garden? Try these gorgeous plants and flowers
A field of lavender flowers

Purple is a popular color when it comes to flowers, and it's easy to see why. With lighter shades that can relax and soothe you, darker shades that add depth, and bright purples that are exciting and cheery, there is a purple flower for any garden. For flower bed layering, purple blooms also provide your garden with bold, yet not-too-overwhelming pops. To find the most beautiful purple plants out there and learn how to care for them, read about our top purple plant picks ahead.

Lavender
We couldn’t write a list of purple plants and not include lavender! Lavender is an incredibly hardy plant that's typically perennial in climate zones 5 through 9. Its delicate purple blooms and calming fragrance are highlights of its appeal, but they aren’t the only ones. Lavender is also an easy plant to take care of. It grows prolifically and is incredibly forgiving with occasional bouts of neglect. It appreciates full sun and well-draining soil for lush expansion across your garden bed. You only need to water it when its soil feels dry—there's not much need to fertilize it, as mixing in compost when you first plant it should be sufficient.

Read more