Bulbs for pots
The one group where a container is often BETTER than the ground rather than a compromise: the drainage suits them, the display can be moved to where it is seen in March and moved away while the foliage dies down, and squirrels are easier to defeat on a hard surface.
How this list was built
Generated from the catalogue by the same engine that powers What can I grow? — 12 of the 18 bulbs, corms, rhizomes and tubers qualify. It is published because it names a question people ask, returns enough plants to be useful, does not return most of the group it is about, and rests on fields that are actually populated. Lists that fail any of those are on the coverage page instead.
| Plant | Type | Light | Spacing | Min. pot depth | In a container |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CannaCanna × generalis | OrnamentalSome care needed | Full sun | 45–60 cm | 35 cm | well suited |
| CrocusCrocus vernus | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade | 5–8 cm | 15 cm | well suited |
| DaffodilNarcissus | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade | 10–15 cm | 25 cm | well suited |
| DahliaDahlia | OrnamentalSome care needed | Full sun | 45–75 cm | 30 cm | well suited |
| Grape hyacinthMuscari armeniacum | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade | 8–10 cm | 15 cm | well suited |
| Hardy cyclamenCyclamen hederifolium | OrnamentalStraightforward | Dappled shade, Full shade, Partial shade | 15–20 cm | 15 cm | well suited |
| HippeastrumHippeastrum hybrids | OrnamentalSome care needed | Full sun, Partial shade | 25–30 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| HyacinthHyacinthus orientalis | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade | 10–15 cm | 15 cm | well suited |
| LilyLilium | OrnamentalSome care needed | Full sun, Partial shade | 20–30 cm | 35 cm | well suited |
| NerineNerine bowdenii | OrnamentalSome care needed | Full sun | 8–12 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| Tuberous begoniaBegonia × tuberhybrida | OrnamentalSome care needed | Partial shade, Dappled shade, Full shade | 25–35 cm | 20 cm | well suited |
| TulipTulipa | OrnamentalSome care needed | Full sun | 10–15 cm | 30 cm | well suited |
This is one cut through bulbs, corms, rhizomes and tubers, which compares every one of them on foliage, size and container suitability — including the ones this list rules out, and why.