GrowingHQ

Bulbs you plant once and leave

The division the packet never makes. Daffodils, snowdrops and crocuses are planted once and increase on their own; gladioli and dahlias are a yearly lift-and-store commitment, and somebody who does not know the difference loses them in the first hard winter and concludes they are bad at gardening. Filtered on `hardyInGround` from Sprint 19 rather than on general frost exposure, which was answering a different question about the top growth.

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.

12 plants
PlantTypeLightSpacingMin. pot depthIn a container
Bearded irisIris germanicaOrnamentalSome care neededFull sun30–45 cm25 cmmarginal
CrocosmiaCrocosmia × crocosmiifloraOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade15–25 cm30 cmworkable
CrocusCrocus vernusOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade5–8 cm15 cmwell suited
DaffodilNarcissusOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade10–15 cm25 cmwell suited
Grape hyacinthMuscari armeniacumOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade8–10 cm15 cmwell suited
Hardy cyclamenCyclamen hederifoliumOrnamentalStraightforwardDappled shade, Full shade, Partial shade15–20 cm15 cmwell suited
HyacinthHyacinthus orientalisOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade10–15 cm15 cmwell suited
LilyLiliumOrnamentalSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade20–30 cm35 cmwell suited
NerineNerine bowdeniiOrnamentalSome care neededFull sun8–12 cm20 cmwell suited
Ornamental alliumAllium hollandicumOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun15–20 cm30 cmworkable
SnowdropGalanthus nivalisOrnamentalStraightforwardDappled shade, Partial shade, Full shade8–10 cm20 cmworkable
TulipTulipaOrnamentalSome care neededFull sun10–15 cm30 cmwell 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.