10 Bulbs to Plant in the Spring for Late Summer Blooms

Spherical purple allium flowers. In the Green leaf background, Allium Gladiator is a spectacular giant Onion. — Credit: anutr tosirikul / Getty Images

Typically, most bulbs you plant in your home garden (including favorites like tulips, daffodils, and crocus flowers) need to be placed in the soil before the first frost to guarantee blooms by spring. If you missed the planting window, there are still several bulbs (and related forms such as tubers, corms, and tuberous roots) to plant in the spring that will yield late-summer flowers.

These plants don't need the extended cold dormancy period to grow like fall-planted bulbs, which means you can plant them in the spring and still enjoy them before the end of the year. Choose from one (or a few!) of these expert-recommended bulbs this spring, then watch as they add a profusion of color to your summer landscape.

Debra Prinzing, founder and creative director of the Slow Flowers Society
Kacey Ziegler, senior event design manager at B Floral
David J. Kiss, MLA, horticulturalist, landscape theorist, and author of Designing Outside the Box

Begonias

Groups of small, layered begonia petals in warm hues of orange, yellow, peach, pink, and red add color to border plantings, hanging baskets, and window boxes from summer through the first frost. In zones where the climate is too cold to keep the bulbs outside all year, plant them in containers and care for them as houseplants during the winter.

Zone: 9 to 10
Size: 10 to 12 inches tall
Care requirements: Partial sun to partial shade; well-drained soil

Dahlias

Dahlias are prolific blooms that come in a dazzling range of flower sizes, forms, and petal colors, according to Debra Prinzing, founder and creative director of the Slow Flowers Society. "In the border, they appear lush and abundant," she says. "As a cut flower, they practically arrange themselves." Though dahlias are only winter-hardy in the southern part of the country, Prinzing says gardeners in zones 3 to 7 can grow the flower each season, digging up the tubers at the end of the season, overwintering them inside their homes, then planting again the following year.

Zone: 8 to 11
Size: 1 to 6 feet tall
Care requirements: Full sun; loose, fertile soil

Gladiolus

A favorite flower among gardeners, gladiolus are enjoying a renaissance in the cutting garden, especially with soft-hued varieties like pale green and apricot, says Prinzing. "Plant the small, round corms in spring and wait for their three-foot spikes to emerge, covered with orchid-shaped blooms," she says. The corms should be planted with the pointed side facing up and a little deeper than the recommended three- or four-inch depth to help keep the stems upright once the flowers begin to open.

Zone: 7 to 10
Size: 3 feet tall
Care requirements: Full sun; moist, well-draining soil

Lilies

orange flower lily — Credit:
Christa Boaz / Getty Images

Lilies are hardy bulbs that can add drama to your garden. "Their blooms demand attention and come in a wide array of petal colors, both solid and flecked," says Prinzing. "Plant a combination of lily varieties to enjoy a mixed display—Asiatic, double Asiatic, LA Hybrid, Trumpet, Oriental, and OT Hybrid forms." Doing this can ensure a long summer full of a variety of blooms.

Zone: 4 to 9
Size: 14 inches to 8 feet tall
Care requirements: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil

Calla Lilies

Calla Lily — Credit:
standret / Getty Images

Known for their unique, curvaceous flower, calla lilies bloom in classic white, yellow, orange, pink, rose, lavender, and dark purple-plum, according to Prinzing. "Group them in clusters at the front of a border or plant them in containers," she says.

Zone: 8 to 10
Size: 1 to 3 feet tall
Care requirements: Full sun to partial shade; moist soil

Chocolate Cosmos

Unlike a true cosmos, which is typically grown from seed as an annual, this flower is grown from a small bulb. "It produces velvety, burgundy-maroon blooms that resemble a single cosmos flower on a tall, dark stem," says Prinzing. As an added bonus, these flowers have an irresistible cocoa-like fragrance. "These are heat-lovers originally from Mexico and they love warmth and sun," something she says makes them great for container planting.

Zone: 7 to 11
Size: 2 to 3 feet tall
Care requirements: Full sun; well-drained soil

Acidanthera Murielae

Also known as a "peacock orchid," Prinzing says this fragrant, summer-blooming relative of the gladiola produces graceful white flowers on slender stems. "There is a distinctive, dark-purple mark at the throat of each nodding flower—a pretty contrast," says Prinzing.

Zone: 6 to 10
Size: 2 to 3 feet tall
Care requirements: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil

Caladium

These bulbs feature showy leaves rather than blooms, says Kacey Ziegler, senior event design manager at B Floral. "They are a little more versatile for placement since they thrive in bright, indirect light, meaning they can be dappled right under other plants or placed where their leaves can see the sky but are not in direct sunlight," she says. Caladiums come in a variety of colors, including a stunning white and green combination, pinks, reds, and magentas. "Caladiums can also be moved inside over winter to give your space life as a colorful houseplant," says Ziegler.

Zone: 9 to 11
Size: 1 to 3 feet tall
Care requirements: Full to partial shade; moist, well-drained soil

Allium Gigateum

If you're looking to make a gigantic impression in the garden, David J. Kiss, MLA, horticulturalist, landscape theorist, and author of Designing Outside the Box, says you should look no further than Allium gigateum, which is also known as ornamental onion. "A living lollipop at a mature height of 3- to 5-feet crowned with a perfectly round 9-inch flower globe of violet mellowing to lilac-pink," he says. "Plant in clusters for an Alice in Wonderland 'wow' factor."

Zone: 5 to 9
Size: 3 to 5 feet
Care requirements: Full sun; well-drained soil

Canna Lily

If you want to add height and dimension to your garden, Kiss suggests adding a canna lilly, which comes in a variety of saturated flower colors and bold leaf patterns. "Its tropical appearance summers well at the poolside and backyard terrace," he says.