Why Gardeners Are Rushing to Plant 2025’s Fall Bulb of the Year

With fall just around the corner, it’s time for gardeners to start thinking about planting spring-flowering bulbs. And if you’re not sure where to start, Flowerbulb.eu has named the snowdrop (Galanthus spp.) as their 2025 Fall Bulb of the Year.

“Snowdrops are the best bulb to plant this fall because they combine beauty, resilience, and ecological value in a way few other flowers can match,” says Peggy Anne Montgomery, a horticulturist representing Flowerbulb.eu. 

They are known for being some of the earliest spring flowers and delightfully low-maintenance. For these reasons and more, expert gardeners are rushing to plant this magical little bulb this fall (and you should too!).

The First Flowers of Spring

As one of the first flowers to push through the cold winter soil, snowdrops symbolize hope and warmer days to come, says Faye Adams, Gardens Supervisor at Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

Beneath their graceful form and delicate appearance lies an unmistakable strength and resilience, enabling them to survive in even the coldest temperatures. 

“Unlike most plants, they thrive in the cold, generating their own warmth to push through snow and ice, while their built-in antifreeze proteins protect their delicate blooms from freezing,” says Montgomery.

Snowdrops do more than add beauty and interest to the spring garden, though. They also act as an essential early food source for pollinators who are just emerging from their winter slumbers.

For a gorgeous, early spring display, gardeners love pairing snowdrops with other early spring bulbs. Crocuses, muscari, and winter aconite are a few of the earliest bulbs to emerge alongside snowdrops.

These early blooms can provide a swathe of cheery color and life when little else is in flower, even if the snow has yet to melt.

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Snowdrops Evoke the Beauty of Woodland Landscapes

Snowdrops aren’t native to North America, but they have become naturalized in many deciduous woodlands across the continent. As such, in a garden setting, they serve to evoke these wild and ancient landscapes, Adams says. 

“Snowdrops look beautiful under deciduous trees that also have winter interest or a great structure, such as Acer, Betula, or Prunus,” she says. 

At Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, snowdrops are grown in the Rock Garden to represent alpine regions across Europe and the Middle East. Adams notes that most are grown along the garden’s central path, where the rocks climb steeply on either side, evoking a Pyrenean valley. 

Low Maintenance and Naturalize Easily

For gardeners of all experience levels, one of the most enticing parts of growing snowdrops is how hardy and easy to care for they are. Plant the bulbs in the fall, and come winter, you’ll be rewarded with an early show of delicate white flowers. 

They also spread readily, establishing more plants as the years pass. However, if a carpet of white is what you’re after, Adams says there are a few things to keep in mind. 

“Site selection is very important—a semi-natural deciduous woodland with minimal understory is easier than trying to establish through planted borders or turf where plants may clump and become congested, needing division,” she says. 

Choosing the right cultivar is also key. With hundreds of cultivars to choose from, you’ll want to pick fertile clones rather than sterile clones to ensure they spread easily.

For example, Galanthus nivalis ‘Anglesey Abbey’ reproduces freely from seed, whereas Galanthus ‘S. Arnott’ is a sterile cultivar, making it a poor choice if masses of snowdrops are what you want, says Adams.

Growing Snowdrops: Expert’s Tips

Ready to add spring’s earliest flower to your garden? Now’s the time to do it. Spring bulbs like snowdrops should be planted in the garden in the fall to overwinter in the ground.

As a general guideline, it’s best to plant fall bulbs five to six weeks before the first frost in your area to ensure adequate time for the bulb to establish before the ground freezes.

The first step to successfully growing snowdrops is choosing the planting site. According to Adams, snowdrops grow best in sunny spots with well-drained soil.

Since they can struggle to compete with stronger plants for light and nutrients, she recommends against planting them too close to evergreen trees or plants with early spring foliage cover, such as barrenwort (Epimedium), lungworts (Pulmonaria), or butterburs (Petasites).