Fall-planted bulbs are such a simple, easy way to add drama to your garden. Plant them in autumn then forget all about them, and they’ll bring striking blooms to borders and patio containers all through spring into summer – and these are flowering plants that practically grow themselves. But here’s the thing: when new bulb varieties are introduced, there aren’t very many to go round. That’s for commercial reasons, to test the market and see if we gardeners are ready for diva-ruffle daffodils or modern-art alliums, but also because of the time it takes to produce large quantities of a fresh variety.

So, if you want to have the newest, most fabulous flowers in your garden, you need to buy your bulbs a good few weeks before it’s time to plant them. And if you look at any online retailer selling fall-planted bulbs, you’ll see that plenty are already sold out. And it's such an easy task to store bulbs. They'll arrive in a dormant state so it's as easy as popping them in breathable paper bags – Kraft brown paper lunch bags such as these from Amazon are perfect – and stashing in a cool, dark, dry spot with good air movement. A shed or garage is a good choice, or a spare bedroom if it’s baking hot outdoors; the ideal temperature is between 50 and 60°F.

And your reward for getting organised and buying bulbs early to plant in fall? Just take a look at these easy-to-grow beauties, all offering plenty of blooms for your bucks, and all raised from bulbs that can be planted in fall. Some are brand new cultivars, others are fresh to the US market, so you can be sure they’ll grab everyone’s attention in your garden.

Top 10 New Bulbs to Order in August for Fall Planting

1. The Rare Tulip that Stops Everyone in Their Tracks

• Zones 3-8
• Full sun or partial shade
• Flowers mid-late spring
• Grows 24" high

Grow this amazing tulip and prepare to be dazzled! Tulipa ‘Strawberry Cream’ starts off looking like a perfectly ordinary tulip, albeit a green one. But then layer upon layer of sugar-pink petals start to peek though, creating this incredible dome shape. And – there’s more! – the flowers finally splay open, looking far more like roses than tulips. Despite its fancy appearance, this rare bulb is easy to grow, making it one of the best tulips to add to your garden this year.

2. The Allium with Crazy Attitude

• Zones 3-9
• Full sun
• Flowers May-June
• Grows to 20" high

We all went wild for Allium ‘Hair’ (available from Dutch Grown) with its curious crown of green tepals when it was introduced by Dutch breeders, and now there’s a new kid on the block hailing from the Netherlands. Allium scorodoprasum ‘Art’ grows its small purple flowers on the ends of long, wiry stems. Butterflies adore alliums, so expect those blooms to be regularly topped with some colorful wings, too. With each flower lasting 2-4 weeks, and the structural seedheads for months more, these bulbs offer great value for garden space as well as your hard-earned dollars.

3. The Daffodil with Diva Ruffles

• Zones 3-8
• Full sun or partial shade
• Flowers mid-late spring
• Grows 18-20" high

If Lady Gaga were a daffodil, she would undoubtedly be Narcissus 'Bellabombe'. With extravagant bursts of petals in peach and apricot-yellow tones layered like an over-the-top tulle gown, this flamboyant bloom sure likes to be the center of attention. Leave the green leaves to die back naturally so they can feed the bulb, and this perennial has staying power, returning year after year for another fabulous show, and it will become one of the best daffodils in your yard. It lasts well in a vase so makes a great cut flower, which will allow you appreciate its delicate fragrance, too.

4. The Anemone that’s Highly Prized by Florists

• Zones 7-10 (2-6 if overwintered indoors)
• Full sun or partial shade
• Flowers early-mid spring
• Grows 18" high

You can understand why florists are falling over themselves to get hold of this joyful anemone. It’s a double-flowered variety with densely-layered petals in a dream combination of blush white to coral red, and stems lasts for over a week in a vase. And will you just look at that dramatically dark center! Happy in pots as well as well-drained borders, the filigree foliage of Anemone Fullstar Red/White is pretty, too. While it’s hardy in zones 7-10, by growing in a pot you can easily overwinter it indoors in cooler climes.

5. The Tulip that Thinks it’s a Peony

• Zones 3-8
• Full sun
• Flowers April-May
• Grows to 20" high

Imagine if your front yard was full of these eye-catcher tulips that look just like peonies: all your neighbors would want to know what they are! Tulipa ‘Mystery Dream’ does indeed look like a tulip that was conjured up in dreamland, with double petals that shift color in changing light from a velvety magenta to almost black. They make excellent cut flowers, too, so plant plenty.

6. The Bulb No-One's Ever Heard Of

• Zones 5-9
• Full sun or partial shade
• Flowers late spring-early summer
• Grows 6-12" high

Have you ever seen this blue bombshell before? Because if you have, I’ll be very surprised! Scilla peruviana, the Portuguese squill, grows dome-shaped clusters of star-shaped flowers in the most glorious violet-blue hue. Because each flower blooms from the outside, inwards, this is a treat that lasts for weeks, and the foliage is a wonderfully fresh green that’s just perfect in a late-spring garden. The plant is smaller than you might imagine, and each bulb grows one flower, so plant plenty, along border edges and in patio pots, or use them to underplant bigger perennials that enjoy the same well-draining conditions.

7. The Candy-Cane Oxalis that Unfurls in the Sun

• Zones 7-9 (2-6 if overwintered indoors)
• Full sun or partial shade
• Flowers spring, summer and fall
• Grows to 8-12" high

This little firecracker may only grow to a handspan height but, boy, it’s a feisty flower unlike any other. For a start, its blooms have white petals edged in red, giving a striped candy-cane appearance when closed – and because these flowers only open in full sun, they regularly unfurl then return to this fabulous funnel shape. While they’re only fully hardy in zones 7-9, Oxalis Versicolor is a cracking choice for a patio coffee-table pot, and growing it in a container means you can easily overwinter it in a warmer spot.

8. The Whimsical Crocus that Graces Winter’s End

• Zones 4-8
• Full sun or partial shade
• Flowers late winter-early spring
• Grows 4" high

The level of elegant beauty Crocus ‘Whale Shark’ brings to a late-winter garden far outweighs its diminutive size. Though it only reaches 4 inches high, the flowers account for pretty much its entire height and purple petals are brushed with a silvery white that’s simply divine. It blooms earlier than most crocus so pop this little gem at the front of borders, in pots and under trees and it will cheer up those short end-of-winter days a treat. Add groups to your lawn, too, as you won’t be mowing your grass at this time of the year.

9. The Tiny Tulip with a Huge Personality

• Zones 3-9
• Full sun or partial shade
• Flowers mid-late spring
• Grows 4-6" high

Yes, yes, this tiny tulip only reaches 6 inches high, but don’t let that fool you. Tulipa ‘Little Beauty’ brings a riot of color in spring with hot-pink petals around an azure blue center. And, because flowers close up every night into tight buds to protect pollen until day-flying pollinators return, and may not open at all on cloudy or rainy days, the vibrant show is a real treat. A reliable perennial, Tulip ‘Little Beauty’ slowly multiplies so you can easily create naturalized drifts in your lawn.

10. The Exquisitely Elegant Deep Burgundy Allium

• Zones 3-9
• Full sun
• Flowers May-June
• Grows to 34" high

Alliums are some of the best bulbs to grow in your garden if you like plenty of bloom for your buck, as plants require little to no maintenance and by growing a few varieties, you can have flowers all through summer. Favorites include six-foot-tall July bloomer ‘Summer Drummer’ (available from Dutch Grown) and the pretty little bobbing balls of Allium Sphaerocephalon (also available from Dutch Grown) – but their color palette is firmly centred around violet.

Allium atropurpurem, however, is the most exquisite burgundy tone that somehow manages to be both dark and vibrant at the same time, making it a firm contender to join the list of best alliums to grow. Originating from Eastern Europe, this exotic beauty has seriously sturdy stems so while the flowers are over by the end of June, the seedheads bring texture to borders for months more.

When to Plant Bulbs in Fall

The exact best time to plant depends on the bulb and your zone. Bulbs are best put into the ground when soil temperatures drop consistently below 55°F, which is easy to measure with a simple soil thermometer like this $12 temperature probe from Walmart. This is typically around 6 weeks before your first frost.

Spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils and crocus do best if they’re put into the ground by the end of September so they have time to start growing roots. Late-spring and summer-flowering bulbs like to get into the ground in September or October, while tulips are better planted a little later in November.

How to Plant Bulbs in Fall

• The biggest secret to planting bulbs in fall is excellent drainage because, left to sit in soggy soil all winter, they can rot. That’s easily achieved by mixing coarse sand, fine gravel or horticultural grit such as Jacks Gritty Mix from Walmart into soil before planting, whether that’s in a pot or the ground.

• Pick a sunny spot. Nearly all fall-planted bulbs need plenty of sun – while some will tolerate partial shade, they need sunshine for part of the day.
• Plant bulbs two or three times their own height, and twice the bulbs’ width apart. So, a bulb that’s 3 inches high and wide would need to be planted 6-9 inches deep and around 6 inches apart. In a container, you can reduce the spacing to one bulb-width apart.

• If you’re planting multiple bulbs in the ground, a bulb planter speeds the process. For bigger bulbs, a hand-held tool such as the Zenport Bulb Planter from Lowe’s is best, and long-handled stand-up bulb planters are also available from Lowe’s. Another speedy option is to use an auger such as this from Amazon which attaches to a standard 3/8" hex drive drill, to create the planting holes. If you’re planting drifts of small bulbs in a lawn, then a tool that removes plugs such as this ProPlugger bulb planter from Lowe’s is a better option.
• Place the bulb in the hole, pointy-end up, and fill with soil, firming with hands or the back of a rake. There’s no need to water in when planting bulbs in fall.

• We've chosen to recommend bulbs from Dutch Grown because they come with a 100% grow guarantee.