Spring snowflake
Leucojum vernum · Amaryllidoideae
Chunky white bells, each petal tipped with a green or yellow spot, hang from short stems over glossy, strap-shaped leaves.
- Size
- 10 in tall, 4 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Early March to late March
- Pets
- Toxic (moderate)
- Job in a bed
- Bulb layer
A bed built around spring snowflake
The planner designed this bed around spring snowflake when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why spring snowflake stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bloody cranesbill × 5, pink
- 2 Creeping mahonia × 8, yellow
- 3 Blue wood aster × 3, lavender
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Lady's mantle × 3, green
- 7 Spring snowflake × 12, white
Why this plant
- The only bells. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Near the front. At 10 in it stands ahead of blue wood aster (3 ft) without hiding it.
- 12 plants in 2 handfuls. In the gaps between other plants, which fill the space when the bulb is not in growth.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From early March to late March.
- Opens the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- Leaves gone by midsummer. They die back and leave bare ground. A perennial that comes up late stands beside it, and grows over the gap.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 5 groups (80%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (pink and lavender) and uses yellow for warmth, with white and green to calm things between them. The back corners are held by blue wood aster and garden phlox 'David', the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where spring snowflake goes in a border
At 10 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: bulb layer. Small bulbs planted in handfuls of five or seven in the gaps between other plants, for colour before the perennials wake up.
It flowers with the snowdrops but is bolder and likes wetter soil. It dislikes being dried, so plant it in leaf, or as fresh bulbs in early autumn.
- Damp woodland in late winter
- Beside streams and ponds
- Partnering with snowdrops
What to plant with spring snowflake
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Snowdrop: in flower together for four weeks, from early March; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Marsh marigold: takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid April; tall enough (16 in) to stand behind it.
- Lady fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about spring snowflake
Does spring snowflake need sun or shade?
Spring snowflake grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does spring snowflake grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does spring snowflake flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early March to late March. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early March to early April |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early March to late March |
| Zone 6 | Late February to late March |
| Zone 7 | Mid February to mid March |
| Zone 8 | Early February to early March |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should spring snowflake be planted?
4 in (10 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 10 in (25 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many spring snowflake plants do I need?
At 4 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 107 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 31 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 343 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as handfuls of five or seven, in the gaps between other plants.
In the bed above, the planner used 12 in two groups.
Is spring snowflake poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: moderate toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts, especially the bulbs, are poisonous if eaten, causing vomiting and diarrhoea and, in quantity, convulsions.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like spring snowflake?
These come closest to doing what spring snowflake does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Trout lily 'Pagoda': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers mid April to early May, yellow, not white.
- Checkered lily: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers mid April to early May, fine leaves, not medium.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat spring snowflake?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What can I plant to hide spring snowflake's leaves after it flowers?
A bulb's leaves have to be left to yellow for about six weeks after flowering, to feed next year's flowers. Plant it among perennials that come up late and spread wide, and they grow over the leaves as they fade:
- Hosta: 18 in tall and 2½ ft wide, in flower mid July to mid August.
- Lady's mantle: 18 in tall and 24 in wide, in flower late May to early July.
- Siberian bugloss 'Jack Frost': 16 in tall and 18 in wide, in flower late April to late May.
What does spring snowflake look like in winter?
Spring snowflake is underground: it dies back after flowering and waits as a bulb until spring. Mark where it is, so a fork does not find it first.
More Leucojum
- Summer snowflake Leucojum aestivum
In these guides
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- The first flowers of spring
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
In flower in: March
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 10 in (25 cm) tall, 4 in (10 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 in (10 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early March to late March; hanging bells; white, green
- Leaves
- Medium texture, summer-dormant; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Amaryllidoideae
- Comes from
- Europe to Northern Iran
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, black walnut
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.