Summer snowflake
Leucojum aestivum · Amaryllidaceae
Like a tall, late snowdrop: clusters of white bells, each petal tipped with a green dot, on stems above daffodil-like leaves in mid-spring. It thrives in moist and even wet soil.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 8 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Bulb layer
A bed built around summer snowflake
The planner designed this bed around summer 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 summer snowflake stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 22, yellow
- 2 Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' × 6, pink
- 3 Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' × 3, white
- 4 Bee balm 'Purple Rooster' × 3, purple
- 5 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Blue-eyed grass × 13, blue
- 7 Summer snowflake × 3, white
Why this plant
- The only bells. The others are daisies, spires, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Near the front. At 18 in it is seen over Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' (10 in) in front of it.
- 3 plants in one handful. In the gaps between other plants, which fill the space when the bulb is not in growth.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late April to mid May.
- Opens the season. For its first two weeks 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: 8 of the 8 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (pink, purple and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with white to calm things between them. The flowers run from late April to early October: 24 weeks in all.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 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 summer snowflake goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 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.
In spite of its name it flowers in spring. It is one of the few bulbs for heavy, wet soil, and clumps grow larger every year with no attention.
- Damp soil and pond sides
- Naturalising under deciduous trees
- With late daffodils
What to plant with summer snowflake
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Daffodil: in flower together for three weeks, from late April.
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; bold leaves against its medium ones.
- Siberian iris: takes over when it finishes, flowering from late May; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about summer snowflake
Does summer snowflake need sun or shade?
Summer snowflake grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), 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 is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does summer 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 summer snowflake flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late April to mid May. 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 May to late May |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late April to mid May |
| Zone 6 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 8 | Early April to late April |
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 summer snowflake be planted?
6 in (15 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 8 in (20 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many summer snowflake plants do I need?
At 6 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 48 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 21 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 153 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 three in one group.
Is summer snowflake poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs and cats. The bulbs cause vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like summer snowflake?
These come closest to doing what summer snowflake does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Trout lily 'Pagoda': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 6 in shorter, yellow, not white.
- Checkered lily: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 6 in shorter, 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 summer snowflake?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. 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 summer 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, a recorded partner, in flower mid July to mid August.
- Lady's mantle: 18 in tall and 24 in wide, in flower late May to early July.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': 24 in tall and 2½ ft wide, in flower mid May to mid September.
What does summer snowflake look like in winter?
Summer 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
- Spring snowflake Leucojum vernum
In these guides
- Plants for dry shade
- Plants for deep shade
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 8 in (20 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6 in (15 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May; hanging bells; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, summer-dormant; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Amaryllidaceae
- Comes from
- Europe and Western Asia to North Iran
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, wet soil, deep shade, 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.