Buy Spring Bulbs Online

Buying spring bulbs online

Crocuses are a spring favourite

With autumn comes the planting of spring flowering bulbs; daffodils, crocuses, snowdrops and bluebells are just some of the flowers that will bring colour to your garden early next year.

Buying spring bulbs online is very similar to buying spring bulbs by mail order and can provide extra benefits including a greater choice. We've reviewed three sites that we think can make buying spring bulbs easier for you.

Why buy spring bulbs online

There are many reasons why you might want to buy online, such as easily comparing several products and prices. Some of the retailers are encouraging people to shop online, too. Unwins have announced a range of bulbs that are exclusive to their website and won't be found in their catalogue.

Choosing which spring bulbs to buy

Crocus (a website, not just a flower) have done an excellent job of putting each bulb they sell into categories; they have 145 bulbs in total and you can sort by colour, flowering month, light requirements and several other characteristics.

Tulips add vibrancy and come
in a variety of colours.

Crocus' pictures are nice and bright and each plant provides you with detailed information. The high quality pictures really help give you a feel for the spring bulbs you're buying. Bulbs are in the 'plants' section or you can go straight to Crocus' spring bulbs section.

Gardening Direct have also categorized their spring bulbs nicely with options down the left hand side of the main bulbs page. Like Crocus, you can choose by colour, sun requirements and other criteria including price.

The individual page for each spring bulb has two sections (product info, and more details). Click on 'more details' to see information such as where to plant, the flower colour, and flowering period. There's a 'bulbs' link at the top of each page or you can go straight to Gardening Direct's spring bulb section.

Suttons Seeds is a very well known and established brand. The website is a bit older and doesn't have the same niceties as the other two to help you choose. However, if you already know what you're looking for Suttons is a bit simpler to use as there are fewer options. There's a 'bulbs' link at the top of each page or you can go straight to Sutton's spring bulbs.

If you want to buy a particular bulb online or are missing that 'must have' variety, try using our product search at the top right of this page. We list all the bulbs for sale from many websites, so you can see what's available in one place.

Where to buy spring bulbs online

The quality of the spring bulbs you buy online is vital to their success and needs to be considered when deciding where to buy from. To help you choose where to shop you can read reviews of the three websites we've featured, and other sites in our customer reviews section.

Bluebells should be bought
from reputable nurseries.

When buying spring bulbs, buying from reputable nurseries is also important to help conserve endangered species. Over collection of bluebells, cyclamen and daffodils from the wild has put them at danger of being lost forever and it is now illegal to collect these from the wild without a CITES license.

Buying bulbs from reputable growers of cultivated stocks helps conserve endangered species and ensure that they'll be around for future generations of gardeners to enjoy.

Delivery of spring bulbs

Where you live may affect the bulbs you can buy online so it's worth checking where a website delivers to before spending your time browsing their products.

Suttons are able to deliver anywhere in the EU and Gardening Direct have the second furthest reach, delivering to the whole of the UK including the Highlands and islands, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands.

Crocus only deliver to mainland addresses within England, Wales, and parts of Scotland; the very north of Scoltand is excluded, as are the Isle of Wight, the Isle of Man, the Scottish Isles, Ireland and the Channel Isles. If you're not sure, they have a map and postcode selector to check your address.

Delivery charges also vary and the three we've mentioned all charge a flat rate. Gardening Direct charge £2.95, Suttons charge £3.95 and Crocus charge £5.95. These charges are the same regardless of your order size and value.

Gardening Direct's delivery time is within 10 days, Suttons is 7-10 days and Crocus delivery times are specified on each product, though most spring bulbs have a delivery time of one week.

Spring bulb price comparison

If you want to compare the prices of spring bulbs from many different retailers, simply type the name of the bulb you want to buy in the product search at the top right of this page. We list products from many different retailers and we'll show you all the prices in one place.

Special offers

We list offers and discounts from many retailers on our garden discounts page so it's worth checking there before you buy.