Bulb · Amaryllidaceae
Common Snowdrop
Galanthus nivalis
The bulbs go in during fall, and each snowdrop hangs a small white bell that opens through the last of the winter snow.
Partial shade
Every 7–14 days
32–64°F · 0–18°C
USDA 3–7
Overview
A snowdrop hangs a single nodding white bell that opens in late winter while the ground is still cold. Each flower sets white outer tepals around inner tepals marked with green. The plants rise from small bulbs, come back each spring, and multiply into low drifts under trees and along paths. Left for a few years, a patch closes into a broad sheet of white held low to the ground.
Snowdrops belong to the amaryllis family, growing green leaves and flowers in the cool, damp half-shade under deciduous trees. They are short-lived where summers run hot, so they hold up in cold-winter gardens far better than warm ones. Once a bulb settles into ground it likes, it asks for almost nothing to keep pushing up its bells each year.
One hidden trait sits beneath the pretty flowers. Every part of a snowdrop is toxic, and the small bulb underground is the most dangerous of all. The plant looks fragile and stays tough, but it belongs away from any spot where pets or small children might dig up and eat the bulbs.
Care
The short version: set the small bulbs in fall under deciduous trees in cool, part shade, keep the soil moist and humus-rich while the green leaves and bells grow in spring, then leave them to naturalize.
Light
Snowdrops color up best in partial shade, and the dappled light under deciduous trees fits them since the bells finish before the canopy leafs out. They also take full sun, as long as the soil around the bulbs stays cool and moist through spring growth.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist while the green leaves are growing in spring, on the moist side in humus-rich ground but never waterlogged. Once the foliage dies back for summer the bulbs sit dormant underground and want little to no water until they break again.
Soil
Snowdrops root in average, well-drained ground, though the bulbs fatten best in moist, humus-rich loam, and they tolerate heavy clay. Work in plenty of dark organic matter so the soil around them holds spring moisture without turning soggy.
Temperature
This is a cold-weather plant, at ease roughly between 32°F and 64°F (0°C to 18°C). The bells open in late winter, and the plant cannot stand real summer heat, which is why it grows short-lived in warm regions.
Humidity
There is no humidity number to hit, since ordinary outdoor air suits a snowdrop. Cool, moist soil around the bulb matters far more than the air touching the leaves and bells.
Feeding
Feed lightly as the green shoots break the soil in early spring, or just after the bells fade. A balanced bulb fertilizer or a thin topdressing of dark compost once a season is plenty for such an undemanding plant.
Pruning
There is nothing to cut. Let the green leaves die back on their own after the bells fade so they can recharge the bulb, and clear them only once they have shriveled and fully withered.
Repotting
Snowdrops seldom need lifting. Divide the congested clumps every few years, in the green just after the bells fade, once flowering thins and the crowded bulbs lose vigor.
Size & spacing
These are tiny plants, the bells and leaves reaching only 4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 cm) tall with a spread of 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm). Set the small bulbs about 2 to 3 inches apart and the same depth, and the green clumps knit together over time.
When to plant
Snowdrops move on a winter clock. The small dry bulbs go in during fall once the soil cools, wait through the cold underground, then send up green shoots and white bells in late winter, often right through the snow, before the leaves die back for summer.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Plant dry bulbs in fall when soil has cooled and night temperatures are about 40 to 50 degrees F, 2-3 inches deep and 2-3 inches apart.
- Harvest: Blooms late winter to early spring (February to March), often through snow.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–7
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Snowdrops rarely look troubled, and when they do the damage shows either in the underground bulb or across the whole clump as it slowly loses its bells and color. Match the two signs below to what stands in front of you, then act while the planting can still recover.
Leaves flop and the bulbs feel soft and hollow
The narcissus bulb fly is at work, its larvae boring into the bulb and eating it hollow from the center out. Lift a failing plant and look for a fat cream-colored maggot curled inside the emptied bulb. Dig out and destroy every soft, infested bulb, and put no new bulbs back in that same ground.
Fix:
- Dig and destroy infested bulbs to stop the larvae spreading
- Avoid replanting susceptible bulbs in the same spot
Clumps thin and show fewer bells each year
Heat is the usual cause, as snowdrops grow short-lived once planted south of zone 7, and dry or poorly drained ground wears them down too. Move the bulbs to a cool, part-shade spot under deciduous trees and dig in organic matter so the soil holds its spring moisture around the roots.
Fix:
- Site in cool, part-shade spots such as under deciduous trees
- Improve soil with organic matter to retain spring moisture
Toxicity
Behind the white flowers, snowdrops are toxic. Every part holds the alkaloids lycorine and galantamine, and the small bulb carries the most. Eating any of it brings drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea, and a large dose, above all a bulb, can lead to tremors and heart trouble. No part is safe to eat, so keep the bulbs well away from pets, livestock, and children.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Toxic
A cat that chews the green leaves usually drools and vomits within a few hours. The bulb underground is the real danger, and a cat that unearths and eats one can go on to tremble and run an unsteady heartbeat.
Dogs Toxic
Dogs dig up and chew the bulbs most readily, which brings heavy drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea. A big mouthful of bulb can push on to shaking and a racing or irregular pulse.
Horses Toxic
The same alkaloids hit horses hard. Grazing the leaves or bulbs brings drooling, colicky belly pain, and loose manure, and a large dose can leave a horse weak and trembling.
Rabbits Toxic
No part of a snowdrop is safe for a rabbit. Even a small bite of leaf or bulb upsets the gut and can leave a rabbit drooling, off its food, and lethargic.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, sheep, and goats that reach a stand of snowdrops can drool, scour, and go off their feed. Heavier grazing of the leaves and bulbs risks tremors and an unsteady heart, so fence the bulbs off from pasture.
Birds Toxic
Backyard hens and other birds are not safe around snowdrops. The lycorine packed through every part can leave a bird quiet, off its food, and bringing up its crop, with the bulb the worst of it.
People Caution
No part of a snowdrop is food. Children now and then take the bulbs for onions, and eating one brings drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea, so keep the bulbs out of reach and wash your hands after planting.
Wear gloves when handling bulbs to avoid skin irritation, and keep bulbs away from pets and children.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Most snowdrops in the ground are the plain common species, their bells all white with green marks, but a few named forms and one larger relative look distinct up close.
Flore Pleno
A double-flowered form that stacks extra inner tepals into the bloom, filling it out into a fuller, ruffled white skirt.
Viridi-apice
This form paints green tips onto the outer tepals as well as the usual green marks inside, so the whole bell looks greener up close.
Galanthus elwesii (giant snowdrop)
A larger relative standing taller than the common snowdrop, with bigger white flowers rising above broad, gray-green leaves.
Companions
Snowdrops naturalize best alongside other early bulbs that wake at the same time and share the same cool, woodland ground.
Plant near
Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis): Blooms at the same early-spring time for a complementary naturalized display.
Siberian squill (Scilla siberica): Another early bulb that naturalizes well alongside snowdrops under deciduous trees.
Glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa): Early-blooming companion bulb suited to the same woodland and lawn settings.
How to propagate
Snowdrops build up fast underground, and a crowded clump of bulbs is the moment to split. You can divide them, break away the small offset bulblets clustered at each base, or let the ripe seed drop and sow itself.
DivisionEasy
Just after flowering while foliage is still green (in the green) · Re-establishes the same season; clumps build up over a few years.
Division is the surest way to build more snowdrops. Lift a crowded clump of bulbs right after the bells fade while the leaves are still green, ease it into smaller groups, and slip them back into the soil before the bulbs dry out. The divisions root back that same season and thicken into full green clumps over a few years.
Offsets & pupsEasy
Lift with clumps after flowering · A few years to form large colonies
Each bulb clusters small offset bulblets around its base. Lift them with the clump after the bells fade, snap the little bulblets free to grow on, and over a few years they fill in to build large colonies.
SeedModerate
Self-sows in fall after natural ripening · About 4 years to reach flowering size
Where snowdrops are happy, ripe seed drops in fall and sows itself into new ground. The wait is long, since a seedling needs about 4 years to swell to flowering size.
Myths
Snowdrops are harmless because their little white bells look so delicate.
The fragile-looking flower hides a real toxin. Every part holds lycorine and galantamine, and the bulbs in particular bring on vomiting and diarrhea if eaten. Treat the whole plant, and the bulbs most of all, as poisonous to pets and people.