Ultimate Potted Flowers For Spring: 8 Brilliant Blooming Options for Spring Containers

Growing spring-flowering plants is certain to brighten outdoor spaces when little else is in bloom. Creating potted flowers for spring adds easy life and cheer to entrances, patios, decks, and doorways. Providing an early start to the growing season, these splashes of spring magic add much-needed color before the warmer weather arrives.

Creating spring flower pots heralds fresh beginnings and welcomes in the gardening calendar year in earnest. Make sure you pick some of the best plants for container gardening early in the year to ensure a welcome visual tonic in preparation for the busy gardening months ahead. Here are the best spring flowers for pots, with growth and container tips to help you get the most from these early season stunners.

Choosing Flowers for Pots in Spring

Flowers for spring container gardening should demonstrate impressive tolerance to cold. If you are container gardening where conditions are cool, or the threat of frost still looms, your choice of cool climate bulbs will be essential. Overall growth habit also plays a role in determining whether or not a flowering plant will be suited to pot-based growing.

Bloom period, size at maturity, petal appearance and foliage will all influence your choice of flowers for early spring planters. Make sure your containers are heavy enough and well supported to accommodate your selections, particularly if you are creating mixed displays or lasagne style plantings. Here are the main spring bloomers to consider. A few of these spring container options make dazzling low maintenance perennials, guaranteeing a hearty display next spring, too!

1. Bergenia

Among the most attractive flowering plants for spring pots are bergenia. These short-statured plants are well-suited to growth in containers, bursting into bloom while conditions are still cool. Widely adapted, growers can expect plants to perform best where they receive ample light.

Small purple-pink flowers only further their beauty, held high above the plant's heart-shaped foliage. Make sure these gorgeous plants are part of your spring checklist for containers. Bergenia is hardy to USDA zones 4-8.

2. Bleeding Hearts

Beloved for their use in shaded beds, bleeding hearts make an exceptional addition to low-light containers. First-time growers can expect plants to produce strong, arching stems, each filled with distinctive heart-like blooms.

These gorgeous flowers are some of the best pink flowers you can grow in pots at any time of year, but especially in spring! Ephemeral in nature, the species remains among the best choices for use in mixed containers, adding appeal and ornamental value throughout the early season.

3. Daffodil

Daffodils are some of the most dependable spring flowers in containers. Returning seasonally, bulbs grown in containers can be used to impart lasting color into the landscape, as well as porches and gathering spaces. There’s also a dazzling array to choose from, whether you are keen to experiment with frilly daffodils and double bloom varieties, or the classic sunshine yellow petal.

Though hardy to cold, bulbs should be positioned deeply, with gardeners choosing to plant only into containers with sufficient room. This will allow for continued root development and the multiplication of bulbs over the course of several seasons. Daffodils will perform best throughout USDA zones 3-9.

4. Hyacinth

Hyacinth bulbs make for an exceptionally attractive addition to containers. Most gardeners, choosing to treat the species as an annual, begin planting in fall. Doing so allows for gradual exposure to cold over winter, a necessary aspect of bulb treatment, which is needed to trigger blooms in spring.

Though mass planting of hyacinths can be used to quickly fill pots with color, bulbs are equally suited to use in mixed or lasagna style plantings for an extended season of interest. Just make sure you are able to support their stems as they grow – otherwise, hyacinths might fall over as blooms become heavy.

5. Muscari

Muscari, or grape hyacinth, makes an ideal accent to spring-grown pots. Small plants are favored for their brilliant color, held high above grass-like foliage. Clustered flowers, which persist over the course of several weeks, grow especially well in tandem with other early-season species.

Where conditions are ideal, gardeners who plant grape hyacinths can expect the bulbs to naturalize readily, returning seasonally with little additional care. Muscari plants are hardy to USDA zones 4-9.

6. Pansy

Pansies are often among the first flowers to begin blooming in spring. Pansies are of special value when added to mixed spring flower containers, where their hardiness and longevity will enhance doorways and patios during the chilly weeks that mark the end of winter and the arrival of extended sunshine.

Though pastel shades and rich violets are some of the most popular container grown pansies, you will find that colors range greatly across each species. Plants are generally said to grow best across USDA zones 6-10.

7. Snowdrops

Like most other spring-blooming bulbs, snowdrops can also be grown in containers. They make excellent spring bulbs for pollinators, as well as early season flowers for doorways and patios. Plants will perform best in larger pots, allowing ample room for continued growth and naturalization over the course of several seasons.

Though plants will benefit from routine watering through summer, potted snowdrops require little additional care. Their tolerance to cold only furthers their appeal to those living in cool climates, with plants demonstrating hardiness to USDA zones 3-7.

8. Tulips

For many avid growers, tulips are a staple of the early spring garden. Their tall stems and stately color make for a truly memorable garden display. This applies just as much to tulips you grow in containers as it does to more conventional tulip beds and borders.

As an annual, tulip bulbs should be planted seasonally in the fall. Close spacing at planting time can help to further enhance the beauty of such arrangements. Tulips can also be planted at the middle level of a dazzling lasagne style bulb container arrangement. They are generally considered hardy throughout USDA zones 3-8.

More Stunning Container Gardening Ideas

• Inspired by these spring beauties and want to extend your container garden to include more stunning flora? These cut flower container garden flowers are perfect for pots and vases.
• Are you looking for container plants that will look good no matter what the season? Grow some of these best plants for pots year round to keep containers gorgeous through fall and beyond.
• Ever wanted to grow a potted grove? We’ve rounded up some of the best trees for containers to help you cultivate dazzling flowering and evergreen specimens.
• Veggie growers, take note! We reveal some of the best cheap container vegetable gardening ideas to help you save money and grow more even in small spaces.
• Fancy giving your containers a lift and boosting your vertical gardening options? Try some of these triumphant flowers for hanging baskets to raise your floral game.

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