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Glory of the Snow

Spring-Flowering Bulb

Chionodoxa luciliae
Liliaceae Family
Synonym: Chionodoxa gigantea

One of the earliest spring-flowering bulbs, Glory-of-the-Snow carpets the ground with delicate blue blooms with white eyes. Grows just 4 to 6 inches tall.

	Site and Plant Characteristics
	Growing Information
	Varieties

Site Characteristics

Sunlight:

full sun
part shade

Soil conditions:

requires well-drained soil

Hardiness zones:

4 to 9

Special locations:

outdoor containers
rock gardens

Plant Traits

Lifecycle: perennial

Ease-of-care: easy

Height: 0.3 to 0.5 feet

Spread: 0.2 to 0.25 feet

Bloom time: early spring

Flower color:

blue
white

Flowers are blue with white central eyes. 'Alba' has white flowers.

Foliage color: medium green

Foliage texture: medium

Shape: upright

Produces two semi-erect, slightly recurving leaves.

Shape in flower: flower stalks with upright spikes

Clusters of 1 to 3 flowers about 1-inch wide rise above the foliage on erect stems.

Special Considerations

Special characteristics:

aggressive - Once established, forms large clumps that spread easily, especially in lawns.
non-invasive
not native to North America - Native to Turkey.

Growing Information

How to plant:

Propagate by seed, division or separation - In well-established clusters, these plants often self seed. They can also be divided in late summer/early fall.

Maintenance and care:

Plant bulbs 3 inches deep in fall.
More growing information: How to Grow Bulbs

Varieties

'Alba': pure white blooms.
'Gigantea': has large (2-inch diameter) blue flowers.