Growing Bells of Ireland: A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Bells of Ireland isn’t grown for its flowers at all, really. The tiny white blooms tucked inside are almost beside the point; what the plant is grown for is the spike of pale, papery green calyxes surrounding them, which is what gives the cut stem its name and its appeal in arrangements.
A taproot that resents disturbance
Chill seed for 1 to 2 weeks before sowing to improve germination, which otherwise takes 12 to 21 days. Direct-seeding once soil reaches 50-60°F in early spring is the more reliable route, since bells of Ireland has a taproot and transplants poorly; if starting indoors, sow about 7 weeks before your last frost and handle the move outside carefully. Seed needs light, so don’t cover it. Space plants 10 to 12 inches apart; mature stalks typically reach 2 to 3 feet.
Staking and repeat cutting
In an exposed spot, the tall flower spikes may need staking to stay upright. Regular cutting for arrangements encourages the plant to keep producing more stems rather than settling into just a few, so harvest doesn’t have to mean the end of a plant’s productivity for the season.
Fresh versus dried
For fresh arrangements, cut when the bells are about half open and still green. For drying, wait until the bells feel firm to the touch, which holds their shape and color much better through the drying process than cutting too early.
Bells of Ireland has no well-established companion pairings, and nothing it needs to be kept away from. Its height and stiff, upright form make it a good back-of-bed anchor in the Garden Designer, and since it doesn’t transplant well, plan its spot before you sow rather than after.
Source: Bells of Ireland: Key Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Bells of Ireland · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 2-3 ft
Method: Either: Start indoors for an earlier harvest, or direct-sow outside for less fuss. Either works.
When to plant bells of Ireland, by zone
Every zone bells of Ireland grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Bloom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2a & 2b | Apr 1–Apr 8 | May 13–May 20 | Aug 11–Aug 18 |
| 3a & 3b | Apr 11–Apr 18 | May 23–May 30 | Aug 21–Aug 28 |
| 4a & 4b | Mar 27–Apr 3 | May 8–May 15 | Aug 6–Aug 13 |
| 5a & 5b | Mar 22–Mar 29 | May 3–May 10 | Aug 1–Aug 8 |
| 6a & 6b | Mar 7–Mar 14 | Apr 18–Apr 25 | Jul 17–Jul 24 |
| 7a & 7b | Feb 20–Feb 27 | Apr 3–Apr 10 | Jul 2–Jul 9 |
| 8a & 8b | Feb 4–Feb 11 | Mar 18–Mar 25 | Jun 16–Jun 23 |
| 9a & 9b | Dec 28–Jan 4 | Feb 8–Feb 15 | May 9–May 16 |
| 10a & 10b | Dec 12–Dec 19 | Jan 23–Jan 30 | Apr 23–Apr 30 |
| 11a & 11b | Nov 13–Nov 20 | Dec 25–Jan 1 | Mar 25–Apr 1 |
Bloom dates are about 90 days after the sow or plant-out date, not after starting seeds indoors.
Zone 2 sows before zone 3 here, which looks wrong and is not. USDA zones rank winter cold, not season length, and zone 2 is mostly interior Alaska, where hard winters come with warm summers. More on what a zone measures.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Bells of Ireland plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 1 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 2-3 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- Straight-species bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis): Johnny's Selected Seeds sells it as the plain species; there's no real named-cultivar market for a flower grown for one distinctive, pale green form rather than a range of colors. (source)
Why each variety is listed comes from the source shown next to it. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement. The buy links are separate from those sources: they go to seed suppliers that sell that exact variety, and we may earn a commission on some of them.
Where to buy bells of Ireland seeds
True Leaf Market · Burpee (each supplier's bells of Ireland seeds)
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing bells of Ireland" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Bells of Ireland: A cut-flower spike grown for its pale green, bell-shaped calyxes, not true flowers at all, with a taproot that punishes any attempt to transplant it.
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