The best Flower bulb planters, compared.
Top pick: DUFVCX depth-mark Best value: Draper 21861 – Lowest shelf price in the set, about £8.49, with a stated 60 mm core, 50–100 mm depth and 4.2 from 2,363 reviews. Updated October 2026.
A flower bulb planter is a hollow steel cone that lifts a plug of soil so you can set a bulb at a known depth and put the plug back. In a UK garden you use one in autumn for tulips, daffodils and crocus, in a border, a pot or a lawn. The planter keeps each hole the same size. A hand cone means you kneel or bend, which suits a prepared border or a pot. A standing shaft with a foot tread suits a lawn, or anyone who cannot kneel. Check the stated maximum depth. A rule of thumb is two to three times the bulb’s height, so a head that stops near 10 cm is shallow for a large daffodil. About 6 cm of core covers many tulips. Serrations help in turf. The plug should leave the cone by a trigger, a spring, or the next push. Water dry ground the night before. Depth, diameter and handle length are set out in the [flower bulb planter buying guide](/hub/plant-accessories/flower-bulb-planter/sub/flower-bulb-planter-buying-guide).
A flower bulb planter is a hollow steel cone that lifts a plug of soil so you can set a bulb at a known depth and put the plug back.
36 products checked · 58 hrs invested · +22,400 readers
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
Where are you planting?
DUFVCX YMQ-DV114 is a 240 g green spring cone at about £11.99. Bullets state a maximum diameter of 3.2 inch and a maximum depth of 4 inch, about 8.1 cm by 10.2 cm, with 4.7 from only 12 reviews. UK reviews like the depth mark and the plug in damp turf, including daffodils in grass. One review measured 10 cm. Hard, dry lawn after hot weather is the repeated miss, and the release button is wide for smaller hands. The named steel is not stated. The star line is not a durability sample.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a light spring cone with a depth mark for damp turf or prepared soil, and you accept 12 reviews.
Less suitable: You are treating 4.7 from 12 reviews as a durability sample, or your lawn is hard and dry.
Specifications
Common questions
How deep can it plant?
The bullets state a maximum depth of 4 inch and a maximum diameter of 3.2 inch, about 10.2 cm by 8.1 cm. One UK review measured 10 cm and liked the side marker.
How do you release the soil?
The listing describes spring-loaded handles. UK reviews squeeze or press a handle button, and one calls the handle telescopic.
Will it cut hard lawn?
UK reviews like soft, damp turf and prepared soil. After dry weather the same reviews say it struggles.
Gardena 3412-20 is a 490 g hand cone at about £15.49, listed as steel with a Duroplast coat, a trigger release and a depth scale, with 4.5 from 2,400 reviews. It is the top pick for a prepared border in this set. UK reviews like the trigger on sticky border soil and call it sturdier than cones that crumpled. The same reviews still say clay is tough, grass can be trickier than a trowel, and damp earth can stick. Origin is the Czech Republic in the spec and Germany in a bullet. The included-components field says napkins. A numeric maximum depth is not stated. It is a hand tool, not a standing lawn planter.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You are planting bulbs in a prepared border or pot and want a trigger hand cone with a depth scale and a large review sample.
Less suitable: You cannot kneel, or you are plugging compacted lawn or dry clay where UK reviews still prefer a trowel or a standing tool.
Specifications
Common questions
Does it have a depth scale?
Yes. The listing bullets describe a depth scale so you can set planting depth for each bulb. A numbered maximum is not stated.
How does the soil come out?
The listing describes an automatic grip trigger that releases the soil. UK reviews also use that trigger on sticky soil.
What is the stated warranty?
A listing bullet promises a 25-year GARDENA warranty. The brand site ties that to registration. An EU spare-part field in the same listing says 2 years.
Fiskars Ergo 1057078 is the standing listing with the strongest star line here: about £36.99, 1 m, about 1.95 kg, a lever release, teeth, a non-slip tread and a listed depth up to 15 cm, at 4.5 from 306 reviews. UK reviews plant daffodils, snowdrops and crocuses without kneeling and like the one-piece build. One UK review measured a plug about 7 cm deep. The same reviews include a handle that broke after three bulbs, and a reviewer who cut stars when Fiskars stated a two-year guarantee. It is the deepest listed standing hole in this set, not a cheap hand cone.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You cannot kneel, or you are planting a lawn drift and want a 1 m one-piece standing tool with a listed depth up to 15 cm.
Less suitable: You only have a few dozen border bulbs and will not pay about £37, or you want a guarantee as long as Gardena’s registered 25-year line.
Specifications
Common questions
Can you use it without kneeling?
Yes. The listing is a 1 m standing planter with a non-slip tread and a handle lever. UK reviews plant without bending.
How deep does it go?
The bullets state a planting depth of up to 15 cm. One UK review measured a plug about 7 cm deep.
Does it need assembly?
A UK review says it comes in one piece.
The Eadwiella cone is about £13.99 and 390 g, with marks up to 4 inch, about 10.2 cm, a 6 cm serrated core and 4.5 from 16 reviews. UK reviews cut lawn holes for crocus and call it more robust than a planter that buckled. The same reviews say it does not open to dump the plug, and heavy soil sticks. One UK review returned it because there is no opening action. The title says stainless steel. A bullet says carbon steel. It is a simple serrated hand tool, not a trigger cone.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a serrated hand cone with readable 4 inch marks and will tap the plug out yourself.
Less suitable: You want a trigger or spring opening, or you need a steel name that does not clash inside the listing.
Specifications
Common questions
Are there depth marks?
Yes. The title and bullets describe marks up to 4 inches, about 10.2 cm. UK reviews say the inch marks are readable.
Does it open to dump the soil?
No opening action is described. One UK review returned it for that reason. Another found heavy soil hard to release.
Stainless or carbon steel?
The title says stainless steel. A bullet says carbon steel. Both strings are in the listing.
Spear & Jackson 3060EL is a 220 g stainless hand planter at about £9.99, with 4.3 from 833 reviews. On the captured listing it is rank 1 in Bulb Planters. UK reviews like the brand and the spring release, including a 165-bulb job in soil and lawn. Stones, damp soil that will not drop, and users who were not strong enough to twist it for daffodils sit in the same reviews. Dimension lines in the listing do not agree, and a numeric maximum depth is not stated. It is a stainless spring cone around £10, not a standing tool.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a stainless spring hand planter around £10 for borders, and you can live without a numbered maximum depth.
Less suitable: You need a standing shaft, or your ground is stony enough that the cone will not twist.
Specifications
Common questions
Is the body stainless steel?
Yes. The title and the material field say stainless steel. The handle is described as spring-loaded and adjustable.
Is there a depth gauge?
The bullets describe a depth measuring aid. A numeric maximum depth is not stated.
Does the handle adjust?
The bullets describe an adjustable, spring-loaded handle for releasing soil.
The Jardineer two-piece set is about £29.99, 2.57 kg, stainless steel in the spec, 4.3 from 175 reviews, and the only listing here that bundles a long handle with a small depth-marked cone. UK reviews plant 150 tulips after a short assembly and like the small tool’s opening action. The long piece is the weak half: soil that will not come out. The pack-count fields clash, 2 versus 1. A numeric maximum depth is not stated. It is a pair for mixed jobs, not a substitute for the Gardena trigger listing.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want one listing that covers a lawn transplanter and a small depth-marked hand cone, and you will assemble it.
Less suitable: You need a reliable plug dump on the long tube, or a numbered maximum depth on the standing piece.
Specifications
Common questions
What is in the set?
The title is a two-piece set: a long-handle transplanter and a small planter with a depth marker. Number of Packs says 2. Number of Items says 1.
Does it need assembly?
UK reviews say it needs simple assembly and then feels robust.
Can you plant in a lawn?
UK reviews use it in a lawn and to move seedlings from grass. One review could not get soil out of the long piece and gave up.
Jardineer UK1-5012 is a 400 g, 9 inch stainless transplanter at about £11.59, with marks at 1, 2 and 3 inches, about 2.5–7.6 cm, and 4.3 from 28 reviews. UK reviews plant bluebells and mixed bulbs in compost faster than a trowel. It is not a 60 mm turf cylinder. Compressed ground needs more force than an arm, and dahlia tubers would not fit. The set-name field says 2-pack while the unit count says 1. Some written reviews describe a squeeze cone. The title is the small transplanter. Use it as a tight-space tool.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You are planting small bulbs or seedlings in compost, pots or a tight raised bed.
Less suitable: You need a 60 mm turf cylinder, or a hole deeper than the 3 inch marks for large daffodils.
Specifications
Common questions
Is this a full-size lawn plugger?
No. The listing is a compact 9 inch stainless transplanter with 1–3 inch marks for tight spaces, containers and raised planters.
Is it a two-pack?
The set-name field says 2-Pack (Silver and Black). Unit count and included components say 1. The price is for this listing as captured.
Will it go through compacted ground?
UK reviews plant bluebells and mixed bulbs in soft soil. Arm force alone struggles in compressed ground.
Draper 21861 is the cheapest listing here at about £8.49, with a 60 mm chrome-plated cone, a spring handle, a 50–100 mm depth range and 4.2 from 2,363 reviews. It is the best value for pots, troughs and prepared borders. UK reviews call it quick in those soils. The same reviews show the cone buckling in compacted lawn or hard clay, and a spring that can fire on the way out. The catalogue weight of 10 g is not a plausible steel mass. You still kneel or bend. A stated 100 mm maximum is shallow for a large daffodil if you follow a three-times-the-bulb-height rule of thumb. It is not a standing lawn plugger.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a cheap 60 mm spring cone for pots, troughs and prepared borders, and you accept a 100 mm maximum.
Less suitable: You need a standing lawn plugger, or you will lean on the cone in hard turf or clay.
Specifications
Common questions
How wide and deep is the hole?
The listing states a 60 mm diameter and a depth range of 50 mm to 100 mm. That maximum is 10 cm.
Will it cope with clay or a hard lawn?
The listing says turf or heavy soil. UK reviews say it is fine in pots and prepared borders and that it can buckle if you lean on it in grass or hard clay.
How do you empty the plug?
The title describes a spring handle. UK reviews squeeze that handle to drop the soil.
BARAYSTUS JDDE1138 is a 1.6 kg standing planter at about £25.99, 103 cm, with a T-handle and a foot pedal, at 4.0 from 106 reviews. The spec says carbon steel and a plastic handle. Bullets give a serrated base and a width of 3.7 inch, about 9.4 cm. UK reviews plant dozens of bulbs and 66 bluebells, then poke the tube when the plug sticks. One older buyer returned it on clay. One review’s wooden shaft and stainless head do not match the carbon and plastic spec. A numbered maximum depth is not stated. It is a budget standing option with a messy materials spec, not the Fiskars lever tool.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a budget standing T-handle with a foot pedal and will poke stuck plugs out of the tube.
Less suitable: You plant in clay, or you need a numbered maximum depth and a materials spec that agrees with itself.
Specifications
Common questions
Is this a standing tool?
Yes. The listing is long-handled with a T-grip, a foot pedal and a serrated base. Dimensions include 103 cm.
What is it made of?
The spec says carbon steel and a plastic handle. One UK review describes a wooden shaft and a thick stainless head. Both strings are in the listing.
Does it need assembly?
UK reviews say it is easy to assemble. The listing also says it arrives in parts.
Orientools YLL-039-BLB is a 2 kg, 98 cm powder-coated carbon sod plugger at about £28.99, with an 8.9 cm by 9.4 cm listed hole and 4.0 from two reviews. One UK review calls it substantial. The other found the hole hard work and the depth inadequate and sent it back. 9.4 cm is shallower than the Fiskars listed 15 cm. The sample is too small to treat the star line as durability. It is a numbered standing spec with almost no UK reviews.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a standing carbon plugger with a printed 8.9 cm by 9.4 cm hole and you accept two reviews.
Less suitable: You need a 10–15 cm hole for a 5 cm daffodil, or a review sample large enough to judge durability.
Specifications
Common questions
How large is the hole?
The bullets state 8.9 cm diameter and a maximum depth of 9.4 cm.
Do you plant standing up?
Yes. The listing is a 98 cm T-handle with a wide foot pedal. Assembly uses the supplied hex screws and wrenches.
Is 9.4 cm deep enough?
That is the listed maximum. One of the two UK reviews returned it because the planting depth felt inadequate. For a 5 cm daffodil, a three-times rule of thumb wants a deeper hole.
The Jardineer long-handle sold alone is about £25.99, 2.26 kg and 88 cm, iron and stainless in the spec, with 3.7 from 24 reviews. UK reviews like standing work, thick metal and a yellow shaft. The same reviews include bolts that do not fit, and a tool that bent after about 20 lawn holes and became floppy. The part number still reads as the two-piece set. A numbered maximum depth is not stated. It is the weakest standing fit in this comparison.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a cheaper standing tool than the Fiskars Ergo and will check the bolts on arrival.
Less suitable: You need a joint that survived a lawn job in these reviews, or a numbered maximum depth.
Specifications
Common questions
Is this the two-piece set?
No. This listing is a single long-handle tool. The manufacturer part field still says 2 Bulb Planter Set. The two-piece set is a different ASIN.
Does it need assembly?
UK reviews assemble three parts with nuts, bolts and two spanners. One review says the nuts and bolts do not fit.
Does it stay straight in a lawn?
One UK review liked the teeth for hundreds of daffodils, then the handle bent at the puncher after about 20 holes and became floppy.
Eleven amazon.co.uk listings are scored on stars, the size of the review sample, fit as a bulb planter, and price only after the job fits. There is no laboratory soil test. Stars count only with the review count on that listing. A 4.7 from 12 reviews does not outrank 4.5 from 2,400. The top pick is Gardena 3412-20. Best value is Draper 21861, the lowest shelf price in the set, at about £8.49, with 4.2 from 2,363 reviews.
Stars
40%Star points are the amazon.co.uk rating divided by 5, then multiplied by 40, and rounded. A listing with no star line would score 0. Every listing in this set has a star line, so the spread comes from 3.7 to 4.7.
Review sample
25%The review count on that listing sets the sample points: 1,000 or more scores 25, 200 or more scores 20, 50 or more scores 12, 10 or more scores 6, and 1 to 9 scores 2. A high average on a dozen reviews stays a thin sample.
Fit as a bulb planter
25%Points follow the job the listing can actually do: a trigger hand cone with a depth scale, a stainless spring hand tool, a standing shaft with a listed depth, or a compact transplanter that is not a turf cylinder. UK reviews that report bending, stuck plugs, bolts that do not fit, or a shallow head are marked down.
Price after the job fits
10%Shelf price is scored only once the tool matches the job. The highest price score that is not the top pick is best value. A lower price on a cone that UK reviews say buckles in hard lawn does not make it a standing lawn tool.
Start with the job, then the soil, then the depth and the way the plug comes out. A hand cone and a standing shaft do not do the same work. Shelf prices in this capture run from about £8.49 to about £36.99. The top pick is the trigger hand cone with the large review sample. The best value is the lowest-priced spring cone. Nothing on this page is a soil test in a lab.
A flower bulb planter is a hollow steel cone that lifts a plug of soil so you can drop a bulb in at a known depth and put the plug back. UK gardeners buy one in autumn for tulips, daffodils and crocus, in a border, a pot or a lawn. A trowel still works. The planter is for repeating the hole. The job comes first. A few dozen bulbs among existing plants is a hand cone: you kneel or bend, and you want depth marks and a way to dump the plug.
A stated maximum near 90–100 mm is not the same as two to three times the bulb’s height. A 5 cm daffodil often wants 10–15 cm. If the listing has no number, do not guess the depth from the star rating.
UK reviews on chrome hand cones report buckling in hard lawn and dry clay. Water the ground the night before, or switch to a standing serrated head. Stop if the metal distorts.
In grass, the Royal Horticultural Society says leave the foliage until it yellows, about six weeks after flowering. Cutting it at once weakens next year’s bulb. Put the plug back so the lawn surface stays level.
Choose the job before the brand. A hand cone for a prepared border and a standing shaft for a lawn are different tools, even when both are called a flower bulb planter. You kneel with the first. You stand on a foot tread with the second. A compact transplanter of about 23 cm, with marks only to about 7.6 cm, is a third thing: useful in a pot, not a turf cylinder. Soil decides whether that choice survives the first dozen holes. Prepared borders and compost suit a spring or trigger cone.
The plug has to come out or the tool is only a tube. Hand cones in this set use a trigger, spring handles, or no opening action at all. No opening action means you tap the soil out, and UK reviews include a return for that reason. Standing tubes usually empty on the next hole. If the plug sticks, you poke it. That is a different job from a trigger. Joints fail before the steel slogan does. Cheap standing models arrive in parts.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You are planting bulbs among existing plants and you can kneel or bend. Gardena 3412-20 at about £15.49 is the top pick: a trigger hand cone with a depth scale and 4.5 from 2,400 reviews. UK reviews like it in borders and still find clay and grass harder. A numbered maximum depth is not stated.
You are putting bulbs through turf, or you cannot kneel. Fiskars Ergo at about £36.99 is a 1 m standing planter with a lever, a non-slip tread and a listed depth up to 15 cm, at 4.5 from 306 reviews. One UK review measured a plug of about 7 cm. Another reports a handle that broke after three bulbs.
You want a cheap spring cone for pots, troughs and prepared borders, and you accept a 10 cm maximum. Draper 21861 at about £8.49 is the best value: a stated 60 mm core, 50–100 mm depth, and 4.2 from 2,363 reviews. UK reviews say the cone can buckle in hard lawn or clay. The catalogue weight of 10 g is not a usable steel mass.
The top pick is Gardena 3412-20, at about £15.49. It is a 490 g hand cone with a trigger release and a depth scale, and amazon.co.uk shows 4.5 from 2,400 reviews. UK reviews like the trigger in sticky border soil and still say clay is tough and grass can be harder than a trowel. A numbered maximum depth is not stated, and you still kneel or bend. The best value is Draper 21861, at about £8.49, the lowest shelf price here, with a stated 60 mm core, a 50–100 mm depth and 4.2 from 2,363 reviews. UK reviews praise pots and prepared borders and report buckling in hard lawn or clay. A 10 cm maximum is shallow for a large daffodil under a three-times-the-height rule of thumb. None of these scores is a laboratory soil test.
Draper 21861
Lowest shelf price in the set, about £8.49, with a stated 60 mm core, 50–100 mm depth and 4.2 from 2,363 reviews.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured for these eleven listings. Last checked 19 October 2026.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, stars and review counts are the UK listing lines captured for these eleven products on 19 October 2026. We did not run a laboratory soil test.
