When to Plant Tulips

Tulips spend the winter underground and bloom the next spring, so they go in during fall while the soil is cool but not frozen. Choose full sun and soil that drains well, since bulbs rot in soggy ground, and plant in groups of five or more for a fuller show. Many large hybrid tulips flower best in their first spring and fewer each year after, so gardeners often add fresh bulbs every fall.

Tulip bulbs go in once the soil has cooled, and early enough to grow roots before the ground freezes. The University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension says to plant when the soil is about 50 to 55 °F or cooler, and to keep planting until a couple of weeks before the ground freezes. We count from your first fall frost to three weeks after it; the first hard freeze (28 °F) usually comes inside that window, a median 11 days after the first frost at our weather stations. Tulips also need a long winter chill. Clemson Extension has gardeners in central and coastal South Carolina keep the bulbs in the refrigerator until planting, and UF/IFAS asks for two to four months of chilling in Florida, so from zone 8a on this page gives that advice instead of dates.