When to Plant Tulip and Daffodil Bulbs in Your State

Tulips and daffodils want a cold winter in the ground and a cool, moist autumn to grow roots first. That gives a planting window with a soft opening and a firm close: open once the soil cools below about 55F, close when the ground freezes solid. In most of the country that window runs four to eight weeks, and it opens later than most people think. Planting into warm September soil invites rot and early sprouting. Here is the window for every state.

Soil Temperature, Not the Calendar

The trigger is soil temperature at planting depth, about 6 inches down. Below 55F the bulb grows roots without pushing a shoot. Above it, especially with autumn rain, tulips in particular are prone to fungal rot. The soil at that depth cools about two weeks behind the air, which is why the first light frost is a handy signal: by then the ground is usually ready. Our soil temperature chart has the readings for vegetable crops if you keep a probe thermometer.

The deadline is the ground freezing solid, which comes weeks after the first hard freeze of the air. Bulbs need about six weeks of root growth before that. If you are late, plant anyway: a bulb in cold ground beats a bulb in a paper bag every time.

Bulb Planting Windows by State

Windows run from the typical point the soil has cooled to the point the ground usually freezes, for the state’s main population centers. Mountain gardens open and close earlier. The note covers the states where tulips need help.

State	Planting window	Note
Alabama	Mid November to mid December	Pre-chill tulips and hyacinths 10 to 12 weeks; daffodils need no chill
Alaska	Late August to mid September	Plant deep and mulch heavily; choose early, hardy daffodils
Arizona	October (Flagstaff); December to early January (Phoenix, Tucson, pre-chilled)	Low deserts: refrigerate bulbs from October
Arkansas	Late October to late November	Pre-chill tulips in the south of the state
California	October (mountains); December to January (valleys and coast, pre-chilled)	Daffodils and paperwhites do well without chilling
Colorado	Mid September to late October	Front Range soils cool fast; get them in before Halloween
Connecticut	Late September to early November	Shoreline gardens have until mid November
Delaware	Mid October to late November
Florida	December to January, pre-chilled	Treat tulips as annuals; daffodils only in the Panhandle
Georgia	Mid November to mid December	Pre-chill tulips 10 to 12 weeks; daffodils and alliums without
Hawaii	Not recommended outdoors	Spring bulbs need a cold winter the islands do not provide
Idaho	Late September to late October
Illinois	Early October to mid November	Chicago lakefront has until late November
Indiana	Early October to early November
Iowa	Late September to late October
Kansas	Mid October to mid November
Kentucky	Mid October to mid November
Louisiana	Late December to January, pre-chilled	Daffodils (especially tazettas) naturalise; tulips are one season
Maine	Mid September to mid October	Coastal gardens have until late October
Maryland	Late October to late November
Massachusetts	Early October to mid November	Berkshires by late October
Michigan	Late September to early November	Upper Peninsula by mid October
Minnesota	Mid September to late October	Mulch after the ground crusts, not before
Mississippi	Mid November to mid December	Pre-chill tulips; daffodils without
Missouri	Mid October to mid November
Montana	Early September to mid October	Plant deep, 8 inches for tulips
Nebraska	Late September to early November
Nevada	Late September to late October (Reno); December, pre-chilled (Las Vegas)
New Hampshire	Mid September to mid October
New Jersey	Mid October to late November
New Mexico	Late September to late October (Santa Fe); mid October to mid November (Albuquerque)
New York	Late September to late October (upstate); late October to late November (NYC, Long Island)
North Carolina	Late October to early December	Mountains by mid November
North Dakota	Early September to mid October	Plant deep and mulch
Ohio	Early October to mid November
Oklahoma	Late October to late November
Oregon	Late September to late October (east); November to mid December (west)
Pennsylvania	Early October to mid November	Philadelphia suburbs have until late November
Rhode Island	Early October to mid November
South Carolina	Mid November to mid December	Pre-chill tulips on the coast
South Dakota	Mid September to late October
Tennessee	Mid October to late November
Texas	Late October to November (Panhandle); December to January, pre-chilled (Dallas south)	Daffodils and Dutch iris are the reliable perennials
Utah	Late September to early November
Vermont	Mid September to mid October
Virginia	Mid October to late November
Washington	Late September to late October (east); November to early December (west)
West Virginia	Early October to mid November
Wisconsin	Mid September to late October
Wyoming	Early September to mid October

Warm Winter States: The Refrigerator Trick

Tulips, hyacinths and most crocus need 10 to 14 weeks below about 45F to flower properly. From roughly Dallas, Atlanta and Charleston southward, and across the low deserts and coastal California, the ground never gets that cold for that long. The fix is the crisper drawer: bulbs in a paper bag for 10 to 12 weeks, then planted in December or January into the coolest soil of the year. Keep them away from fruit, because ripening apples give off ethylene, which kills the flower bud inside the bulb. Treat them as one season’s display.

Daffodils are the exception and the reason southern gardens still have spring bulbs. Most varieties, and the tazetta and jonquil types especially, need little or no chilling and come back for decades. Dutch iris, alliums, snowflakes (Leucojum) and Spanish bluebells behave the same way.

How to Plant Them

• Depth: three times the height of the bulb, measured to the base. Tulips and daffodils go 6 to 8 inches deep, small bulbs such as crocus and grape hyacinth 3 to 4 inches. Deeper is safer in cold states and in gardens with squirrels.
• Spacing: 4 to 6 inches apart for tulips and daffodils, closer for small bulbs. Odd-numbered groups of seven or more read better than rows.
• Drainage first: bulbs rot in waterlogged soil. On heavy clay, plant on a slight mound or work in grit.
• Pointed end up. If you cannot tell, plant on the side; the shoot will find its way.
• Water once after planting to settle the soil, then leave them. Autumn rain does the rest.
• Fertilizer: a little bone meal or bulb food in the planting hole is traditional and does no harm. The bulb already carries next spring’s flower; feeding matters more after flowering.
• Squirrels and voles: they dig tulips and crocus, not daffodils. A sheet of chicken wire laid over the bed and removed in late winter is the old remedy that still works.

Best Days for Planting Bulbs

The Almanac’s planting tradition favors setting bulbs and root crops when the Moon is waning and in a fruitful sign, on the long-held reasoning that a waning Moon favors growth below ground. The Best Days calendar lists the dates for planting below-ground crops each month, and plenty of gardeners plan their bulb weekend around them.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is it too late to plant tulip bulbs?

When the ground is frozen solid and you cannot dig. Until then, plant. Bulbs set out late, even in December in the Midwest, usually flower on time, if a little shorter. They need about six weeks of root growth before the soil freezes, so the earlier within the window the better.

Can I plant bulbs before the first frost?

Yes, as long as the soil has cooled below about 55F at 6 inches. In the North that is often mid to late September, before any frost. In the South, waiting for the first frost is a safer signal because warm, wet autumn soil rots tulips.

Do daffodils need to be chilled in warm climates?

Most do not, which is why they are the reliable spring bulb from Georgia to Texas. Tazetta and jonquil types need the least cold. Tulips and hyacinths do need 10 to 14 weeks below about 45F, so pre-chill them in a refrigerator in warm winter states.

How deep should tulip and daffodil bulbs be planted?

About three times the height of the bulb, so 6 to 8 inches for a full-size tulip or daffodil. Plant toward the deeper end in cold states and where squirrels dig.

Should I water bulbs after planting?

Once, to settle the soil around them. After that autumn rain is enough. Overwatering in warm soil is the quickest way to rot a tulip.

Will tulips come back every year?

Species tulips and Darwin hybrids often return for several seasons in cold states with dry summers. Most other tulips weaken after the first year. Daffodils, by contrast, multiply and can outlive the gardener.

Read Next

• Fall Bulb Planting: 6 Timing, Soil, and Storage Rules for a Big Spring
• When Is the First Hard Freeze in Your State?
• Soil Temperature Chart: Best Soil Temps for Planting
• What to Plant in October: A Region-by-Region Garden Guide