When to plant Tulips
Calendar windows
Dates shift with your latitude — they are calculated from your local last-spring-frost date, not from a fixed calendar.
At a glance
Overwinters outdoors in a temperate garden.
Practical notes
Plant later than every other bulb — November, once the soil is properly cold. Late planting is the single best defence against tulip fire. Plant three times as deep as the bulb is tall.
Knowing when to pick
Cut for the vase in bud, when the colour is just showing — an open tulip lasts two days. Leave the foliage to die back naturally on garden plants.
Storing the crop
Tulips keep growing in the vase — allow a few extra centimetres. Lift and dry the bulbs after the leaves yellow if the bed is to be replanted.
Crop rotation
No strict rotation group — still avoid replanting into the same soil year after year.
Grows well with
Watch for
Full guide: tulips diseases and pests (2) → with spread routes, compost verdicts and the prevention this list justifies.