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When to Plant Fall Bulbs by Zone: Tulips, Daffodils, More

Tulips and daffodils are planted in fall because they need a long cold spell to flower, and they need cool, unfrozen soil to grow roots first. The window runs from when the soil cools to when the ground freezes — and in mild-winter areas, tulips need help from the refrigerator.

Published October 22, 2026 · Updated November 2, 2026 · Cite this page

The rule

Penn State Extension: hyacinths, daffodils and tulips should be planted when the weather is cool in the fall and before the first hard frost. Minnesota adds why the deadline matters: planting in time helps the bulb to grow roots before the ground freezes. And the start is set by soil temperature — UC Master Gardeners in Napa County wait until the soil is below 60 °F, and Penn State notes that nights of 55 °F and below help daffodils start rooting.

Bulb planting deadline by USDA zone

The first fall freeze (32 °F) at the median NOAA station in each zone. Having bulbs in the ground by that date is the conservative way to beat the first hard frost.

Zone Aim to finish by Middle half of the zone Stations · ZIP codes Southern tulip timing
Zone 3 September 22 September 15 – September 26 98 · 253 —
Zone 4 September 28 September 23 – October 2 698 · 2,098 —
Zone 5 October 5 September 29 – October 11 1,307 · 5,306 —
Zone 6 October 17 October 8 – October 22 1,728 · 10,458 —
Zone 7 October 26 October 20 – November 1 1,428 · 8,732 —
Zone 8 November 9 November 3 – November 14 1,253 · 6,809 San Antonio area, Texas (Texas A&M AgriLife): chill tulips and hyacinths in the refrigerator until mid or late December, then plant. Louisiana (LSU AgCenter): refrigerate tulips and hyacinths at least six to eight weeks, then plant in late December or early January.
Zone 9 December 1 November 21 – December 13 736 · 4,284 San Antonio area, Texas (Texas A&M AgriLife): chill tulips and hyacinths in the refrigerator until mid or late December, then plant. Louisiana (LSU AgCenter): refrigerate tulips and hyacinths at least six to eight weeks, then plant in late December or early January.
Zone 10 January 1 December 23 – January 9 234 · 1,986 Louisiana (LSU AgCenter): refrigerate tulips and hyacinths at least six to eight weeks, then plant in late December or early January.

⚠️ A hard frost comes on or after the first 32 °F night, so these dates are the cautious side of Penn State's deadline, and Minnesota says tulips can go in later than other bulbs. Where winters are mild, the sources below say chilling, not the freeze, decides whether tulips flower; the last column gives the Texas and Louisiana timing in the zones those areas reach. For your own station's date, use What can I still plant? with your ZIP code.

What extension services say for their area

Where USDA zones there When to plant
Minnesota zones 3a–5a Mid-September to mid-October. Tulips are the exception: plant them as late as you can get them into the soil.
Pennsylvania zones 5b–8a Daffodils October through early November, before the ground freezes. Nights of 55 °F and below help them start roots.
Georgia (Athens area) zones 8a–8b Buy in September, but do not plant until soil temperatures are in the 60s or cooler, in early October.
Bexar County (San Antonio area), Texas zones 8b–9a Buy bulbs October through November. Plant any time, except tulips and hyacinths: chill those in the refrigerator until mid or late December, then plant.
Louisiana (Gulf South) zones 8b–10a Tulips and hyacinths: refrigerate at least six to eight weeks, then plant in late December or early January. They generally bloom in March and early April.
Napa County, California zones 9a–9b October or November, once the soil has dropped below 60 °F. Tulips are best treated as annuals.
Sacramento County, California zone 9b Daffodils September to December. Tulips November to December, after at least 6 weeks in the refrigerator.

Each row is one extension publication's advice for its own area, listed under Sources below. The zones are this site's, from the USDA 2023 map for every ZIP code in that state or county.

How to plant spring bulbs

  1. Buy firm, heavy bulbs early. Sacramento County's Master Gardeners say choose plump bulbs that feel heavy for their size and avoid soft or shrivelled ones. Minnesota says buy in August to September and plant as soon as you can.
  2. Pick the spot. Rich, well-drained soil. Minnesota warns against low ground where frost collects, and notes that soil by a south- or west-facing foundation warms early, so bulbs there flower early and risk cold damage.
  3. Prepare the soil. Work in compost or shredded leaves. Minnesota says skip the fertilizer unless a soil test shows a shortage.
  4. Plant pointed end up, at the right depth. Two to three times the bulb's diameter (Minnesota); deeper in sand, shallower in clay. In the San Antonio area, Texas A&M AgriLife puts the base of the bulb at three times its diameter. Space daffodils 4 to 6 inches apart (Penn State).
    How deep to plant daffodil bulbs A cross-section of soil with two daffodil bulbs, pointed end up. The soil above the top of each bulb is twice as deep as the bulb is tall. The bulbs are 4 to 6 inches apart, and 2 to 3 inches of mulch cover the soil surface. 2 to 3 inches of mulch on top (Minnesota) Soil over the top: twice the bulb’s height (Penn State) Pointed end up Bulb height 4 to 6 inches apart (Penn State)
    Penn State’s rule for daffodils, drawn to proportion: soil over the top of the bulb equal to twice the bulb’s height. University of Minnesota Extension gives the depth as two to three times the bulb’s diameter, deeper in sandy soil and shallower in clay; it is not drawn as a line here because the page does not say whether it is measured to the top or the bottom of the bulb. Drawing: USGrowersGuide, from Penn State Extension and University of Minnesota Extension, as quoted in the step above.
  5. Water in. Minnesota: cover with half the soil, soak the area, then add the rest. Water again if fall is dry.
  6. Mulch. 2 to 3 inches of leaves, wood mulch or clean straw (Minnesota), so the soil cools and warms gradually.

Tulips where winters are mild

Tulips need a cold period that mild winters do not give. UC Master Gardeners in Napa County (USDA zones 9a–9b) call tulips the most difficult bulb to grow there, because winters do not provide enough chill and gophers love them, and advise treating them as annuals you replant each year.

In Sacramento County (USDA zone 9b), UC Master Gardeners chill tulips, crocus and hyacinths in a paper bag in the refrigerator crisper for at least 6 weeks, then plant tulips in November or December. Keep them away from apples and other fruit: the ethylene gas they give off can destroy the flower inside the bulb.

Daffodils are the easier bulb there: Sacramento's schedule plants them from September to December and does not list them among the bulbs to chill, and animals leave them alone.

Texas: the San Antonio area

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension in Bexar County (USDA zones 8b–9a) calls October through November an excellent time to buy bulbs, and says they may be planted any time — except tulips and hyacinths. Chill those in the refrigerator, in the lower part, until mid or late December, then plant. Do not keep them in air-tight bags while they chill.

Louisiana and the Gulf South

LSU AgCenter (Louisiana, USDA zones 8b–10a) says refrigerate tulip and hyacinth bulbs for at least six to eight weeks, and that the best results come from planting them pre-chilled in late December or early January. Planting chilled bulbs into soil that is still too warm can cancel the chilling and give poor blooms. Plant about 5 inches deep and 3 or 4 inches apart, in sun to part shade with good drainage. They generally bloom in March and early April.

Pre-chilling in zones 8 to 10

Clemson Cooperative Extension says most spring bulbs need a 12- to 16-week chilling period to flower, and that bulbs without enough chill bloom close to the ground on very short stems. For South Carolina (USDA zones 8a–9b) it buys bulbs in September or October, plants daffodils in October or November, and waits to plant the others until the soil at planting depth has cooled; in coastal areas most bulbs go in late December or early January. Coastal gardeners refrigerate the bulbs in ventilated packages until then, away from fruit. Some suppliers sell bulbs already chilled.

Which bulbs need it: Clemson refrigerates tulips from purchase until planting in central and coastal South Carolina, and hyacinths six to eight weeks on the coast. Daffodils are the reliable bulb for the South, Clemson says, especially jonquils, tazettas and poeticus, and a few species tulips need no cold period at all.

Each bulb, by zone

The plant pages give each bulb’s types by zone, its depth and care, and your zone’s freeze dates: tulips, daffodils, crocus and hyacinths. To have them flower indoors in winter instead, see how to force bulbs indoors.

Your ZIP code

Your ZIP, your answer

Enter your ZIP code to see your USDA zone, the date to finish planting bulbs in that zone, read from the table on this page, and the freeze dates of the NOAA station nearest you.

Works for all 40,502 US ZIP codes. Freeze dates need a NOAA station within 100 km; where there is none, the page says so rather than estimating one. Your ZIP code stays in your browser: the page downloads the file of ZIP codes that share its first three digits and looks yours up there. It is not stored or tracked.

Your answer appears here.

Full details for any ZIP code: ZIP code zone finder.

Common mistakes

  • Planting too late in a cold zone. Except tulips, bulbs need to root before the ground freezes (Minnesota).
  • Planting into warm soil in the South. UGA's Athens-area calendar says wait until the soil is in the 60s or cooler.
  • Skipping the chill where winters are mild, or chilling next to fruit or in an air-tight bag.
  • Planting chilled tulips into warm soil. LSU AgCenter says it can cancel the chilling; in Louisiana it waits for late December or early January.
  • Too shallow or too deep. Two to three times the bulb's diameter, adjusted for soil.
  • Leaving tulips unprotected from squirrels and gophers. Chicken wire under the mulch works.
  • Cutting or braiding daffodil leaves before they brown (Penn State).
  • Fertilizing by habit. Test first (Minnesota).

Related

Questions

When is it too late to plant tulip bulbs?
Later than most bulbs. University of Minnesota Extension says planting time there is usually mid-September to mid-October, so bulbs can root before the ground freezes, but tulips are the exception: plant them as late as you can get them into the soil.
Do I need to chill tulip bulbs before planting?
Only where winters are mild. UC Master Gardeners in Sacramento County chill tulips, crocus and hyacinths in a paper bag in the refrigerator crisper for at least 6 weeks before planting, away from apples and other fruit, whose ethylene gas can destroy the flowers inside the bulb. LSU AgCenter, writing for Louisiana, says refrigerate tulips and hyacinths at least six to eight weeks and plant them in late December or early January. Texas A&M AgriLife in Bexar County (the San Antonio area) chills them in the lower part of the refrigerator until mid or late December, not in air-tight bags. In cold climates winter does the chilling.
How deep do I plant tulips and daffodils?
Pointed end up. Minnesota says two to three times the bulb’s diameter, 1 or 2 inches deeper in sandy soil and an inch or two shallower in clay. Penn State gives soil over the top of a daffodil equal to twice the bulb’s height, spaced 4 to 6 inches apart. Sacramento County plants tulips 6 to 8 inches deep. In the San Antonio area, Texas A&M AgriLife sets the base of the bulb at three times its diameter, slightly deeper in sandy soil and less deep in clay; LSU AgCenter plants chilled tulips and hyacinths about 5 inches deep and 3 or 4 inches apart.
Will squirrels dig up my bulbs?
Tulips are a favourite; daffodils are left alone because they are bitter and poisonous (UC Master Gardeners in Sacramento County; Minnesota). Minnesota suggests laying chicken wire flat over the planted area under the mulch: it makes digging difficult, and the bulbs grow through the holes.
Should I cut back daffodil leaves after they flower?
No. Penn State Extension says leave them until they are brown and dead: the leaves are still feeding the bulb for next year. Braiding or folding them cuts the leaf area that does that work.

Sources

Dates on this page are computed when the site is built from NOAA's 1991–2020 Climate Normals (first fall freeze at 32 °F, for every station the ZIP codes in each zone cite). Zones are the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. Every rule — how long before or after a freeze to plant, how deep, how much — is quoted from the extension publications below, each of which writes for its own area.

Nothing here replaces your own state's cooperative extension service, which knows your county. Where this site's numbers come from.

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