23/06/2026
Tulip planting day 🌷
Today I finally planted all 1,200 tulip bulbs - the latest I’ve ever planted them.
Usually tulips are one of the very first flowers to bloom for me each season with flowers normally starting in early September. Because I’ve planted later this year, I’m expecting flowering to be pushed back a little too.
This season I’m trialling a few things. The first is later chilling. Tulip bulbs need a cold period to flower properly but they also need time after harvest to mature and reach the right stage of development before they’re chilled. By starting the chilling process later and then giving them 6 weeks in the fridge, I’m hoping for better quality flowers and more consistent performance across some of the mid and late season varieties.
I’m also trialling planting the tulips over one of my dahlia beds. In theory, the tulips should be finished before the dahlias really get going, allowing me to get two crops from the same space. Whether that works in practice remains to be seen!
Tulips are easily the most expensive crop I grow. These bulbs alone cost over $1,000, and they’re essentially a one season crop. I harvest each stem with the bulb attached which gives the longest possible stems and the highest quality cut flowers. While the bulbs can technically be replanted, they rarely produce stems of the same quality again, making them difficult to justify for commercial cut flower production.
This year I’m tracking everything (bulb costs, planting time, harvest time and income) to see whether tulips actually earn their place on my flower farm.
And honestly, they’re hard not to love. Incredible vase life, beautiful colours, and the way they continue to grow and dance in the vase makes them one of the most unique flowers I grow.
Now the waiting begins 🌷
