When Ought One To Harvest Tulips?

Tulip fields are typically open on weekends, and it is best to visit early to avoid crowds. The farm also offers the opportunity to pick your own tulips, making it a fun experience for families and flower lovers. Tulips usually start to grow in early spring, and when you notice the bulbs poking through the ground, it’s time to prepare for harvest. Grow tulips in borders, rock gardens, and containers before summer flowers appear.

Plant tulips in autumn, 6 to 8 weeks before the ground freezes. Some tulips flower earlier than others, with early-flowering varieties blooming from very late March to April, mid-season bulbs in April to May, and late-flowering ones blooming in May. To prolong displays, layer your garden with tulip types that bloom in early, mid, and late spring.

Tulips require 10 to 14 weeks of chilling time, or “planting tulips”. By mid-late April, the first signs of life peeking up through the soil, and within a couple weeks, flower buds begin to appear. By mid-May, tulips are ready for harvest, with the flower head having color and just about to open. Tulips should be harvested in early spring, just as they begin to grow.

To decorate a table or vase with tulips, simply cut the flower from the stem when the blooms are just starting to color up but not open yet. Pull the entire plant, bulb, and all out of the ground, cutting the blooms when they have about 50-75 of their full color. Harvest tulips when the buds have plumped up and developed color but are still tightly closed.

On the 3rd Saturday in January, we celebrate National Tulip Day, the start of the (cut) tulip season. At Museumplein in the center of Amsterdam, we will lay tulips for sale. Be sure to count your tulips before going to the check out counter and learn how to “U-pick” a tulip by grasping the stem as close to the ground as possible.