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When to plant tulips in Anchorage: 14 September – 18 October

In Anchorage, tulip: plant from 14 September to about 18 October. For planting stock, the places nearby include Green Connection (garden centre, 2 km) and Bell's Nursery & Gifts (garden centre, 14 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Bulbs are best planted early in the window: late-planted bulbs may flower later or less well. Late planting works only while the soil can be dug. Mulch after planting.

The date is about two weeks before the average daily temperature here falls below 0 °C (ten years of weather): an estimate, not the day the ground freezes, and a cold spell can freeze it earlier. Sources: Iowa State University Extension, Wisconsin Horticulture Extension, UNH Extension, RHS, how the ground freezes (NRC Canada, CBD-26).

Tulip in Anchorage: soil, season and weather

Nights then average below 0 °C in November–April; the coldest, January, averages -9.2 °C.

Planting14 September – 18 October
First autumn frost14 October
Coldest nightsJanuary, -9.2 °C
Soil back at 7 °C in spring9 May
Daylight13:06 on 14 September
Daylight at the winter solstice5:27

The same dates in Anchorage hold for Garlic, Daffodil, Crocus and Hyacinth.

Tulip in Anchorage: depth, winter cold, pests and pets

Plant tulips at a depth of two to three times the bulb’s height, at least twice the bulb’s width apart, pointed end up (RHS). Where winters are very cold, tulips benefit from deeper planting to protect them from frost penetrating the soil (RHS); here the average daily temperature drops below 0 °C in winter.

In Anchorage the average daily temperature stays at 10 °C or lower for about 35 weeks a year (our estimate from ten years of monthly weather). For this bulb Wisconsin Horticulture Extension gives a cold period of 15–17 weeks at about 2–10 °C. The winter here gives that in the ground, so the bulbs need no pre-chilling.

Border tulips often fail to flower in their second year if left in the ground, so many gardeners grow them for one spring and plant fresh bulbs each autumn; Darwin hybrid and Kaufmanniana tulips reflower more reliably (RHS). Soils that stay wet in summer make reflowering difficult (RHS): in Anchorage the three warmest months bring about 236 mm of rain together.

Grey squirrels often dig up tulip bulbs: lay chicken wire over the bed until the leaves appear, or plant daffodils among them, which squirrels avoid (RHS). Tulips are toxic to dogs, cats and horses, the bulb most of all (ASPCA).

Sources: RHS, Wisconsin Horticulture Extension, ASPCA.

Tulip in nearby cities

Around Anchorage, Fairbanks is 21 days earlier and Victoria 68 days later.

CityDistanceDateDifference
Fairbanks417 km24 August – 2 October21 days earlier
Whitehorse801 km29 August – 7 October16 days earlier
Juneau923 km6 September – 12 October8 days earlier
Yellowknife1,846 km4 September – 4 October10 days earlier
Vancouver2,129 km18 October – end of December34 days later
Victoria2,189 km21 November – end of December68 days later

Where to buy tulip for planting in Anchorage

Planting stock goes into the ground from 14 September to about 18 October; buy it before that. Within 15 km of Anchorage OpenStreetMap lists 5 garden centres, 9 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Questions

When to plant tulips in Anchorage?

In Anchorage, tulip: plant from 14 September to about 18 October. Bulbs are best planted early in the window: late-planted bulbs may flower later or less well. Late planting works only while the soil can be dug. Mulch after planting.

When is the last spring frost in Anchorage?

Last spring frost around 30 April, first autumn frost around 14 October.

Other crops in Anchorage, with their dates