When to plant tulips in Erzurum: 16 September – 20 November

In Erzurum, tulip: plant from 16 September to about 20 November.

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 Erzurum: soil, season and weather

Nights then average below 0 °C in November–March; the coldest, January, averages -10.3 °C.

Planting	16 September – 20 November
First autumn frost	16 October
Coldest nights	January, -10.3 °C
Soil back at 7 °C in spring	18 April
Daylight	12:27 on 16 September
Daylight at the winter solstice	9:20

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

Tulip in Erzurum: 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 Erzurum the average daily temperature stays at 10 °C or lower for about 29 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 Erzurum the three warmest months bring about 71 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

All the nearest cities on our list plant tulip later than Erzurum; the closest date is in Gyumri, 4 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Trabzon	180 km	by 13 November	58 days later
Batumi	195 km	by 13 November	58 days later
Gyumri	239 km	20 September – 23 November	4 days later
Diyarbakır	240 km	26 October – end of December	40 days later
Van	240 km	29 September – 21 November	13 days later
Yerevan	277 km	3 October – 4 December	17 days later

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