When to plant tulips in Kiel: 21 October – end of December

In Kiel, tulip: plant from 21 October to the end of December. For planting stock, the places nearby include Dehner Gartencenter (garden centre, 2 km) and Rosa Rostig Gartenaccessoires (garden centre, 3 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 average daily temperature here stays above 0 °C all winter, and at least three months average 7 °C or less: our rule of thumb for the winter cold spring bulbs need. Sources: Iowa State University Extension, Wisconsin Horticulture Extension, UNH Extension, RHS.

Tulip in Kiel: soil, season and weather

No month averages below 0 °C at night; the coldest nights, in January, average 0.2 °C.

Planting	21 October – end of December
First autumn frost	20 November
Coldest nights	January, 0.2 °C
Soil back at 7 °C in spring	28 March
Daylight	10:11 on 21 October
Daylight at the winter solstice	7:19

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

Tulip in Kiel: 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).

In Kiel the average daily temperature stays at 10 °C or lower for about 27 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 Kiel the three warmest months bring about 230 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 Kiel, Rostock is 3 days earlier and Hanover 1 day later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Hamburg	86 km	20 October – end of December	1 day earlier
Rostock	130 km	18 October – end of December	3 days earlier
Copenhagen	217 km	20 October – end of December	1 day earlier
Hanover	219 km	22 October – end of December	1 day later
Magdeburg	263 km	19 October – end of December	2 days earlier
Bielefeld	277 km	19 October – end of December	2 days earlier

Where to buy tulip for planting in Kiel

Planting stock goes into the ground from 21 October to the end of December; buy it before that. Within 15 km of Kiel OpenStreetMap lists 11 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 plant nursery, 9 markets and 19 farm shops (collected 28 October 2026).

Tannen-Braatz — plant nursery
6 km
Gut Warleberg — farm shop
10 km · warleberg.de
Pflanzenhof Dressler — garden centre
Rendsburger Landstraße 456b, 24111 Kiel · Mon–Fri 08:00–18:00, Sat 08:00–14:00 · 6 km · pflanzenhof-dressler.de
Rosa Rostig Gartenaccessoires — garden centre
Yorckstraße 1a, 24105 Kiel · Mon–Fri 10:00–18:00; Sat 10:00–13:00 · 3 km · rosa-rostig.de
Garten Dittmann — garden centre
Kieler Chaussee 65, 24214 Gettorf · Mon–Fri 09:00–18:00; Sat 09:00–14:00 · 13 km · garten-dittmann.de
Dehner Gartencenter — garden centre
Tonberg 5, 24113 Kiel · Mon–Fri 09:00–19:00; Sat 09:00–18:00 · 2 km
Klaus Gesche Gartenbau — garden centre
Hammerstiel 2, 24226 Heikendorf · 8 km · gesches-gruen.de
H. H. Peters Gartentechnik Kiel — garden centre
Claus-Sinjen-Straße 35, 24119 Kronshagen · Mon–Fri 08:00–16:30 · 4 km

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