When to plant tulips in Montpelier: 17 September – 11 November

In Montpelier, tulip: plant from 17 September to about 11 November. For planting stock, the places nearby include Guy's Farm & Yard (garden centre, 1 km) and Agway (garden centre, 2 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 Montpelier: soil, season and weather

Nights then average below 0 °C in November–March; the coldest, January, averages -12 °C.

Planting	17 September – 11 November
First autumn frost	17 October
Coldest nights	January, -12 °C
Soil back at 7 °C in spring	23 April
Daylight	12:28 on 17 September
Daylight at the winter solstice	8:51

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

Tulip in Montpelier: 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 Montpelier 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 Montpelier the three warmest months bring about 284 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 Montpelier; the closest date is in Sherbrooke, 10 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Burlington	57 km	4 October – 23 November	17 days later
Sherbrooke	137 km	27 September – 8 November	10 days later
Concord	143 km	1 October – 25 November	14 days later
Montreal	159 km	2 October – 13 November	15 days later
Manchester (United States)	167 km	3 October – 27 November	16 days later
Portland, Maine	196 km	5 October – 26 November	18 days later

Where to buy tulip for planting in Montpelier

Planting stock goes into the ground from 17 September to about 11 November; buy it before that. Within 15 km of Montpelier OpenStreetMap lists 4 garden centres and 1 farm-supply shop (collected 28 October 2026).

Thomas Farm & Garden — garden centre
U.S. Route 302 535, 05641 Barre · Mon–Sat 08:00–18:00; Sun 09:00–17:00 · 5 km
Guy's Farm & Yard — garden centre
Barre Street 19, 05602 Montpelier · 1 km
Agway — garden centre
East Montpelier Road 190, 05602 Montpelier · 2 km
T. E. Pembroke Landscaping — garden centre
Terrace Street 1492, 05602 Montpelier · 4 km
Tucker Machine Company Inc — farm supply
South Main Street 267, 05641 Barre · Tue–Fri 08:00–17:00, Sat 09:00–14:00 · 10 km

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