When to plant tulips in Saguenay: 22 September – 30 October

In Saguenay, tulip: plant from 22 September to about 30 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.

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 Saguenay: soil, season and weather

Nights then average below 0 °C in November–April; the coldest, January, averages -16.3 °C.

Planting	22 September – 30 October
First autumn frost	22 October
Coldest nights	January, -16.3 °C
Soil back at 7 °C in spring	13 May
Daylight	12:14 on 22 September
Daylight at the winter solstice	8:19

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

Tulip in Saguenay: 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 Saguenay the average daily temperature stays at 10 °C or lower for about 31 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 Saguenay the three warmest months bring about 455 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 Saguenay; the closest date is in Sherbrooke, 5 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Quebec City	180 km	28 September – 4 November	6 days later
Trois-Rivières	257 km	29 September – 8 November	7 days later
Sherbrooke	343 km	27 September – 8 November	5 days later
Montreal	377 km	2 October – 13 November	10 days later
Fredericton	432 km	28 September – 11 November	6 days later
Augusta	469 km	4 October – 20 November	12 days later

Where to buy tulip for planting in Saguenay

Planting stock goes into the ground from 22 September to about 30 October; buy it before that. Within 15 km of Saguenay OpenStreetMap lists 2 markets (collected 20 October 2026).

Halles centrales — market
1 km
Les Halles de la Rivière — market
14 km

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