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When to plant tulips in Spokane: 15 September – 23 November

In Spokane, tulip: plant from 15 September to about 23 November. For planting stock, the places nearby include Fern Plant Shop (garden centre, 1 km) and The Chop Shop Plants & Oddities (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 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 Spokane: soil, season and weather

Nights then average below 0 °C in November–March; the coldest, January, averages -5.2 °C.

Planting15 September – 23 November
First autumn frost15 October
Coldest nightsJanuary, -5.2 °C
Soil back at 7 °C in spring5 April
Daylight12:38 on 15 September
Daylight at the winter solstice8:25

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

Tulip in Spokane: 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 Spokane 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 Spokane the three warmest months bring about 50 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 Spokane, Calgary is 14 days earlier and Seattle 40 days later.

CityDistanceDateDifference
Missoula271 km6 September – 12 November9 days earlier
Kelowna289 km1 October – 27 November16 days later
Seattle367 km25 October – end of December40 days later
Olympia418 km16 October – end of December31 days later
Helena425 km3 September – 5 November12 days earlier
Calgary449 km1 September – 26 October14 days earlier

Where to buy tulip for planting in Spokane

Planting stock goes into the ground from 15 September to about 23 November; buy it before that. Within 15 km of Spokane OpenStreetMap lists 13 garden centres, 6 farm-supply shops, 4 plant nurseries and 1 market (collected 20 October 2026).

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Questions

When to plant tulips in Spokane?

In Spokane, tulip: plant from 15 September to about 23 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.

When is the last spring frost in Spokane?

Last spring frost around 21 April, first autumn frost around 15 October.

Other crops in Spokane, with their dates