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When to plant tulips in St. John's: 11 October – 1 December

In St. John's, tulip: plant from 11 October to about 1 December. For planting stock, the places nearby include The Seed Company (garden centre, 1 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 St. John's: soil, season and weather

Nights then average below 0 °C in December–April; the coldest, February, averages -6.9 °C.

Planting11 October – 1 December
First autumn frost10 November
Coldest nightsFebruary, -6.9 °C
Soil back at 7 °C in spring21 May
Daylight11:09 on 11 October
Daylight at the winter solstice8:26

The same dates in St. John's hold for Garlic, Daffodil, Crocus and Hyacinth.

Tulip in St. John's: 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 St. John's the average daily temperature stays at 10 °C or lower for about 35 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 St. John's the three warmest months bring about 302 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 earlier than St. John's; the closest date is in Halifax, 1 day earlier.

CityDistanceDateDifference
Charlottetown805 km3 October – 20 November8 days earlier
Halifax897 km10 October – 1 December1 day earlier
Moncton933 km5 October – 17 November6 days earlier
Fredericton1,077 km28 September – 11 November13 days earlier
Augusta1,365 km4 October – 20 November7 days earlier
Saguenay1,366 km22 September – 30 October19 days earlier

Where to buy tulip for planting in St. John's

Planting stock goes into the ground from 11 October to about 1 December; buy it before that. Within 15 km of St. John's OpenStreetMap lists 3 garden centres and 2 markets (collected 20 October 2026).

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Questions

When to plant tulips in St. John's?

In St. John's, tulip: plant from 11 October to about 1 December. 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 St. John's?

Last spring frost around 19 May, first autumn frost around 10 November.

Other crops in St. John's, with their dates