March through May is when they bloom, if you heed these crucial instructions.

Few plants more vividly symbolize springtime than tulips. But you have to make plans in advance if you want a procession of blooms after winter is past. Planting and caring for these graceful blooms, which come in single or double-petaled kinds as well as lush, peony-like varieties, is very simple, provided you keep an eye out for the squirrels and deer that enjoy nibbling them. All you have to do to have a good display is plant them at the right time.

Plant tulip bulbs in the fall, when the weather finally cools down and begins to transition into winter, to enjoy flowers from March through May. “Start planting as soon as the temperature is between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, with most temps no higher than the 60s,” advises Bobbie Schwartz, an Ohio landscape designer and consultant with multiple awards who established Bobbie’s Green Thumb, an award-winning landscape design firm, in Shaker Heights, in 1977.

But first, think about the kind of tulip scene you might like to see before donning gardening gloves and getting to work. Grower Brent Heath of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs in Gloucester, Virginia, whose family farm grows close to 200 different varieties of tulips, adds, “Tulips come in almost every color.” Choose a color palette and then mix things up by selecting types that bloom in stages, from early to late spring. In this manner, your garden will be continuously covered in tulips until your summer flowers emerge.

Continue reading to find out when and how to plant spring-flowering bulbs, such tulips and daffodils, in your garden and in pots.

When to Plant Tulip Bulbs

For the most part of the country, tulip bulbs need to sleep for 12 to 16 weeks before the arrival of warm weather, which is why you want to plant them in late fall. This allows the bulbs to begin growing again in early December.

With the exception of the nation’s hottest and coldest regions, tulips flourish in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 9. However, to ensure that bulbs receive the 10 to 14 weeks of cold temperatures (about 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit) they need to bloom, you’ll need to make sure they have been precooled (you can buy them that way from vendors). These zones encompass much of the Southeast and the West Coast. As an alternative, you can plant them as late as early January after chilling them in the refrigerator. You can plant your tulip bulbs as long as you can get that shovel into the unfrozen earth.

Experts advise planting your tulip bulbs after the first frost but before the ground freezes because the major problem with planting them late in the season is having to dig through frozen ground. “Planting takes a lot of time and effort,” Schwartz claims. Excavation-grade dirt “makes the job seem not quite so daunting.”

Weather-wise, planting tulip bulbs is best done after a wet day when the soil is moister and easier to work with; just steer clear of very muddy areas.

Where to Plant Tulip Bulbs

Tulips thrive in six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. They love full sun. Tulip bulbs will not grow well in shade, so be sure the location you’ve selected in your yard gets at least some sun.

Additionally, you should not plant tulip bulbs in areas that get a lot of rain, are shaded by trees, or are damp. “When using tulips as accents around trees, they look great, but keep in mind that planting will be more difficult due to the need to dig and deal with roots,” advises Joan Mazat, cut flower business manager at Ball Seed.

The pH of soil should be between 6 and 7. “If you have heavy clay soil, consider adding amendments for better aeration and drainage and to allow the bulb roots an easier time growing through,” Mazat advises. “To increase the quality and texture of your sandy soil, think about adding bone meal and topsoil. It would also be quite beneficial to provide certain nutrients.”

Plant tulips wherever you wish to see their color, other from that. They go nicely with hyacinths, allium, and daffodils, among other spring bulbs. Mazat also advises planting bulbs close to perennials that bloom in late summer. “This will bring in color while the perennials are starting to grow as they put on their flower show later in the season,” she explains.

How to Plant Tulip Bulbs

The depth of the hole you dig should be four times the height of the bulb or bulbs you wish to plant. Mazat recommends using an auger drill bit or a bulb planter tool to work quickly.

If you wish to plant multiple bulbs in each hole, make sure the hole is large enough to accommodate the bulbs with a gap of a few inches, or around three times their width, between them. With the roots at the bottom, nestle the bulb or bulbs with their tapering sides up in the soil. To enrich the soil, cover the area with organic compost instead of adding fertilizer to the hole.

Tulips appear better planted in big swathes or clusters than solitary flowers scattered here and there. We also recommend planting three to five tulip bulbs per hole, in accordance with the design principle known as the Rule of Threes, which states that odd numbers of objects in a grouping look more pleasant than even. For maximum aesthetic impact, it’s also lovely to plant an entire area, say a few feet wide and long.

How Can I Protect Tulips from Pests?

Tulips are a favorite food of deer and digging rodents like chipmunks. To try and keep these garden guests away from your tulips, spray each bulb with an animal repellent before planting. “They smell sweet, so if you mask the fragrance, critters tend to leave them alone,” Heath adds. To discourage deer, you can also spray the buds when they emerge in the spring.

Because tulip skins are so juicy, Schwartz employs expanded aggregate (Turface MVP) to discourage digging by other animals. “It consists of sharp-edged grit pieces,” she says. “I put some in the bottom of the hole and a bit more on top of the soil.”

Schwartz applies deer repellant with I Must Garden. This repellent smells good to you but not so much to deer and rabbits, in contrast to other repellents that are unattractive to both humans and animals. Schwartz spritzes the fresh leaves as soon as spring arrives. She then waits for the bloom stalk to appear just above the foliage before spraying once again. When the bud is fully visible above the foliage, she gives one last spray.

One tactic used by all professionals? planting too much. Mazard states, “Critters are as they are.” “I overplant tulip bulbs knowing that I will lose some to my furry friends in the garden.”

Do Tulips Come Back Each Year?

Most of the time, tulips are not regarded as perennials, in contrast to other spring-flowering bulbs that return year after year, like daffodils. Whether or whether your tulips will blossom again won’t be known until the following spring.

According to Heath, “some tulip varieties are perennial and will reappear in some areas of the country.” “But for many parts of the country, they don’t bloom again, so we treat them as annuals and plant new bulbs every fall.” Schwartz advises planting a two-toned species like Lady Jane or Lilac Wonder if you’re hoping for reblooming.

Planting tulips with other perennials and annuals can help prevent them from being overly damp, as tulips like a dry bed during their summer hibernation. This will increase the tulips’ chances of making a comeback. If the petals fall off, you can also try deadheading them, which is chopping off the little seedpod. If not, the plant will use its energy to producing seeds rather than blooms the following year. Additionally, it’s a good idea to remove the foliage when it becomes yellow and easily pulls away, which should happen eight weeks after your tulips flower. Don’t do it any earlier because the plant requires its leaves for photosynthesis, which is how it produces food for its blooms the following year.

Planting Tulip Bulbs

Do Tulips Multiply?

It varies. It’s never 100% guaranteed, although some species, like species tulips or Darwin hybrids, have a higher chance than others of returning and spreading. Your best chance if you want to see your tulips grow like crazy is to make sure they are in a happy place with lots of sun and proper drainage. (Soggy soil will cause them to decay.) Additionally, leave the foliage alone until it naturally dies.

Where Can You Buy Tulip Bulbs?

In late summer and early fall, local nurseries sell tulip bulbs. Find firm, glossy bulbs that have not been bruised; their outer skin, or “tunic,” should have a leathery appearance. Select bulbs that feel heavy, like a golf ball, rather than light, like a Ping-Pong ball. Avoid squishy lights.

For a larger assortment, consider purchasing tulips from internet merchants early in the growing season. When the time comes for your area of the country to receive your order, they will hang onto it and mail it. This is a fantastic alternative because it offers a wider variety of sizes, colors, and types with different bloom durations. Schwartz actually purchases all of her tulip bulbs online.

Can You Plant Tulips in Pots?

If you lack the space for outdoor beds, planting tulips in pots is a terrific way to appreciate them—plus, it’s easier to keep rats away. Spoon the soil into a pot three-quarters of the way, pack in the bulbs shoulder to shoulder, and cover the bulbs with more soil to the top of the pot. Lay a chicken wire piece over the earth, and then cover it with mulch. Throughout the winter, keep the pot in the shadow or in a cold place, like your shed, to keep the temperature somewhat constant. When planting, water once more in the early spring.

Move your tulips outside into direct sunlight as soon as they sprout in the spring. Just be mindful that outcomes can occasionally be unexpected: Tulips dislike extreme temperature swings, so if your flowers aren’t blooming properly, it could be because they’ve had too many freeze-thaw cycles. Just give it another go the following year!