Fall Timeline for Bulb Forcers
The fall is upon us and we thought it would be helpful to lay out a series of events and milestones for bulb forcing later this winter.
August:
Check in on tulip bulb orders for fall delivery. Do you have the quantity on order that you’d like for your own marketplace? Have you advised your bulb company that you’d like to be able to select substitutes or have them selected for you in the event one or more of the varieties you ordered is short?
Many bulb suppliers are learning how their own orders are being filled in The Netherlands in August. They’re working on finding replacement varieties for bulbs that have experienced complete crop failures, or may be in short supply. When bulbs are listed for pre-order in the spring, those available quantities are based on estimates. The weather that follows from April to July can affect the outcome of the harvests. This summer, some extreme heat landed in Europe, and many of the bulb crops were adversely affected by the weather. Hot weather in the late spring and early summer prevents small bulbs from growing larger. The bulb farmers are grappling with the loss of larger bulb sales and determining how many of the smaller bulbs they are going to be willing to sell, without damaging next year’s sales too much.
Review your tulip forcing plan per your experiences in the past or your new knowledge with The Tulip Workshop. Want to learn? Now is a great time to hop into The Tulip Workshop online program or register for the ONLY annual in-person Tulip Workshop on October 4-5th (there are just a few spots left as of today, August 23rd).
September:
Untreated bulb shipping begins.
During September, most companies will be shipping their untreated tulip bulbs and other untreated fall bulbs. “Untreated” simply means non-cooled. When your bulbs arrive, it’s important to open them on receipt and report any problems to your supplier. Bulb health degrades quickly when bulbs are not stored properly. It’s best to plant your untreated bulbs for forcing and/or field growing right away.
Prep your untreated tulip bulb forcing supplies and materials.
Be sure that you’ve purchased and received the supplies you need and prepped your infrastructure for the coming season. Are your spaces tidy? Are your temperature controls tested and working? Do any of your sensors need new batteries, etc.? Are you prepared with your preferred system for labeling your crates and trays? If needed, do you have extra helpers organized to join you when your bulbs are delivered for a planting party?
October:
9C bulbs generally ship in October (minimally pre-cooled bulbs at 9 degrees Celsius) .
These bulbs are primarily used as “untreated” bulbs in field growing in temperate climates that have some cold winter temps but need a few extra weeks for cooling in order to have strong results. If you live in an area where tulips naturally start blooming in early April (rather than early May like here in the Northeast), you may want to be working with 9C tulips for field planting. 9C prepared bulbs are also nice for forcing in the window between 5C tulip harvests and untreated tulip harvests.
Growers should prepare their supplies and line up labor for more planting in November when the next round of bulbs ship.
November:
Well-prepared 5C (5 degrees celsius) tulip bulbs ship to growers in North America in November.
This is because the bulbs require significant cold treatment before they arrive to you ready to for forcing for the earliest planting windows. Your supplier should be able to provide you with precise information about the preparation of your bulbs and the dates when they can be grown successfully if forced. If they tell you your 5C bulbs have all received the same number of cooling weeks and that is the only information they provide…you have some math to do. We prefer to work with a supplier that provides detailed information about each variety and each lot of bulbs and with bulbs that arrive to us with all or nearly all of their cooling complete so that they are ready to begin the next (and probably most important) step in the forcing process: cool rooting at the proper temp.
Growers in cold climates, especially, should be sure to prep their materials and supplies ahead of time and consider factors like the availability of running (not frozen) water and thawed growing medium for soil forcing.
December:
The first flower harvests.
The earliest winter tulip forcing harvests in North America (from Dutch bulbs) happen in early to mid December and right up to Christmas. Wild! Right? A lot of things need to line up well for that to happen. Growers need to provide optimal conditions, use the right varieties of bulbs that have had the proper cold treatment. And they need to have a bulb supplier who can get you these early forcing bulbs in early November. We count on Ampersand Bulb Co.
Bulb shipping continues.
If you have little storage space or are working with succession planting throughout the winter, you’ll want to work with a tulip bulb supplier that can drop ship prepared tulip bulbs to you throughout the winter. This supplier should be able to store your bulbs reliably and in the proper conditions to continue their cold treatment and maintain bulb health.
Valentine’s Day preparation.
Growers who are working toward Valentine’s Day harvests are checking in from early to mid December to make sure that the timing of their forcing plan is lining up with the holiday.
January:
Most winter tulip harvests begin.
January tulip harvest start dates are typical for most winter bulb forcers and a reasonable goal for beginners. A January start allows for a little more leeway and its when the earlier blooming varieties are typically ready, providing the supplier helped them along properly with their cooling.
We hope this timeline is helpful. If you’ve been thinking about investing in some education and wondering if this winter could be your chance to work on tulip forcing, now is the time to make that jump! If you’d like a few more more nudges, check out these reviews from our members.
Have questions? Don’t be a stranger. We’re here to help. We welcome your comments below. Or— reach us by email at hello@thetulipworkshop.com .
Cheers,
Linda & Emily
Don’t miss out! Join our newsletter and we’ll send helpful info and announcements right to you.