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I want to buy Tulips in the Northern hemisphere in bulk and plant them in the Southern hemisphere.My main concern is that this will mess up their internal bio clock and result in big losses of bulbs. When would the ideal planting time of the year be to achieve this? Should I perhaps let them rest for a season to get them in sync with the climate here? Any advice would be appreciated.

Freek Nortier
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Tulip bulbs need a cold period, so here in Europe they should be put in the ground before winter (let's say November). Then after the winter they will grow in Springtime. So if you want them in the Southern hemisphere, plant them before winter as well. That will probably be around now, right?

benn
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  • Yes. So if I order them now I should plant them immediately? – Freek Nortier May 13 '19 at 08:56
  • Did you have frost already? They need to be in the ground before first frost comes. – benn May 13 '19 at 09:05
  • @benn that's not true for tulips. In the northern hemisphere you can get away with planting them as late as mid January. There was a trial done by one of the BBC gardening programs a few years back, and the results not much different for planting in October and January. Of course if you are in a climate where the ground freezes and *stays* frozen, you can't easily plant bulbs in frozen ground! – alephzero May 13 '19 at 09:07
  • No frost yest. That usually only starts in June. – Freek Nortier May 13 '19 at 09:07
  • @alephzero, sure you can get away with waiting till January (especially in England). But the professional farmers here in the Netherlands put the bulbs in the ground before first frost. No risk for them, the ground may be hard and frozen in January. – benn May 13 '19 at 09:23
  • In the UK, its usually recommended to wait till end of October/early November to plant tulips, if possible, to reduce the risk of Tulip Fire. But before much frost/cold occurs, certainly ... the problem here is our damp climate making it more likely the bulbs will succumb to fungal infection, especially if planted earlier. – Bamboo May 13 '19 at 10:47