Tulips vs Daffodils for Late Fall Planting

If you want bulbs that come back every spring and survive deer, voles, and squirrels, plant daffodils. If you want the widest range of colors and a big one-season show, plant tulips, and plan to replant every year or two. Plant both in late October through November, after soil cools below about 60°F; daffodils first, since they like more root time, and tulips last, since they tolerate the latest planting of any common spring bulb.

Many gardeners end up with both: daffodils for the permanent backbone of the bed and tulips for color in pots and front borders.

Side by side

• Deer and rodents: Daffodil bulbs and leaves are toxic, so animals leave them alone. Tulips are a favorite food of deer, voles, and squirrels.
• Return bloom: Daffodils multiply and bloom for decades. Most hybrid tulips fade after one to three years.
• Colors: Daffodils come in yellow, white, cream, orange, and pink-tinged cups. Tulips come in nearly every color but true blue.
• Planting window: Daffodils from late September to early November. Tulips from late October into December, as long as the soil is workable.
• Depth: About 6 inches to the base for daffodils, 6 to 8 inches for tulips.
• Cold needed: Both need roughly 12 to 16 weeks of winter cold. Most zones supply it naturally; warm zones need pre-chilled tulips.

Why daffodils come back and tulips often do not

Daffodils are tough perennials. As long as the leaves get six weeks of sun after bloom, the bulb rebuilds and divides, so a clump grows larger each spring. Animals avoid them, so nothing digs them up.

Modern tulip hybrids put everything into their first spring. After that, many split into small bulbs that make leaves but few flowers, especially in heavy, wet soil or in mild winters. Species tulips and Darwin hybrids return better than most, and deep planting in well-drained soil helps.

If deer browse your yard, see deer-resistant tulip alternatives and is the tulip deer resistant?.

How to plant either bulb

1. Pick a sunny, well-drained spot. Bulbs rot in soggy soil over winter.
2. Dig to about three times the bulb's height, roughly 6 inches for daffodils and 6 to 8 inches for tulips.
3. Set the pointed end up, about 4 to 6 inches apart. Plant in groups of 10 or more for a natural look.
4. Mix a little bulb fertilizer or bone meal into the hole. See bulb fertilizer and bone meal for fall planting.
5. Backfill, water once, and mulch after the ground cools.

For lots of bulbs, a long-handled bulb planter or an auger on a drill saves your back. See bulb planter augers.

Protecting tulips from animals

• Lay wire mesh or hardware cloth over the planted area before backfilling the top inch of soil.
• Plant tulips among daffodils. Squirrels often skip beds that smell of daffodils.
• Use a gritty layer of sharp gravel in the hole to discourage voles.
• Spray repellent on emerging leaves in early spring if deer are around.

Zone and timing notes

• Zones 3 to 5: Plant daffodils by mid-October and tulips through early November, before the ground freezes.
• Zones 6 and 7: Daffodils in October, tulips late October through November. Tulips can go in as late as December if the ground is still soft.
• Zones 8 to 10: Daffodils with low chilling needs, like many jonquil and tazetta types, grow well. Tulips need pre-chilled bulbs, or chill them yourself for 10 to 12 weeks in a refrigerator away from fruit, then plant in December or January. Treat tulips as annuals here.

Which should you choose?

• For a bed you never want to replant: daffodils.
• For a yard with deer or voles: daffodils, plus tulips only in protected pots.
• For pots, cutting, and bold color: tulips.
• For the longest bloom season: both. Daffodils open first, tulips extend the show into May.

Bottom line

Daffodils are the permanent, animal-proof choice; tulips are the colorful, short-lived choice. Plant daffodils from late September into early November and tulips from late October as long as the ground is workable. In warm zones, buy pre-chilled tulips.

Related reading

• Spring-flowering bulbs to plant in late October and November
• Spring bulbs to plant in fall: complete guide
• Deer-resistant tulip alternatives
• Is the daffodil deer resistant?

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