Pacific NW blooming times

When do flowers start blooming in the spring in the NW? I'm in the Portland/Vancouver area. Seems to me they start coming out in early March, and so that would mean tulips and daffodils are blooming by...?

trying to plan a wedding and want to have tulips in bloom :)

You might want to call your local botanical gardens and ask when their tulips begin blooming. Public gardens usually have pretty good phenology data on the plants they grow.

When you speak with them, confirm the kinds of tulips they are growing--there is quite of difference in bloom time between varieties.
Likewise daffodils.

Are you doing the flowers for the wedding bouquets, or do you just want your garden looking beautiful?

It really depends on the Winter we've had I'd say. My crocus, dafs, hyacinth, and tulips begin blooming in late February and go on till early April.....than the trees and shrubs get started. Azaleas, lilacs and Rhoddies are in full swing by mid May.....and so on
At least that's how it is around my parts with a 'normal' cold wet Winter.
This year everything was a month early.

Marc

It also depends on where in the PNW you live. When I lived in Walla Walla, on occasion I'd see spring flowers as early as February. But up here in Spokane it usually starts in March.

This message was edited Jul 26, 2005 1:44 PM

You could play it real safe and order tulips that are early, midseason and late.

Hi there amynh~

I usually have good bulb blooms in March and April...crocus, snowdrops, anemone in late Feb - early March; daffs, hyacinth, tulips, other minor bulbs by mid-March thru April. This crazy year everything was way early...a good month ahead of schedule....and if it is a really cold, long winter it can be a bit later.....but those are averages. Anything else you want to know, just ask as we are practically neighbors...:-)

Jamie

Daffodils are blooming in Mid February with tulips following in March, April , and May depending on variety.There are later daffodils into March. Wooden Shoe Bulb of Woodburn sells cut daffodils and tulips. Grant Mitsch not far from Wooden Shoe sells wonderful hybrid daffodils very reasonably in March, April. I could get you phone numbers if you need them.

Thanks everyone. I'm looking at the end of April but I'm thinking the weather probably won't cooperate for an outdoor wedding, so I may not need to worry about the tulips and dafs. Darn this rainforest anyway. :)

Outdoor weddings are tough to plan, no matter where you live. You just never really know, that far ahead what mother nature has on her mind. I've always loved outdoor weddings, and you could probably still plan one, as long as you had a very close indoor spot to re-locate it too should nature protest. Where you are, you might be able to pull it off with lotsz flowers. You are warmer than me, and my tulips, lately, have been done by the beginning of May.

My oldest daughter got married April 30th, 2004 and she could have had her reception here at home. The weather was 80*. But you know as well as I that Pacific NW is not predictable.

welcome to the Pacific NW! lol!