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Guided Tulip Tours

Program Contact: Alex duPont, Master Gardener Program Coordinator
360-395-2367 • alex.dupont@wsu.edu

WSU is an equal opportunity provider. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication or program information, or reasonable accommodations need to contact Alex duPont, Skagit County Master Gardener Program Coordinator, 360-395-2367 or alex.dupont@wsu.edu at least three weeks prior to any planned event.

Skagit County Tulip Festival – Held Annually April 1-30

Did you know that more tulip and daffodil bulbs are produced in Skagit County than in any other county in the United States?

Approximately 1,000 acres of tulips and daffodils are grown in Skagit County. They are sold for both cut flowers and bulbs and shipped throughout the U.S. and Canada. About 20 million bulbs are harvested each summer in Skagit County. About 75 million cut flowers are grown in greenhouses and fields, accounting for over 50% of overall sales. About 500 acres of tulips are grown in the Valley, which represents 75% of U.S. commercial production.

Skagit County is known worldwide for its Tulip Festival, which occurs the entire month of April. The Tulip Festival began in 1984 and now brings an estimated 300,000 visitors and $65 million in revenue to the county. The bulb industry averages about $20 million in annual gross income, $3 million of which is in bulb sales.

Need a Master Gardener to Guide your Tulip Tour?

Would you like a local gardening expert to enhance your customers’ experience touring the Skagit Valley tulip fields? Then you need to contact the Washington State University Master Gardeners. Master Gardener step-on guides provide an informative overview of our wonderful area and are available for your group tour during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.  Contact TulipTours@skagitmg.org for more info.

(Master Gardeners do not arrange or provide the transportation for tours. We are “step-on guides” for tours that you or others arrange, bringing your transportation to us.)

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival - April 1-30

Make a pot full of colorful blooms:

  • Get a round planter 15 to 20 inches in diameter
  • Layer potting soil and scratch in some bone meal
  • Plant 15 to 25 tulip bulbs
  • Add a layer of soil and bone meal
  • Plant 6 daffodils
  • Add another layer of soil and bone meal
  • Plant 3 or 4 hyacinths
  • Cover with soil and keep container in garage for the winter
  • When shoots come up in January, begin to water weekly
  • After the last frost, or in early March, move planter outside into the full sun.