San Francisco’s wholesome Flower Bulb Day officially arrives tomorrow, Saturday, March 22, 2025. The highly anticipated San Francisco tulip festival will fill Union Square with 80,000 tulips, all of which are free for visitors to pick and take home. The event is meant to celebrate International Women’s Day, which was on March 8th.
Details are officially confirmed for 2025, so here’s what to know: The garden will open to the public at 1 pm and close at 4:30 pm. Visitors may pick a max of 6 tulips each and are allowed 5 minutes in the garden.
Flower Bulb Day always draws huge crowds, so it’s worth taking public transportation and planning to arrive early. The line can be several hours long, so we recommend being prepared to wait if you want to check it out. While the garden officially opens at 1 pm, people will be allowed to line up starting at 10 am.
The tulip bulbs are imported from Europe but grown here in the United States in special greenhouse conditions. The US is the largest export market for European flower bulb traders, receiving over half a billion of them per year.
Tulips are commonly associated with the Netherlands, which went through a period of “tulip mania” from 1634-1637. The flowers became so expensive that only the very rich had access to them. The Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden in Golden Gate Park is a famous SF spot to enjoy spring tulip blooms with a fascinating history — in fact, the garden’s authentic Dutch windmill was a gift from Queen Wilhelmina herself!
Union Square’s display will have a rainbow of colors available. Certain colors have special meanings: red for perfect love, yellow for happiness, white for forgiveness, and a mixed bunch for elegance.
You can keep your bouquet alive and thriving by cutting the stems on an angle and displaying them in a place that won’t get too warm and isn’t near any fresh fruit. They’ll continue to bloom even after they’re cut.
While you’re in Union Square, look out for the various floral displays around the area. This is part of a program called Union Square in Bloom, and you can find local businesses decorated with beautiful floral arrangements. A map of all the participating businesses with the massive displays can be found here.
Make sure to catch this year’s tulip festival in San Francisco on March 22, 2025, at Union Square. You can learn more at FlowerBulbDay.com.