From the Farm · Newsletter Archive
Fall Planting Season: September Field Notes
· The Terra Ceia Farms Family
Harvest is underway and the crew is in the fields digging. Fall shipping starts October 1.
Field Notes, September 2026
September has us working both ends at once. We're preparing for our plant and bulb harvest and for the fall shipping season at the same time, which means the fields and the warehouse are both going full tilt most days. Here's what that looks like right now.
On the Farm This Month
- Digging bulbs. Leucojum and Lycoris are coming out of the ground right now.
- Digging peonies. Clumps are being lifted and readied for fall orders.
- Rogueing by hand. We walk the rows pulling out any mixed plants. It's slow work with no machine for it, and it's how we keep our planting stock and shipping stock clean.
- Cleaning up the warehouse. Clearing out from spring so there's room to move once fall orders start rolling.
- Fixing and storing bulk flower containers. They get repaired and put up now, ready for next year's crop.
- Building out the wash line. Construction is underway ahead of our canna and daylily harvest. We wash everything so it leaves here soil-free.
None of it is glamorous work, but all of it is why October runs smoothly. The first boxes leave the farm October 1.
Mark Your Calendar
Fall bulbs and bareroot plants ship October 1 through January 15. We work through orders oldest first and by climate, so the coldest states go out earliest — their planting window closes soonest. Ordering early still gets you the best pick of varieties, and popular daffodils and peonies tend to run out first. Need your box at a particular time? Just leave a note in the comment section when you order and we'll ship accordingly.
What to Do When Your Box Arrives
Open It the Day It Lands
- Unpack right away, don't let it sit sealed
- Loose papery skins and a little dust are normal
- Give one a gentle squeeze, firm means healthy
- Something look off? Call us at 800.858.2852
If You Can't Plant Yet
- Cool, dark and dry, with air moving around them
- Mesh bag, paper sack or open crate — never plastic
- Around 50 to 60° is ideal, a garage shelf works
- A few weeks of waiting won't hurt a thing
When to Plant What This Fall
Timing for our zone 8a/8b climate here in eastern NC. Colder zones can shift everything a few weeks earlier.
SEPT · Plan and Prep, Don't Plant Yet
Soil is still too warm for bulbs to settle in properly. Use this month to clear beds, work in compost, fix drainage, and get your order placed while selection is full.
OCT NOV · The Main Planting Window
Prime time for daffodils, hyacinths, alliums, crocus, and peonies. Soil has cooled but hasn't hardened, so roots get established before real winter. This is when most of our boxes go out.
DEC JAN · Tulip Time in the Warm South
Tulips want the coldest soil you can give them, so they go in last down here. Our shipping season runs through January 15 for exactly this reason.
The One Thing People Get Wrong About Peonies
They get planted too deep. A peony that won't bloom is almost always a peony that's buried. Set the clump so the growth eyes sit about an inch above soil level, cover with roughly two inches of loose soil, and water it in well. Give each one at least four feet of room and full sun. Do that once, and it can outlive the person who planted it.
What to Put in the Ground This Fall
Fall shipping opens October 1. Four to start with, sorted by what you want them to do.
Heirloom
Peonies
Plant it once and it can outlive the person who planted it. Ours are being lifted right now and go in the ground October through November. Available as divisions or as undivided mother clumps.
Naturalizing
Daffodils
Our home crop and the backbone of this farm. Deer and voles leave them be, clumps multiply on their own, and we grow them by division — trumpet, large cup, jonquilla, poeticus and more.
Cut Flowers
Tulips
Order now, plant in December. They want the coldest soil you can give them down here, so they go in last. Stagger your planting and you'll stretch the cutting season instead of getting it all at once.
The Surprise
Lycoris
Spider lilies, and one of the best tricks in a Southern garden. Bare stems shoot up out of nowhere in late summer and bloom before the foliage shows. We grow three: red radiata, golden aurea, pink squamigera.
Ask Terra Ceia
My tulips looked great the first spring and then barely came back. What happened?
Nothing you did wrong. Tulips are native to places with cold winters and dry summers, and our winters here in the Southeast just don't get cold enough for long enough to reset the bulb for a strong second year. Most gardeners below the mountains treat them as a one-season showpiece and replant each fall.
If you want that same spring color without replanting, daffodils are the answer. They naturalize beautifully here and get better every year instead of worse. Plenty of folks do both: daffodils for the permanent display, tulips for the beds they want to redesign anyway.
Have a question about planting depth, timing, or holding bulbs before planting? Contact Terra Ceia Farms.
33 New Items for 2026–2027
We've added a run of new perennials for next year: hardy hibiscus, milkweed for the monarchs, agastache, nepeta, phlox, salvia, and more. These are spring-shipped items, going out April 1 through June 15, but you can reserve yours now.
With gratitude from our family to yours,
The Terra Ceia Farms Family