Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest is running, but many tulips haven't bloomed

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The photo cut-out boards are in position and the cow train is ready to haul children around, but there’s one lingering problem for the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn – the vast majority of the tulips haven’t bloomed yet. 

The flowers, the main attraction that draws thousands of visitors every spring, have stubbornly kept their buds pinched shut as they wait for warmer days during an unusually cold spring. 

“It has been the slowest spring we’ve experienced in the last 40 years,” said Emily Iverson, whose family owns the farm. 

She said it’s been frustrating, but also humbling because her family of farmers know they can’t control the weather. 

Every year, the farm predicts its opening date based on weather patterns of years past and when they think the tulips were blooming. The frigid and rainy spring of 2023 caught them off guard. 

They usually open the third week of March and run through the first week of May. This year, they pushed the opening day back to March 24, but it seems tulip admirers will need to wait a bit longer to see peak bloom. 

Seasonal employees are already working at the farm and vendors are operating at the site, hoping the crowds come eventually. But with most blossoms still closed, it’s been slow.

“Every day is a new day and we just have to make the best of it,” Iverson said.  

As of Thursday, about four of the farm’s 40 acres were blooming. The Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm posts a daily bloom status update on its website, so people can monitor what the fields look like. 

Iverson predicts that one 60-degree day would be enough to coax the buds in the field to open. She thinks visiting sometime between April 15 and 30 will be the best time to see the most flowers in bloom.

This year has been a learning experience for the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. Iverson said they’ve already discussed changing the way they set their dates in 2024. 

“It’s tough. I mean, you want people to come and visit you and it’s spring and people are visiting and so, we’re trying our best,” Iverson said. 

Currently, the farm is scheduled to close April 30, but Iverson said that’s subject to change depending on the weather. She said the farm must also be wary of warm weather; one 70- or 80-degree day can bring blooming tulips to an end. 

Anyone hoping to visit the tulip farm during the 2023 season must purchase their tickets on the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm’s website.