An estimated one million tulips are expected to bloom this year at Lakeland Orchard & Cidery in Lackawanna County.
Visitors to the farm in Scott Township are taken on a tractor to a four-acre field of cascading colors to take photos and pick their own tulips to take home.
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"They're such a happy flower," said farm manager Julianne Roba as the crew worked to get the place ready for opening day.
Roba says they will open for the season Saturday Apr. 18, with hopes for steady blooms throughout the next month.
‘That's the tricky thing about tulips,” Roba said. “We're at the mercy of Mother Nature here.”
Growing tulips
Tulips are cool-weather plants that thrive in spring temperatures. They are perennials, which means they come back every year.
Lakeland opened its tulip fields to the public in 2025.
“Tulips are kind of one of the easier things to grow,” Roba said.
The tulips are planted in sections of different colors and mixes. A large windmill in the field refers to an international attraction for tulips in the Netherlands.
“We get our bulbs in from Holland,” Roba said. “They're the tulip capital of the world.”
The bulbs arrived in late summer and were planted in the fall.
This week’s warm weather made them sprout quickly.
“We're hoping, as long as it doesn't stay too hot, we'll be able to have our tulip blooms until Mother's Day,” Roba said.
Lakeland rotates its tulip planting on two four-acre fields to mitigate disease.
“It's called tulip fire because it spreads like fire. So once you have it, it could spread through your fields,” Roba said. “You have to rotate your fields to try to stay ahead of that disease.”
Roba says the tulip fields allow the farm to extend its season. The rapid rise in temperatures means an even earlier season for the farm that was once only a fall attraction.
Extending the season
John Roba purchased the property in the late 90s to expand growing operations for Roba Family Farms' Christmas tree farm and pumpkin patch.
Lakeland opened as an apple orchard in 2013 and rebranded to Lakeland Orchard & Cidery in 2019.
The attraction is now open from May to October and employs roughly 400 people.
Julianne married John’s son Jeff, and the second generation is taking over the family business.
The tulip festival at Lakeland is from Thursday to Sunday and is anticipated to run through May 17, with baby animal days at the farm beginning May 7.
The tulip festival at Lakeland is from Thursday to Sunday and is anticipated to run through May 17, with baby animal days at the farm beginning May 7.
New this year, Lakeland will have a 100-foot gondola Ferris wheel that is currently being shipped from Turkey.
“People can get on it and see, number one, all of our fields," Roba said. "And then we have this view of the endless mountains... [and] some other gorgeous neighboring farms as well that they'll be able to see from up top.”
Other additions include a new donut shop, a permanent building for the corn box and trailer bathrooms.
