Monthly Feature
Know your flowers and how to take care of them!
TULIPS
Tulips are one of the most popular spring flowers of all time, and the third most popular flower world-wide, after the Rose and Chrysanthemum. Tulips come in an incredible variety of colors, height, and flower shapes.
Although tulips are often associated with The Netherlands, commercial cultivation of the flower began in the Ottoman Empire. The tulip, or lale (from Persian -lâleh) as it is called in Iran and Turkey, is a flower indigenous to a vast area encompassing arid parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. During the Ottoman Empire, the tulip became very popular in Ottoman territories and was seen as a symbol of abundance and indulgence. In fact, the era during which the Ottoman Empire was wealthiest is often called the Tulip era or Lale Devri in Turkish. The tulips were a topic for Persian poets as far back as the thirteenth century and continue to be subject of interest in modern Persian literature.
After being introduced to Holland in the 16th century, tulips were prize processions and caused the Tulip mania only to be outdone in the 19th century in England with the Orchid mania. Bulbs changed hands at multiples of what a skilled worker would earn in a year and fortunes were lost when the Tulip market crashed possibly due to the Black Death which prevented merchants to attend the auctions.
Today, Tulip festivals are held around the world, including in The Netherlands, Spalding, England. There is also a very popular festival, in Morges, Switzerland. Every spring, there are several Tulip festivals in North America, including the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley, Washington, the Tulip Time Festival in Orange City and Pella, Iowa, and the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa. Tulips are now also popular in Australia and several festivals are held in September and October, during the Southern Hemisphere’s Spring.
The meaning of tulips is generally perfect love. Like many flowers, different colors of tulips also often carry their own significance. Red tulips are most strongly associated with true love, while purple symbolizes royalty; the yellow tulips are an expression for cheerful thoughts and sunshine while the white ones are used to send a message of forgiveness. The wide range of colors and varieties available allows them to be used for many occasions. As one of the world’s most beloved flowers, a gift of tulips is a sure delight, enchanting in its beauty and simplicity
In addition to being a favorite for cut flower arrangements by floral designers worldwide during springtime, tulips are also a gardener’s favorite and can even be nurtured as a potted plant.
Tulips combine well with other flowers; they are particularly suited to combining with the early spring branches such as forsythia, pussy willows, and corkscrew willow that are found in the flower market in late Winter and Spring. Though the designer has to keep in mind that even cut tulips grow about 2 cm a day and they are strongly phototropic, turning towards the light which can easily upset the balance of the design.
Taking care of Tulips:
Remove Foliage from the part of the stems that will be under water in your vase. Cut off any white portion of the stem to allow better fluid intake. To prevent the intake of air into the stems, give them a fresh cut under water. Place immediately in a vase filled with water and fresh flower nutrients. Recut 1 inch from the flower stems every 4-5 days to maintain water uptake.
As a precaution, do not place tulips in the same container as daffodils that have been recut. The sap from the daffodils can kill the tulips. To straighten bent tulips, wrap the stems tightly in damp newspaper, secure with an elastic band, and stand in deep, lukewarm water with light directly above them. Leave for a couple of hours.
The secret to long life of cut tulips is fresh water and a clean vase.
Article by Anju Bhardwaj with references to Wikipedia,
Photos by Christiane Duckworth