Ah, tulips! You’d think you can hardly get anything more Dutch, but the tulip is actually pure Iranian, pure Afghan and pure Kazakh. Nomads brought the colourful flowers to Turkey, where manly sultans started wearing a tulip on their turban. That’s how the flower got its name: ‘tulipan’ means ‘turban’.
If you want to learn more about the tulip, you've come to the right place. Here, you can learn about the different varieties and shapes, and learn how to care for this special flower.
Caring for Tulips
Just brought Tulips home? Naturally, you’ll want to enjoy them for as long as possible. First, make sure you have a clean (Tulip) vase and fill it with a layer of cold water. Avoid using lukewarm or warm water, as this speeds up blooming and causes your Tulips to wilt faster. Want to make your Tulips shine at their very best? Check out these 10 clever tips for caring for Tulips in a vase. This will also help prevent your Tulips from drooping!
Fill the vase with a layer of cold water so your Tulips stay beautiful for as long as possible.
What colours and shapes of Tulips exist?
Tulips are among the most popular cut flowers in the world. The colourful, always cheerful Tulip comes in white, red, yellow, pink, purple, orange, green or with multi-coloured petals. The shapes of the Tulip are also a feast for the eyes. So you come across them with a single or double row of petals, there are also striking fringed and parakeet Tulips with jagged petals and there is the elegant lily Tulip. Peony Tulips resemble sister peonies and French Tulips, unlike most Frenchies, are particularly long and have very large flowers.
When are Tulips for sale?
In the Netherlands, we celebrate National Tulip Day every year on the third Saturday of January. This day marks the start of the new Tulip season. From late January (and sometimes even earlier), Tulips are available at many florists. Tulips are mainly found in winter and spring (up to and including May), but thanks to specialised growers, Tulips are now available all year round.
Bouquet of Tulips
Tulips come in a wide range of colours, varieties, and sizes. Which ones you let shine in your vase is entirely up to you! Need inspiration? Check out this white bouquet starring the Tulip and these Tulip vases.
How ‘green’ is the Dutch Tulip?
The Dutch Tulip is becoming an increasingly sustainable icon. Growers are continuously working on improvements: more efficient energy use, water reuse, minimal crop protection, and cultivation under controlled conditions. Almost all tulips are certified according to the standards of the Environmental Programme for Ornamental Horticulture (MPS). Thanks to local production, innovative techniques, and collaboration across the supply chain, the impact keeps shrinking, and the Tulip’s future is getting greener.
When to plant Tulip bulbs?
Want to pick your own Tulips and plant tulip bulbs in your garden? Do so in autumn, sometime between October (early) and December (late). Ideally, plant your Tulip bulbs before the first frost so they have enough time to form roots before the real cold sets in. Tulip bulbs need a period of cold to bloom in spring. Be careful: planting bulbs too early can lead to rot or failure to bloom. The best time to plant Tulip bulbs is when the soil temperature is between 7–10 degrees Celsius. If you buy Tulip bulbs but don’t plant them immediately, store them in a paper bag or cardboard box in a cool, dry place.
How often do Tulip bulbs bloom?
You can leave Tulip bulbs in the ground after flowering, but there is a good chance they will produce smaller flowers or none at all the following year. Most Tulip varieties are not perennial. For the best display, plant new Tulip bulbs in autumn.
Symbolism behind the Tulip
If you gave someone a Tulip in the sixteenth century, you were giving them a fortune. At that time the flower was incredibly popular and a speculative trade in Tulip bulbs developed. You could buy a whole canalside house in Amsterdam for the price of one Tulip bulb in those days. A nice bunch of Tulips now costs just a couple of pounds, but the symbolism has gained in value. If you give Tulips, you are also giving a cheerful, positive message. Tulips are also seen as a symbol of new beginnings and freshness, as they bloom in winter and early spring.
Reading the rainbow: The meaning of different Tulip colours
Just as a red rose has a different meaning from a yellow one, different meanings are assigned to each different colours of Tulip.
- Red tulips: red Tulips symbolise true love and passion. This makes them a perfect gift for a loved one.
- White Tulips: white Tulips symbolise purity, new beginnings and forgiveness. They are an ideal gift if you want to apologise to someone or show your sincere intentions.
- Yellow Tulips: yellow Tulips symbolise cheerfulness and appreciation. A perfect gift to cheer someone up or express your appreciation.
- Orange Tulips: orange Tulips represent enthusiasm. You give orange Tulips when you are happy for a person, for example at a milestone such as a new job.
- Pink Tulips: pink Tulips represent beauty, happiness and tender love. A perfect gift for your mother, grandmother or other caregiver you love.
- Purple Tulips: purple Tulips represent dignity, spirituality and the balance between life and death. They are also regularly used in times of mourning.
Can you eat Tulip bulbs?
Tulips are meant to be enjoyed, not eaten. The flowers, and especially the bulbs, naturally contain substances that can cause stomach upset in humans and pets if ingested. During the Hunger Winter, Tulip bulbs were sometimes eaten out of sheer necessity. Today, they are no longer intended for consumption: the bulbs are carefully treated to protect them from pests and ensure healthy growth. Indoors, Tulips are otherwise harmless, as long as they don’t end up on your pet’s menu.
The Tulip as a national symbol of The Netherlands
In the 16th century, the Tulip was brought to Europe and especially to the Netherlands. There, in the 17th century, the flower grew to become an important symbol and beloved part of Dutch culture. The Netherlands is known as one of the largest producers and exporters of Tulips. It's is an ideal country for Tulip cultivation due to several factors:
- Its temperate maritime climate (mild weather, with not-too-extreme temperatures) is perfect for Tulips.
- The Netherlands has fertile, well-drained soils on which Tulip bulbs thrive.
- Thanks to its long history of Tulip cultivation (from the 16th century onwards), the Netherlands has built up a lot of knowledge and experience in selecting, growing and breeding Tulips.
- The Netherlands are known for advanced breeding techniques, as a result of which new varieties of Tulips are constantly developed.
- The Dutch flower bulb industry is highly professional, and a major player in the world market. This contributes to the high quality of Dutch Tulips.
- Tourism around Keukenhof, one of the world's largest flower gardens with many Tulip fields, contributes to the worldwide fame of Dutch Tulips.
Where do Tulips originally come from?
Tulips can be found growing wild from north Africa and southern Europe across to north-west China. The greatest diversity can be found in three mountain ranges in central Asia: the Pamirs, the Tian Shan and the Hindu Kush. With cold winters, long springs with cold nights and a dry summer, the climate here is ideal for Tulips. Tulips need a cold night and a cold winter in order to be able to grow, which is why they can’t be cultivated in a warm climate. Today, Tulips are grown all over the world and are a popular winter and spring flower.
