Tulips

 

Tip 1: Make sure you have a clean vase! Wash it with chlorine before rinsing it well with cold water.

Tip 2: Tulips don't like a lot of water in the vase. They draw water with the whole stem and don't need to be more than 10 cm in the water.

Tip 3: Cut or trim the stems straight (about 2 cm above the bottom of the stem). So you don't cut them at an angle as you would with roses, for example. This is because the tulip is too thirsty and will otherwise absorb too much water.

Tip 4: When you place the tulips in the water, leave the packaging or plastic around the flowers for another 30-60 minutes. This will help them regain their tension and stay upright better.

Tip 5: Place them in a cool place overnight to give them a longer life. Tulips are robust flowers and can easily withstand draughts. Be careful not to place them in too cold temperatures, though, or in too warm a place.

Tip 6: If you want to prevent the tulips from starting to grow wild, don't top up the water every day. Do this only when it is really necessary.

 

Classic tulip vase with wavy rim

When someone talks about a tulip vase, we often think of a vase with uneven and wavy edges. These are made especially for tulips. The shape gives them support as they stretch out towards the light.

Tulips - the shining centrepiece!

Tulips can create a striking effect in a large vase with a wide opening. They can turn your home into a true flower garden in no time - a real eye-catcher!

Play with colour

If you put tulips in a transparent vase, the bright green stems form a nice contrast to the (often) colourful flowers.

An elegant appearance

If you want to keep it elegant, you can use a large, narrow vase.

Old-fashioned Dutch tulip vase

It used to be customary to put tulips in special vases, where there was a separate hole for each flower. Such special vases were supposed to both show the beauty of the flowers and be a sign of prosperity. Tulips were very expensive and were certainly not affordable by everyone. These typical Dutch vases used to be very common. Maybe you have been able to admire them in a museum, or somewhere else? Now they are usually sold to tourists as cheap souvenirs.

How did tulips end up in the Netherlands?

The origins of the Dutch tulip tradition actually lie in Turkey. The Tulip was introduced to the western world in 1551 by the Viennese ambassador to Turkey, Ghislain de Busbecq, he wrote about the flowers he had seen in Edirne, Turkey. Around 1593, the first specimens appeared in the Netherlands. The first documented specimens were planted by Carolus Clusius in the Hortus botanicus Leiden, which he ran from 1593. The flower and bulb were considered so special that a live trade soon developed. By 1634, a single bulb was so expensive that a canal house in Amsterdam could be bought for the same money.

Tulips are our national pride

Tulips are in the shops from December/January. The tulip can only be grown in a cold climate, with cold nights and a cold winter. An excellent flower for the Netherlands, therefore. The tulip is our most colourful calling card. Funny really, because the tulip originated in Turkey. With over 900 varieties of tulips, there is always a tulip that can convey the right message. In tulip cultivation, the Netherlands is the international market leader with a share of over 95%.

Tulips are big seasonal favourites in our country. During the last winter months and spring, it is impossible to imagine the streets without these flowers. Tulip bulbs and tulip bouquets have long been big crowd pleasers. As a big kick-off to the season, National Tulip Day is therefore held annually, on the third Saturday in January. One of the national events on Tulip Day is the big picking garden on Dam Square in Amsterdam. With the picking garden created by growers with the Bloemenbureau Holland, Dam Square is transformed into a tulip paradise with thousands of flowers. From 1pm to 5pm, the garden will be open to the public and anyone can have a go at picking their own beautiful bouquet of tulips.