- Carithers Flowers Main Website- Wikipedia: Tulips

Tulips

Carithers Flowers Design Favorite

With petals like the pastel skirt of a taffeta party frock, the sweet innocence of the tulip seems to almost beckon the springtime. In luscious reds, yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, white or bicolors, tulip blooms last up to 6 days. Prized like jewels by the Turks and Persians and costing nearly as much, when tulips were introduced to Europe in the 16th century they caused such a frenzy that the English government had to put a limit on the cost per bulb.

The tulip is any of a variety of plants belonging to the genus Tulipa, of the lily family which is cultivated in many varieties. The tulip has lance-shaped leaves and cup shaped or bell shaped flowers which come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes and is widely recognized throughout the world. With about 100 species of tulips worldwide, the tulip is amongst the top five most popular flowers in the world. Billions of tulips are cultivated every year with most being grown and exported from Holland. Most tulips only bear one flower per stem, but a few species bear multiple flowers on their scapes. As mentioned, tulip flowers come in a variety of colors, except pure blue. In warm climates the process known as “chilling” is required for these flowers in order to get the best results.

Growing Recommendations - Tulips

The bulb that you buy in the fall already has an embryo flower inside the tulip. Because of this, you will want to choose the tulip bulb just like any other bulb. Make sure that the bulb is firm and fat and avoid any that are flabby or moldy. When it comes to taking care of tulips, proper storage and care is essential. If possible, keep the tulips in the refrigerator’s crisper drawer. Do not put them with apples or other fruit because apples and bananas produce a gas that ripens fruit but kills the flower bud inside the bulb. When planting, make sure that the bulb is very dry. Be sure to but the bulb in soil with good drainage because too much water will cause the bulb to rot (keep in mind that tulips do love water). Also, be careful to protect them from pests and put them in a place that receives adequate sunlight.

Photos of Tulips

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