Top Tips For Tulips

Top Tips for Tulips. Tulips, synonymous with Spring and available in bewildering array of colours, these flowers are always associated with The Netherlands but they originate in an area stretching from southern Europe through to western & central Asia, particularly Iran, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan.

The name Tulip is thought to have come from the Turkish word Tuliband or the Persian word Dulband both of which mean round. It is also similar the word Turban which shape resembles that of a closed Tulip.

At Blooming Amazing Flower Company we love the Tulip season. We’ve learnt a lot about how to care for them and show them at their best over the years so here are our top tips for Tulips.

1. Buy Tulips that are tightly closed and that even look a little immature.  Tulips continue to grow and develop after they are cut so if you buy them when they are open, they won’t last long. Best to opt for Tulips with closed flowers and watch them grow and open over time – a good florist can supply them at this optimum stage.
2. Because Tulips continue to grow after they are cut, they are best used in a vase as opposed to set in an arrangement. If you place them in an arrangement, as they grow, they will completely change and distort the style of the arrangement. When you place them in a vase, the stems can be recut a couple of times as they grow, this allows you to reset them so they keep their shape.
3. Before placing your flowers in a vase, cut the stems at the bottom at a 45-degree angle. This increases surface area allowing the Tulips to take in more water. Tulip stems become soft at the tip with time so recut as necessary to increase longevity.
4. Lots and lots of water. Tulips are a very thirsty flower and even when cut they need a plentiful supply of clean fresh water.
5. Regularly change water. More so than other flowers, the water used for Tulips can quickly go a bit  “off” so best to change the water every two days to extend the life of your Tulips.
6. Use flower food. A good florist will provide you with little sachets of flower food. Add a sachet of this each time you change the water. This will add days to the life of your flowers.
7. For best effects when buying Tulips, either choose all of one colour tone to create impact or go for a eclectic mix for a very multi coloured look. Choosing just a few colours can look just a little underwhelming.
8. There are thousands of Tulip varieties and over 70 different species so look out for unusual versions – varieties with shaggy petals, Parrot Tulips, double petal varieties that look like roses, two or three toned colours, varieties with unusual petal shapes. There are so many options and so many colours it’s sometimes hard to pick a favourite.
9. The last in our Top Tips for Tulips is a lesson from history – don’t look at Tulips as a financial investment. In Holland in the 1600’s, Tulips became a speculative investment leading to “Tulip Mania” resulting in one of the world’s most infamous financial crashes. So best to buy Tulips to admire and invest your hard-earned money in something more reliable.

Blooming Amazing Flower Company provide a same day flower and gift delivery service in Dublin. During Spring our range of bouquets and arrangements includes Tulips  – click here to find our full range of seasonal flower bouquets and arrangements.