Artiflora Live

Tulips

During March and April, it’s all about Tulips.  Hundreds of thousands of Tulips arrive from the Dutch market to the U.S. daily.  Fields as far as the eye can see in the areas surrounding Liesse, a small flower village just outside of Aalsmeer, the location of the Blumenveiling, the world’s largest flower auction house, are shorn of Tulips just about to burst into color.  They trundle through the auction six days a week before the sun rises and by late morning, they’re on planes to destinations all over the world. When they arrive at my studio, I fresh cut them immediately, removing about one inch from the stem bottoms.  They go immediately into fresh water in a small cooler bucket that will support them.  To further help them stand straight, I leave the wrap on that they come with.  Tulips will lean, bend and curve if left unwrapped and unsupported.  I take care not to put fresh flower food into the water as I would do with almost any other flower.  Flower food for bulb flowers increases growth at a rate that is too rapid.  The Tulip or any other bulb flower will bolt and get stringy.  Tulips will do this on their own over time.  Customers ask me why.  Did you know that the Tulip continues to grow after it’s been cut and put into room temperature?  Put Tulips in a vase in a pleasing way, come back three days later and they will be curving, heads tilted and looking at the table top.  Yes, they’ve grown an inch or two.  Just remove them if you don’t like this look, re-cut and return to fresh water. I have fifty tulips in my cooler right now.  Yellow, peach, red, a blush pink with an unusual variegated leaf, and a spunky Parrot Tulip.  Life is good when there are Tulips in the cooler!