14
March | 2022
Feature
IN SEASON:
Tulips
T
he tulip is a bulbous spring-flowering
plant. In the flower industry, it is sold
both as a cut flower and in plant
form (potted bulbs). Tulips are a
quintessential symbol of spring,
but, today, tulips aren't limited
to just spring. ese amazing cut flowers are
available year-round, thanks to innovation
and technology as well as global resourcing.
Tulip bulbs, on the other hand, bloom in the
early spring outdoors but can be forced to
bloom indoors during the winter season.
Tulips are known for their range of colors,
including bicolors and multicolors as well as
their graceful cup shapes. e blooms of single-
flowered tulips have three petals and three sepals,
but because the sepals are almost the same size
and shape as the petals, the blooms appear to
have six petals.
"French" tulips are not a class of tulips; instead, they
are hybrids of Single Late Tulip varieties, prized for
their long stems and large blooms. Sun Valley Floral
Farms, in Arcata, Calif., perhaps the largest grower of
cut tulips in the U.S., has branded its line of French tulips
"Redwood Grove"—a nod to the tall, strong trees that
inhabit the central and northern California coast.
Tulips are grouped into at least 15 classifications, six of
which are commonly grown as cut flowers:
• single flowered (Single Early Tulips)
• double flowered (Double Early Tulips)
• peony flowered (Double Late Tulips)
• lily flowered (reflexed pointed petals)
• parrot ( feathered petal edges)
• fringed ( fringed petal edges; varieties can be single
or double flowered)
Tulip History
Tulips are intriguing flowers with a rich history. e
name "tulip" came from the Turkish word tulband,
meaning turban. Tulip were originally wildflowers
growing in Central Asia, and they were first cultivated by
Common Name
Tulip
Botanical Name (Genus)
Tulipa
Family
Liliaceae (lily)
By Nita Robertson, AFID, CFD
