Caring for tulips from Amsterdam. Growing tulips from Dutch bulbs

landscaping 04.03.2020
landscaping

How much do flowers cost in Amsterdam? Report from the Flower Market

Well, spring has come! Of course, no one knows what surprises the weather can still bring us. But I want to think about the good: very soon March 8th, houses and offices will be filled with flowers, and life will sparkle with new colors. On the eve of March 8, we decided to go to the market, see what flowers you can buy at the beginning of spring and how much they cost. about yat in Amsterdam.

For bouquets, we went to. Spring here, if desired, can be felt almost 365 days a year. The market itself is designed more for tourists than for local residents (you will meet the latter sooner). But it is easy to find, it is on the must see list of most travelers - and the choice of colors here, if you come after bringing a new batch, is excellent.

First of all, we, of course, look at tulips. By the way, they, and many other flowers, are sold in Holland not one at a time, but in bouquets (10 pieces) or whole armfuls (50 pieces). Oh, how they creak and crunch when you carry them in an embrace!

On the day of our visit to the Flower Market, tulips were sold at a price of 5 to 15 euros for 50 pieces.

Bouquets for 5 euros seem to be quite unsightly. But, in fact, at home, in the heat, the buds will open - and literally the next morning they will look completely different. One drawback - today we are offered only yellow ones.

There are also tulips on the market at a price of 15 euros for 50 pieces. In my subjective opinion, outwardly the difference between them and flowers for 6 euros is not felt much.

Probably, I will not be mistaken in saying that for us, people from Russian-speaking countries, a tulip is a herald of the arrival of spring. And yet, if you want to please yourself or loved ones with other flowers, then on the market (even in late winter and early spring!) There is plenty to choose from.

For example, you can show originality and buy amaryllis (1.50 euros per piece) or strelitzia.

Roses of all sizes and colors cost 5 - 6.50 euros for 10 pieces.

You can, of course, aim at a million scarlet roses. But you can, modestly and tastefully, buy a bouquet of impressive size for reasonable money.

Peony tulips are sold at a price of 4.50 euros per bouquet.

You can make a more original choice and leave the market with a bouquet of sunflowers (we are not in vain in our homeland!) at a price of 6.50 euros per bouquet.

Or ranunculus (Asian buttercup) worth 10 euros for 50 pieces.

By the way, a bouquet of flowers, unlike plants with roots, you can take on board the aircraft of many airlines. A good opportunity to bring such a bright greeting from Holland for someone close to you!

True, as one girl said well, “do not give us flowers - give us the opportunity to see how they grow.” Taking into account the fact that on the eve of March 8, a bouquet of 50 tulips in many cities of the CIS will cost about the same as a ticket to Amsterdam, in my opinion, this is a good idea :)

In the coming months in Amsterdam and the surrounding area you can:

  • visit (during April 2019)
  • visit

When the euro exchange rate for tomorrow can turn out to be anything, people are ready to invest money even in the air. The most beautiful financial pyramid - from tulips - once collapsed in the Netherlands. The common people went bankrupt, the economy survived, but the state drew the right conclusions.

As soon as the buds on the trees bloom in Amsterdam, carts with tulips appear on the streets.

At the world's largest flower auction-exchange Flora Holland about 20 million flowers are sold daily. Only tulips last season were bought 1.8 billion pieces. The exchange has been selling flowers for 100 years. It is located in a strategically important place - next to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Trades are held five days a week, from 7 am to 10-11 am. stock exchange Flora Holland supply 5,000 cooperative companies. The goods are brought to the auction the night before or early in the morning, carefully inspected and placed in cold stores.

Customers are seated in the hall, where trolleys with plants pass in front of them on a conveyor belt. At this time, the electronic scoreboard shows the current price of the lot. Initially, the maximum, it decreases until the first buyer presses the button located in front of him.

The flowers sold at the auction already in the evening or in the morning of the next day appear in stores in Europe and the USA.


Photo: GETTY IMAGES/FOTOBANK.COM

Stolen happiness

Tulips are the most important export of the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the national symbol of the country is far from being of Dutch origin. It is believed that the flower was brought to Europe from Constantinople in the 1550s by the Austrian ambassador to Turkey, Ogier de Busbeck. A large batch of bulbs was sent to the Vienna Garden of Medicinal Plants, which was run by the Flemish botanist Charles de l'Ecluse, better known as Carl Clusius. He actively engaged in the selection of a flower, which was named after the oriental headdress "turban" (from Turkish tulbend). When Clusius was invited to work as curator of the botanical garden at the University of Leiden in Holland, he took several bulbs with him. Charles planted them in 1593, and in 1594 tulips first bloomed in the Netherlands.

However, the cultivation of overseas flowers in Holland was not easy. In the first winter, more than 100 bulbs were eaten by mice, and it took years to breed new ones. The scientist did not sell the tulips grown with such difficulty, except that he shared the results of selection with fellow craftsmen working at the royal courts of Europe. It is not surprising that thieves visited the biologist's garden in 1596 and 1598. And after the death of Clusius (in 1609), exotic flowers began to appear on the market, becoming the "virus" of the disease that struck Holland for several years.

SELECTION
Rembrandt and tulips

Tulips Rembrandt ( Rembrandt Group) is one of the 15 classes into which all currently existing varieties are divided. It combines variegated flowers with whimsical strokes and spots on the petals. In the 17th century, such coloring arose in connection with the defeat of the bulbs by the variegation virus. Sick flowers were the most beautiful and expensive. It was them who were depicted in the paintings by the artists. Due to the fact that these tulips became a popular motif in Dutch painting, they were later combined into a class named after the most famous local artist - Rembrandt. However, the virus that gave rise to an unusual varietal trait eventually led to the degeneration of the “damaged” ( broken) tulips, and the original varieties have not survived to this day. Modern Rembrandt tulips are bred without the virus - from varieties that show signs of this class. As a rule, they also fall into other classes at the same time.

Tulips in a Vase by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, 17th century. Photo: DIOMEDIA

flower plague

Today, tulip bulbs in the Netherlands are sold at every turn. According to Paula, a saleswoman in one of the many flower shops in Amsterdam, six out of ten of her customers buy tulips: “They are inexpensive flowers. For three to five euros you can buy a bouquet of 10 pieces. The price for them practically does not change from season to season. Let's say that if we make money on roses only on special "romantic" occasions like Valentine's Day, then tulips are bought all the time - and for no reason.


Bulbs of all varieties at the Bloemenmarkt. Photo: GETTY IMAGES/FOTOBANK.COM

In the 17th century, such a thing was even unimaginable. Then the prices for tulips grew every day. Fashion for the novelty has spread among the best royal gardens in Europe. The tulip has become a symbol of status and wealth, aristocrats and those who aspired to their circles wanted to have it.

In the 1630s, the Netherlands was in a state of economic prosperity and became the main trading and financial center of Northern Europe. Thanks to the success of the Dutch West India Company, which colonized a number of lands, including part of Portuguese Brazil, many amassed a decent amount of capital that needed to be invested in something. Fashionable and expensive tulips came in handy.

At first, exotic plants were traded in April - May, that is, during their flowering, but with an increase in demand, speculators appeared who began to sell bulbs, and then simply receipts for the right to purchase them in the future. That is, sellers sold tulips that they did not yet have or that did not exist at all in nature.

Ordinary people also rushed headlong into the tulip pool. It was something like a "feast" during the plague that raged in 1633-1637. In the face of a deadly disease, financial risks did not seem significant, and many were ready to invest everything they had in popular flowers. The craze for tulips went down in history under the name "tulip mania" ( tulpenmanie). The peak of the flower fever came in December 1636 - by that time the prices of tulips had risen 20 times compared to October of that year. There is a legend that during that amazing period in the history of the Netherlands, an English sailor was put behind bars just because he ate an onion. The poor fellow stole a trophy from someone's garden, confusing it with an ordinary bow. In terms of cost, the “dish” turned out to be equivalent to the annual ration of the entire crew of the ship.


Europa League match in Amsterdam between Chelsea and Benfica
was preceded by a procession with giant tulips (May 15, 2013).
A photo: CORBIS/FOTO S.A.

The most expensive flower was a rare red and white tulip Semper Augustus, its value reached 3,000 florins. In those days it was fabulous money! There were jokers who made lists of good things that could be bought with them: 8 well-fed piglets, 4 oxen, 12 fattened sheep, 24 tons of wheat, 48 tons of rye, 2 barrels of wine, 4 barrels of beer, 2 tons of butter, 500 kilograms of cheese, a bed with a mattress and linens, a suit, a silver mug, and a ship that could take it all away.

In January 1637, when the new entrants in the market could not afford even the cheapest onion, the bubble burst. On April 27, 1637, the government banned futures contracts. As a result of the sharp drop in the market, thousands of ordinary people went bankrupt. However, the state did not intervene in disputes between sellers and buyers, since the tulip market developed in isolation from the country's economy. And she suffered very little.


READING ROOM
Alexandr Duma
From the novel "The Black Tulip":

“The Horticultural Society of Haarlem has risen to the occasion by donating 100,000 florins for a tulip bulb. The city did not want to be left behind and appropriated the same amount for the organization of the celebration in honor of the award.

And so the Sunday appointed for this ceremony became a day of popular rejoicing. Unusual enthusiasm seized the townspeople. Even those who had the mocking character of the French, accustomed to making fun of everyone and everything, could not help but admire these glorious Dutch, ready to spend money with equal ease on building a ship to fight enemies, that is, to maintain national honor, and to reward for the discovery of a new a flower that was destined to shine for one day and entertain women, scientists and the curious during that day.

Healthy Harvest

With a certain amount of wisdom, a negative experience works better than a positive one. From the bitter lesson, the Dutch drew useful conclusions and did not abandon the flower. Tulips, which became more accessible, began to be cultivated on an industrial scale. By 1844, about 5,000 varieties had been bred.

Today in Holland, 22,500 hectares of land are allocated for growing tulips, on which about three billion flowers grow: two of them are exported, and one remains in the country. If all these tulips are planted at a distance of 10 centimeters from each other, they will circle the equator seven times.

Surprisingly, the climate of the Netherlands suited the flower, born in Asia, as well as possible. The sandy soils off the coast of the North Sea were gradually adapted to the cultivation of flowers, resulting in the emergence of the famous region Duin-en Bollenstreek(Dutch "dune and bulb region") is one of the most visited places in the Netherlands.

Aryan Smith owns 18 hectares of land, on which he grows up to 10 million tulips annually. He is the owner of a family business Arjan Smith, among others supplying flowers for auction Flora Holland.

“We use the latest technology to grow tulips,” says Smith. - Out of season, the bulbs are kept in a special freezer room. Two weeks before planting in greenhouses, they are placed in containers filled with rainwater, which we collect from the roofs of greenhouses. During the rooting period, the bulbs are especially in need of moisture, so we use a special filter system in which water is constantly circulated and purified, but at the same time retains organic sediment. This allows you to get especially high-quality tulips. In greenhouses, flowers ripen in three weeks.”

Special machines cut ripe tulips and pack those that have passed computer quality control into bouquets. Firm Arjan Smith sells not only bouquets, but also bulbs, in particular, bred personally by the owner.


Tulips blooming in the fields are cut by special machines. Photo: EAST NEWS

“Every year we bring a new variety to the market. This year I introduced the tulip tiliro. Its name combines the names of my children - Tim, Lisa and Rosa. The subject of special pride is the variety royal virgin. This is a perfect white tulip. It took fifteen years to create it, says Arjan. - Why so long? It takes several years to cross different varieties and grow seedlings. After that, we select the best and test, test for many years in a row. The new variety must be different from the existing ones - either in color, or in shape, or in durability. The more features, the higher the value.”


LEGEND
The mystery of the black tulip

The black tulip does not exist in nature, despite numerous attempts to breed it. The flower became famous thanks to the novel "The Black Tulip" by Alexandre Dumas. It refers to the events of 1672, when the municipality of Haarlem announced a prize of 100,000 florins to the author of such a flower. The writer was allegedly inspired by the legend of a shoemaker from The Hague, who declared that he had a black tulip - the dream of every gardener. Hearing of this, the Haarlem florist syndicate decided to get their hands on the rare flower. After a short bargaining, the shoemaker agreed to 1,500 florins and brought out a tulip to the buyers. The florists threw the flower on the floor and trampled it, exclaiming, “Idiot! We also have a black tulip, and you won't get a chance to grow it again." And finally, they added that if the owner had asked, they could have paid him 10,000 florins. That evening the shoemaker hanged himself.

Tulip varieties Black Hero and Ice Wonder. Photo: EAST NEWS

flower children

The tulip occupies a special place in the system of Dutch values. It is considered an honor for a Dutchman when a new variety is named after him for special services to the fatherland. Among the country's most revered citizens who have earned their "star" flower are footballer Danny Blind, former Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and astronaut André Kuipers. And for ordinary people in the Netherlands, the tulip remains just a favorite flower, affordable and always desired.

“Tulips are as much a symbol of our country as cheese or marijuana,” says 60-year-old Greta Hopma. - What is more popular: tulips or grass? Perhaps the police know better. But everyone loves tulips.”

Greta lives in the north of the country in the city of Groningen. In her free time from her grandchildren, she is not averse to tinkering in the garden, where she grows tulips among other flowers. And 40 years ago, this woman was a hippie to the core. As did her husband. Such as they were called "children of flowers": they decorated themselves with flowers, gave them to passers-by and inserted them into gun barrels. By protesting against social conventions, local hippies achieved great social change, thanks to which the Netherlands gained a reputation as the most freedom-loving country in the world.


Photo: East News

Hippies loved everything bright and catchy. Many Dutch people still prefer bright accents in clothes, in the interior, in the environment. Tulips adorn almost every window sill in Amsterdam. “They are so different, so everyone likes them,” says Greta. - I often hear that it is gray in our country and that tulips compensate us for the lack of bright colors. This is not true! It is more sunny than cloudy in the Netherlands. But tulips are spring flowers, they bring a feeling of joy. They are always sold in a bouquet, no need to rack your brains on how to compose it. Suitable for any age and occasion - graduation, wedding, funeral. Small, comfortable, without thorns, do not need special care. What else… They are simple, welcoming and friendly, just like us Dutch.”

What to do in Amsterdam


SEE Keukenhof is a royal flower park founded in 1840. Located in Lisse, between Amsterdam and The Hague. Open to the public from March 20 to May 18.


EAT hoodspot ( hutspot) - traditional mashed potatoes, carrots and onions (served with meat of your choice) in a restaurant De Blauwe Hollander.

DRINK local beer in Cafe Karpershoek- one of the oldest pubs in the city, founded in 1606.



LIVE in a floating hotel Amstel Botel overlooking the bay.


MOVE by metro, bus, tram and ferry.

BUY tulip bulbs as a gift Bloemenmarkt, the oldest flower market in the city, for yourself - a product with a diamond in the factory Coster Diamonds operating since 1840.

Photo: EAST NEWS, GETTY IMAGES/FOTOBANK.COM, TONYV3112/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM, DIOMEDIA (X3), © OPENSTREETMAP MEMBERS

To date, the largest supplier of tulips in the world is the Netherlands. For a long time, these luxurious flowers have become a symbol of Holland. There is no other country in the world with such a large variety of plants in terms of shape, color and duration of flowering.

Dutch tulips are the standard of the highest quality and beauty. And a few centuries ago, their price was fabulous. For example, for one bulb of a plant they gave a brewery. Two solid stone houses had to be given for three bulbs of beautiful flowers.

Pride of Holland

Little Holland has made unprecedented progress in breeding these exquisite flowers over four centuries, becoming the main exporter of tulips, which many associate with the beginning of spring. Every year, this small country earns more than twenty-five billion dollars from floriculture. Dutch tulips, photos of which can be found in all publications for gardeners, are sent from this country to different states. Their number is 3/4 of all tulips sold in the world.

A kind of Mecca for flower growers is the Dutch Keukenhof park. It can be safely called the flower kingdom. Every year a magnificent exhibition takes place here, where the newest varieties of Dutch tulips are presented, original flower arrangements are exhibited. And some lucky ones even manage to bring new Dutch tulips from the exhibition.

However, it is not at all necessary to go so far for them - a huge number of different varieties can now be bought in Russian flower shops.

A bit of history

In 1554, the Austrian ambassador was on a visit to Turkey. The amazingly bright carpets of delicate tulips that adorned the courtyard of the Sultan's possessions pleased the ambassador so much that he bought several bulbs and sent them to Vienna. In those days, the director of the Vienna Botanical Garden was a Dutch botanist, Clusius, who enthusiastically engaged in plant breeding and quickly achieved outstanding results.

The new varieties of tulips Clusius gave to his friends, he did not deprive his homeland of magnificent flower bulbs. In the city of Leiden (Holland), a botanical garden was opened in 1587, in which a talented breeder continued to work on breeding new varieties of tulips.

The appearance of tulips from Holland in Russia

In our country (then the USSR), Dutch tulips, photos of which you can see in our article, began to arrive in commercial volumes in the 50s of the last century. In those days, the most popular varieties were Apeldoorn, Diplomat, Parade, etc.

The quality of the flower bulbs has always been impeccable, the Dutch producers adhered to the terms of the contracts very strictly, so every year the purchases of tulips increased. Many varieties produced by D. V. Lefeber" was bred by its founder, David Lefeber, by crossing his plants with "wild birds" from Russia. Thus, such varieties as Yuri Gagarin, In Memory of Lenin, the Bolshoi Theater and others appeared.

Variety of species and varieties

Listing only the names of varieties of Dutch tulips will take more than one page - in the international register their number reaches 2500. The main parameters of tulip varieties are flowering time, flower shape and height of the peduncle. According to the timing of flowering, they can be divided into:

  • early flowering;
  • mid-flowering;
  • late flowering.
  • According to the height of the peduncle, they are divided into three groups:

  • up to 80 cm - tall;
  • up to 50 cm - medium height;
  • from 8 cm - dwarf.
  • Dutch tulips: planting and care

    Like almost any plant, these flowers can be grown from seeds or bulbs. However, in recent years, Dutch tulips have practically not been grown in the first way. Planting seeds is a long and troublesome task.

    For young bulbs in well loosened soil, make a long furrow ten centimeters deep. The earth should be moistened with a salt solution at the rate of two hundred grams per ten liters of water. Before planting, inspect the bulbs and remove damaged ones. Then the selected material is soaked for half an hour in a solution of potassium permanganate. Pre-treat the soil with a solution of foundation. Lay the bulbs in the prepared furrow at a distance of four centimeters and sprinkle them with a thin layer of sand.

    Dutch tulips are planted to a depth of three centimeters. If the soil is too dense, then you can plant a little higher, if it is too loose, then it is better to deepen the bulbs a little. The distance between rows should be at least twenty centimeters.

    Landing time

    If you want to grow a flowering flower bed or get flowers for bouquets, it is recommended to plant bulbs in the fall. By the time of planting, the soil temperature should drop to +10 ° C. Planting dates are calculated so that before frost the bulb can take root within 2-3 weeks. If tulips are planted earlier, they may begin to grow rapidly. As a result, they overwinter poorly and most likely die.

    Late planting will result in the bulb not taking root and receiving nutrition in the winter and early spring.

    spring planting

    Dutch tulips, which are a lot of fun to grow, can also be planted in the spring, mimicking the natural cycle. Previously, the bulbs are placed in a refrigerator (temperature +5 ° C) for seven days. Then carry out the usual processing before planting and planted, as in the first case.

    Dutch tulips: care

    These are moisture-loving plants. During flowering, frequent watering allows the plant to reach its maximum size. Keeping the soil moist for two weeks after flowering is complete will allow the bulb to grow and develop properly. Watering Dutch tulips from below.

    Water, falling on the leaves, can sometimes provoke the development of gray rot and other fungal diseases.

    During the season, tulips are usually fed twice. After the first leaves appear on the plant, it is necessary to apply nitrogen fertilizers (ammonium nitrate, for example). But remember that an excess of nitrogen can reduce the plant's immunity and damage the root system.

    During the formation of buds, tulips need trace elements. Therefore, you can use complex fertilizers ("Kemira-Lux"). Concentration - twenty grams per ten liters of water. Strengthens mullein plants.

    New varieties

    To the delight of flower growers, Dutch breeders annually indulge them with unique novelties. Many varieties have been appreciated by amateur flower growers. They decorate flower beds or use them to create magnificent landscape design. Nowadays, there are many different trends and trends in tulip breeding, but increased interest remains in shades of lilac and pink varieties (First Rosy, Cacharel, Jefgenia, Canberra, etc.). Below we will present you some of the novelties of the Dutch breeders.

    This is a classic snow-white tulip. It has a neat and very compact bud. Refers to varieties of medium ripening. The flower has a beautiful goblet shape and a large bud. The stem is strong. The leaf is painted in saturated green color.

    beautytrend

    This amazing variety will not leave anyone indifferent. It has an interesting combination of colors. The white goblet-shaped bud has a spectacular bright pink border. The variety is strong and tall. The height of the peduncle reaches 70 cm.

    This is a novelty in the flower market. However, the variety has already found fans among flower growers. The tulip has a spectacular lilac color with a white border. The flower is very large, its height reaches ten centimeters. Stem - 55 cm. Belongs to the medium flowering group.

    This variety should be noted among the novelties in pink coloring. The composition of the flower is delightful - the glass of the bud is painted in a bright pink color, with a delicate border of a lighter pink shade.

    Another successful development of Dutch breeders. These flowers showed excellent results in the middle and early periods of forcing. The peduncle is powerful and strong. The height of the stem is 55 cm. The flower has a beautiful goblet shape, its height is 9 cm. The color is crimson, with a light edging.

    A plant with a powerful stem, 60 cm high. It is painted in a delicate pinkish-purple hue. A bud up to 10 cm high. These tulips are very popular in the flower market. Refers to varieties of medium forcing.

    It is necessary to highlight this spectacular variety in red tones. It combines bright red and yellow tones. This is an early variety. Stem height - 55 cm. A sharp transition of tones gives a special visual effect. It is enhanced by the bright green color of the foliage.

    When to plant tulips

    Tulips are perennial bulbous plants. Of the garden flowers, they bloom the very first and serve as an ornament to our garden plot. Tulips have fleshy lanceolate leaves with a dark green color. The shape of the flowers can also be different. Often there are goblet, bowl-shaped, peony, double, lilac tulips.

    Tulips have long been held in high esteem in the countries of Asia Minor. The most famous poets of the East devoted poems to these flowers: Saadi, Rudaki, Jami, Navoi, etc. The tulip was depicted on the coat of arms of the Ottoman dynasty for a long time.

    Tulips are well suited for landscaping streets, gardens, courtyards, parks. Flowers look good on loggias, balconies, on alpine hills and in borders.

    In this article, we will try to figure out when it is right to plant tulips, at what depth and at what distance to plant them, and also whether it is possible to plant tulips in summer.

    When to plant tulips

    Usually tulips are planted in autumn. In this case, it is very important to choose the optimal time for planting the bulbs. After all, before the onset of cold weather, tulips must have time to take root. Under good weather conditions, this process usually takes 20-30 days. If you plant tulip bulbs late, then they will take root poorly before frost, and in spring the tulips will lag behind in growth and begin to bloom late, and later they will give smaller bulbs. However, early planting of tulips is also dangerous. In this case, the tulips may germinate too early and simply freeze. It is believed that tulips can be planted if the temperature of the earth at a depth of 10 cm has dropped to 10 degrees. Therefore, it is better to plant tulips in late September or early October.

    If you suddenly missed all the planting dates, try experimenting: in the absence of snow and frost, you can plant tulips even in early December. Planting tulips before winter will have a bad effect on the bulb, but still there is hope to see blooming tulips in spring.

    When frost sets in, it is advisable to mulch the planted bulbs with straw, dry leaves, peat or compost. Although tulips are considered frost-resistant plants, additional shelters have a positive effect on their growth and development: flower stalks become stronger, bulb yield increases.

    Our readers often ask if it is possible to plant tulips in spring? There is also an answer to this question. You can plant tulips in April. Planting bulbs at this time, of course, is a bit late, but not critical. For those who are going to plant tulips in the spring, there is a certain planting technology.

    Bulbs that you bought or saved from autumn, put in the refrigerator overnight. This procedure is similar to preparing tulips for planting. After cooling, rinse the bulbs with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Now you need to plant tulips close to each other to a depth of five centimeters. In the same way, you can plant tulips in a box or in a box and keep them on the balcony. Flowering during spring planting will be much later, but it's better than nothing at all.

    How to plant tulips

    Illuminated areas of land, protected from strong winds, are best suited for planting tulips. If a shadow constantly falls on a flower bed where tulips grow, then the plants become weak, the stems are thin, and large bulbs become smaller. Despite this, tulips are unpretentious flowers. Plant them preferably in beds with sandy soil. Favorably, the growth and flowering of tulips is affected by the introduction of rotted compost, as well as wood ash at the rate of 200 g / sq. m. If the earth is considered difficult for tulips, then the introduction of river sand, compost and adding fertile land can correct the situation. But fresh manure in a flower bed with tulips is prohibited. This will lead to rapid rotting of the bulbs and the development of fungal infections.

    How far apart should tulips be planted? The optimal width of the bed should be no more than 90 cm. Before planting the bulbs, it is necessary to make transverse grooves on it at a distance of 20-30 cm. For children, this distance can be reduced by 15-18 cm. Tulips should be planted deep into the ground. Planting depth for large bulbs should be 10-15 cm, and for small ones - 5-7 cm.

    After the grooves are formed, use a watering can to pour hot water with potassium permanganate over them to prevent the development of infection. Now place the bulbs in them. Large planting material should be placed at a distance of 10-15 cm from each other, and small bulbs can be more crowded.

    If the soil is heavy and prone to stagnant moisture, 3 cm of river sand should be poured into the bottom of the grooves to improve drainage and prevent the bulbs from getting wet. After planting the bulbs, level the ground with a rake so that there are no recesses that water can get into. If the autumn is dry, water the tulips generously 10 days after planting so that the bulbs can develop a good root system.

    Tulips should be planted in their original place approximately every 5 years. But if you do not have the opportunity to constantly change the location of the flower bed, then try to pay more attention to the prevention of diseases and pests that may be in the soil.

    Tulips are the smile of spring. How to grow tulips

    Tulips. Perhaps there are no more plants, the mention of which causes such a mass of positive emotions. Even small children know that with the first spring sun and Mother's Day, these bright and fragrant flowers always come to the house. Placers of tulips enliven city squares, village front gardens and numerous country flower beds with juicy strokes, delighting the eye after boring and gray winter days.

    The tulip belongs to perennial herbaceous bulbous plants of the Liliaceae family. Its height, depending on the group and variety, can vary from 10 cm to 1 meter. The region of origin of the species is the mountainous regions, semi-deserts and steppes of Central Asia.

    Is it easy to grow a tulip?

    Talking about tulips, someone admires him unpretentiousness and simplicity of agricultural technology and someone complains indignantly about constant failures in an attempt to grow this perennial. Who is right? To find the truth, we will briefly consider the structure of the tulip and its life cycle, as well as turn to the origins of its origin.

    If you approach the cultivation of tulips from the point of view of a person who is versed in the botanical features of the tulip, then you can easily calculate your mistakes, eliminate them and make sure that growing a healthy tulip is very simple.

    What you need to know about tulip bulbs - myths and reality

    The figure below shows the structure of a tulip bulb.

  • Due to the fact that the plants are renewed annually from the primordia inside the bulb (numbers 3 and 5 in the figure), they can delight gardeners for many years. The bulb itself lives a little more than 2 years: the first year - inside the "matryoshka" - the mother (number 5), and the second year - on its own.
  • Sometimes novice flower growers complain that the bulbs have “pollinated” and the flowers have changed shade. As you can see, young bulbs are not related to the pollination of the flower, their appearance is a vegetative process that occurs in the soil. Below we will try to consider the true reasons for the change in the original color of the tulip.
  • Another interesting point: in young bulbs (which do not bloom in the first year), a stolon shoot grows down from the bottom, at the end of which a daughter bulb forms. This is another mistake of flower growers, who, having found new bulbs deeper than they planted them, believe that the tulip is supposedly “drawn in” by the roots deep into.
  • In some types of tulips, such stolons grow intensively not only down, but also to the sides (Foster's tulips), and at the end of each shoot there is a young bulb. And for some, the appearance of stolons is a rarity, so getting an extra bulb of the right variety is a problem.
  • It must be borne in mind that when planting flowering bulbs, babies are formed at the level of the mother plant and there is no deepening.

    1. Despite the timing, plant tulips in the ground until the end of November, slightly increasing the planting depth (up to 20 cm). After watering, mulch plantings with peat or dry foliage. The probability of winter loss of plants in this case decreases.
    2. Use the bulbs for early spring forcing on the windowsill, after consulting the special tables on the timing of cooling and germination.
    3. Store tulips in a cold basement all winter, and in early spring, plant the bulbs in the warmest part of the site, where the ground has thawed a little. Tulips may bloom in this case, but the timing of flowering will move closer to summer.

    How to choose the right place

    Tulips are children of mountains and semi-deserts. This should not be forgotten when planning a place for laying out a spring flower garden. Only with good lighting will the plant take on the color and shape corresponding to the variety.

    With a lack of sun, the peduncle will be curved, the flower will be small and partially deformed. Insufficient amounts of nutrients will be deposited in the storage scales, which can lead to the appearance of weak replacement bulbs, and then to the complete loss of the variety.

    The landing site should be dry, without prolonged stagnation of moisture (however, regular watering in drought must also be ensured). If the bulbs are in damp soil for a long time, they become ill with fungal and bacterial infections and die.

    If the soil is dense, clayey, leavening agents must be added - peat, sand, vermiculite.

    Another important addition - the predecessor in the garden (in the flower garden) should not be classified as bulbous, otherwise there is a high probability of viral or fungal diseases.

    How deep are tulips planted?

    When planting tulips in the ground, as well as when planting many ephemeroids, they are guided by the rule of height of 3 bulbs. Three times the size is counted from the bottom and a landing hole is dug out of just such a depth. For tulips, this value is usually 15 cm. A little sand is added to the bottom to drain the bulbous bottom area. Young children are planted in accordance with this rule at a shallower depth.

    With excessive deepening of the bulbs, the flower does not grow so large, and the children are small and bloom weakly.

    What interval is maintained during landing

    The bulbs located nearby should be at least 2 sizes (10 cm) apart from each other. The larger the bulb, the farther apart they are planted, otherwise the plants, competing for light and food, quickly grind.

    To organize a group, very effective planting of tulips, they dig one common hole, fill it with fertilizers and lay out the bulbs evenly.

    Now tiered flower beds have become very popular, when hyacinths are planted as the bottom layer, and smaller bulbs of birdman, muscari or chionodox are laid out on top of lightly sprinkled tulips.

    Location in the flower garden and neighboring plants

    First of all, you need to decide on the composition of the composition, which will include tulips. If early spring flowering is envisaged (suppose, with muscari or early daffodils), then early varieties are selected that blend well in color - contrasting or monochrome (of the same shade). Usually, terry yellow varieties of tulips look good with bright blue muscari, and white and bright red varieties look good with sunny daffodils.

    Late-flowering tulips are selected in combination with ground cover rampant at this time - arabis, splayed phlox, sapling, as well as forget-me-not, badans and late daffodils.

    If annuals are planted in place of faded tulips, then in this case special baskets for bulbs are used. These plastic nets are convenient in that plants that have lost their appearance can be easily moved to a secluded place for the bulbs to ripen.

    Often tulips are planted with perennials with powerful foliage (hostas, panicled phloxes, meadow geraniums). Growing up by the time the tulips dry up, they perfectly decorate the unsightly appearance of the bulbs.

    Video "Planting tulips."

    To ensure a quick and friendly start in the spring, for autumn digging apply fertilizers with a predominance of potassium and phosphorus ("Autumn Fasco" or slow-acting granules (for example, "AVA").

    spring tulips should be fed with a solution of urea, and in the second half of May - with superphosphate. Top dressing is combined with watering or carried out after rain.

    During the growing season and flowering, tulips require sufficient soil moisture, but without waterlogging, which can result in damage to plants by various diseases.

    In addition, excess moisture leads to the fact that cracks appear on the bulbs, which, of course, worsens the quality of the bulb and, subsequently, the plant, moreover, such a bulb is stored worse.

    The lack of moisture depletes the plant, it produces smaller and less beautiful flowers, and also forms fewer daughter bulbs.

    Therefore, proper watering is important. Tulips are watered infrequently, up to 3 times during the growing season, this applies even to the southern regions. But at the same time, each watering should be plentiful, the water consumption is about 50 liters per 1 sq. meter. Water should reach a depth of 30-35 cm, where the roots of the bulbs are located.

    The myth of "pollination" of tulips

    The most common complaint among novice flower growers is the following: “All my beautiful tulips have pollinated and become ordinary.” This was discussed above when it was said that the pollination of one variety by another does not in any way affect the cloning of its children by the bulb through vegetative propagation.

    However, the fact of replacing chic parrot, lily-colored, fringed varieties with ordinary simple ones over time is obvious, and it happens very often. What's the matter?

    And the point, as a rule, is the elementary laziness of summer residents, coupled with a lack of knowledge on tulip farming. Its most important rule says: in order for the plants to be always beautiful, powerful and correspond to the variety, they need:

  • dig out in time
  • disassemble,
  • properly store and
  • planted again in due time.
  • Tulip digging and storage

    This means that you need to wait until the outflow of nutrients from the leaves into the scales occurs, a replacement bulb and babies form. As a rule, this period falls on the end of June - the beginning of July. If you are late - the nest will fall apart, and many babies will be lost, dig out earlier - the new bulb will not have time to ripen. How to find the golden mean? Use the old Dutch way: if the tulip stem has lost its fragility and easily wraps around your finger, dig boldly!

    This means making an analysis of the size of the bulbs and varieties. As a rule, simple tulips (especially red ones) are very stable and unpretentious, they give a lot of stolons with children and literally crowd out the weak and pampered, which are modern varietal specimens. Hence the myth of "pollination". As soon as the grower begins to mark the best varieties with beacons and dig them out in time, spring will immediately begin to be painted only with your favorite flowers.

    Dug and sorted bulbs are placed in lattice boxes and dried for 2-3 days under a canopy. Then they are laid out in 2 rows, layered with newspapers, and sent to a moderately warm (25 ° C) and ventilated place (attic, barn). There they will be stored until September, periodically subjected to revision and rejection of dry and rotten children.

    Plant on time

    We repeat once again that when planting tulips, it is important to observe the correct dates indicated in the section "When to plant tulips"

    flower history

    Among the ephemeroids grown in our gardens (the so-called plants with a short growing season), tulips confidently occupy a leading position. Not a single early-flowering perennial can compete with them in the beauty of the flower, the variety of forms, and unpretentiousness.
    Europe has been admiring this magnificent plant for a little less than 500 years. Trial batches of tulips, brought by Byzantine merchants to Vienna in the 26th century, quickly won the recognition of European flower growers. Obviously, merchants, acquiring placers of bulbs in their homeland - the territory of present-day Kazakhstan, did not even imagine that this product would be more promising than spices and silks.

    The flower-tulip fever that swept through Holland, France, and Italy in those days testified to the extreme popularity of the new perennial. It raised the poor to the crest of wealth and plunged the rich into the abyss of bankruptcy. The tulip fascination has spawned hundreds of incredible new shapes and varieties, from the mysterious "black tulips" to the fantastically unusual parrot and fringed ones.
    The Netherlands has still remained true to its love for these beautiful bulbs and is confidently leading the world in sales, offering planting material in millions of batches every year.

    Tulips: successful experience of planting bulbs in frozen ground

    Tulips and irises are the flowers of my childhood!
    I grew up in the south of Ukraine. In early spring, our steppe, which spreads not far from the Askania-Nova nature reserve, turned into a bright sea of ​​flowers from red tulips ...
    But wild yellow tulips were very rare here.
    Bloomed in the spring in our steppe and natural irises, medium-sized and low.

    The admiration of the spring steppe with blooming tulips cannot be described in words!
    Therefore, since childhood, I fell in love with tulips very much. These festive heralds of spring have become indispensable inhabitants of my garden.
    Our dacha is located not far from Kharkov, 40 km to the north.

    Growing tulips in the garden gives me a lot of joy. Every year I subscribed or simply bought new tulip bulbs from the local market to decorate my garden. And in recent years, planting material for a wide variety of tulips, and other flowering plants, has become available to flower growers.
    Now there are so many tulips of all classes for sale, a great many elegant varieties! I hope that someday my dream will come true - to grow blue tulips.

    Along with the abundance of varieties of tulips, there is also a huge variety of various types and varieties of irises for the garden. Of these, each grower can make excellent collections to your taste.
    The only obstacle for me now is a catastrophic lack of time.

    In the photo: tulips in different colors; yellow and yellow-pink tulips; unusual color tulip

    Experiment with planting tulips in the garden in winter

    Tulip bulbs are usually planted in autumn, when the soil temperature reaches +5 ... +10 degrees, and about 1.5 months remain before the ground freezes in the garden. During this period, the planted tulips take root well, which allows the bulbs to successfully overwinter and bloom in the spring, at the time characteristic of this variety.

    However, many flower growers quite often face such a situation that spring-flowering bulbs were not planted in time in the fall in the garden. The favorable dates for planting have long passed - the cold has come, and frosts that bind the earth are not uncommon.
    Then a difficult choice arises: still take a chance and plant the bulbs in the garden at such a very late date, or carry out the forcing of the bulbs, or try to save them and plant them in the spring?

    One day we ran into the same problem.
    A few years ago my husband traveled to Holland and returned from there at the very beginning of winter. He brought 30 tulip bulbs from Amsterdam. Although he knew that it was too late to plant these bulbs in the garden, he coveted blue tulips.

    When we opened the packages of Dutch tulips, we found that almost all the bulbs already had the beginnings of sprouts!
    I began to consult with experts - how best to deal with such bulbs. I was offered to plant tulips for distillation. However, this option didn't work for me.

    First, not all varieties of tulips are suitable for forcing.
    Secondly, properly prepared bulbs are used for distillation.
    Thirdly, successful forcing of tulips is possible only if the necessary conditions of maintenance are observed, which must be provided for the bulbs planted in pots.

    And then my husband and I made a non-standard decision at our own peril and risk: try to plant tulip bulbs in the winter in the garden and then securely insulate the plantings.
    It was already the middle of the month (December 14), when we went to the dacha to plant tulips.

    I cleared the snow from the free area of ​​the garden. The husband lifted the top layer of frozen earth with a crowbar so that a place could be prepared for planting tulip bulbs.
    We dug up the soil at the bottom of the planting hole and planted all the Dutch tulip bulbs to a depth of at least 20 cm.
    After sprinkling the planted bulbs with ordinary garden soil, we returned the frozen ground to its place. Then the tulip planting site was covered with branches and dry leaves, covered with foil and covered with snow.

    In the spring, in March, I went to the garden to remove the film from the tulip plantings that had opened from the melted snow so that it would not give a greenhouse effect.
    Then, an insulating layer of branches and leaves was removed from the bed with tulips.

    What was our joy when, when the heat was established, sprouts of “winter” tulips appeared from the ground 🙂

    Our risky experiment was successful: out of 30 bulbs planted in the winter, the vast majority sprouted in the spring. 29 Dutch tulips have sprouted and bloomed wonderfully!
    True, their flowering occurred a little later than all the other tulips growing in our garden. But it's even better. After all, every gardener dreams of extending the flowering period of tulips, brightly decorating our gardens and houses in spring.

    In the photo: a variety of tulips; tulips in a bouquet

    blue dream

    The only thing that upset me was that there were no blue tulips in the Dutch batch of bulbs ...

    However, we were very pleased with the result. After all, the bulbs placed in extreme conditions successfully overwintered in our garden, all the tulips were very beautiful!

    And I haven’t been able to buy tulip bulbs with blue flowers yet. Anything blooms, but I still don’t have blue tulips. Although all sellers swear that blue flowers will definitely grow from their bulbs.

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    How and when is it better to plant tulip seeds and bulbs: cultivation and care

    At the moment, there are about 1800 ornamental varieties of tulips, which greatly exceeds the number of varieties of shadberry and camellia species.

    Most of them are bred by breeders in flower farms in Holland. Many varieties have been successfully acclimatized and are perfectly grown in central Russia.

    The main types of decorative tulips

    The most important parameters of the varieties of this plant are the flowering period, the height of the peduncle and the shape of the flower.
    Classification of varieties of tulips by flowering time:

  • early flowering(Electra, Princes Irene, Apricot Beaty)
  • mid-flowering(Danton, Carrara, High Society),
  • late flowering(Mount Tacoma, Eros, Wirosa).
  • Classification of varieties height of peduncles:

  • tall– up to 80 cm,
  • medium height– up to 50 cm,
  • undersized- 15-25 cm,
  • dwarf- from 8 cm.
  • Features of varieties in the form of a flower:

    Goblet tulips from seeds

  • goblet the bud shape is the most common form for commercial cultivation. Varieties of tulips with a goblet-shaped flower: Algarve, Auxerre, Burgundy Lace.
  • Cupped bud shape - tulip petals open, but do not bend outward. Example varieties: Fancy Frills, Arie Hoek, Hamilton. In their beauty, daylilies are significantly superior, the cultivation from seeds of which we described in the article.
  • oval bud shape - typical for late non-double varieties.
  • lilyflowers- elongated petals strongly narrowed upward and bent to the outer edge. From the name it is clear that the flowers look like properly planted and well-groomed garden lilies. Representatives of lily-colored varieties: Red Shine, Aladdin, Ballade White.
  • Terry or peony- Terry varieties have a large number of petals. The appearance of flowers resembles peony flowers. Terry varieties of tulips: Angelique, Columbus, Aquilla, Antraciet.
  • fringed- the shape of the flower can be lily-colored or in the shape of a glass. But the edge of the petals resembles a fringe or is heavily indented with needle-like short outgrowths. The fringed varieties of tulips Hamilton, Davenport, Cambridge are very beautiful.
  • parrots- this characteristic is given to varieties whose large and wide-open petals have an unusual shape (wavy, twisted, crumpled, with wide transverse slots). Examples of parrot varieties: Black Parrot, Apricot Parrot, Blue Parrot.
  • parrot tulip planted in autumn

    1. In the first spring, one tubular leaf, similar to an onion seedling, grows from the seeds. By autumn, the main root and several roots are formed.
    2. In the second year, a stolon is formed from the main root, which subsequently forms the bulb and deepens it. The first true flat leaf grows on the surface.
    3. In the third year, there is further development and an increase in the growth of the bulb. The first babies may appear. Some varieties may begin to bloom, but flowering will slow down the overall development of the tulip and will be inferior - weak and small.
    4. plant bulbs

      How to plant young bulbs

      For young tulip bulbs, a furrow is made in the loosened earth to a depth of 10 cm. The earth is moistened with a salt solution - one glass per 10-liter bucket of water. The bulbs are kept for 15 minutes in a strong solution of potassium permanganate, laid out in a row at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other and sprinkled with sand.

      The tulip gives the real first flowering in the fifth year after sowing the seeds. At 6-7 years old, the plant reaches its maturity and the color of the buds becomes brighter.

      How to propagate tulips with bulbs

      The bulb of an adult tulip produces one replacement bulb and 2-3 daughter bulbs per season. Some varieties are more productive. In order to stimulate the development of more daughter bulbs and increase in their size, the flowers at the bud stage are cut off and the leaves are left.

      After complete withering of the aerial part of the plant, the bulbs are dug up and divided. Be sure to inspect each bulb. Damaged by pests, with signs of fungal diseases or very small ones are immediately rejected and destroyed. The remaining bulbs are best disassembled into 2 piles: for growing and for cutting.

      Suitable for tulips, as well as anemones, about planting and caring for which read here http://2gazon.ru/ozelenenie/cvety/anemona-posadka-i-uxod.html, soils with neutral or slightly alkaline Ph.

      Acidic soils inhibit tulips. Sand (up to two buckets of sand per square meter) and lime (50 grams per square meter) should be added to clay soils.

      Shallow loosening with weed removal is done periodically, especially after watering or rains. The crust that forms on the ground after it dries up prevents the development of the root system of tulips.

      Before planting, the bulbs are inspected and discarded. The selected planting material is soaked for 30 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate.

      When asked when is the best time to plant tulips, there are two possible answers. If your goal is a blooming flower bed or cut flowers, you need to plant in the fall. Soil temperature should drop to 7-10 degrees.

      Planting dates should be calculated in such a way that the bulb has 2-3 weeks to root before frost. If you plant tulips earlier, they can intensively start growing and overwinter poorly or die. If later, the bulb does not have time to take root and does not receive the necessary nutrition in the winter and early spring.

      How to plant tulips in spring

      Nature can be deceived by imitating the natural cycle of nature. The bulbs are placed for a week in a refrigerator with a temperature of +5 degrees. After that, pre-planting is carried out and planted as usual.

      Watering after planting

      Tulips are quite moisture-loving, as well as grown astilba flowers. Frequent watering during flowering allows the flower to reach its maximum size. Moistening the soil within two weeks of flowering stimulates the growth of the replacement bulb.

      Watered from below. The ingress of water on the leaves can provoke the development of fungal diseases, in particular - gray rot. Since the bulb with the root system can be in the ground at a depth of up to 50 centimeters, it is necessary to water abundantly.

      Tulips are fed with fertilizers 2-3 times. When the first leaves appear, nitrogen fertilizers are applied (for example, ammonium nitrate). Overfeeding with nitrogen fertilizers reduces plant immunity and damages the root system.

      During the budding period, flowers need microelements. Therefore, you need to feed with complex fertilizers such as "Kemira-Lux" at a concentration of 20 grams per 10 liters of water. The introduction of mullein well strengthens plants.

      cut flowers

      The most common mistake novice flower growers make is cutting tulips too close to the ground. The tulip bulb ceases to develop, which was provided with the help of photosynthesis by the aerial part of the plant. Such a bulb may die or not give a full bloom next year. When properly cut with a peduncle, no more than 1-2 sheets should be cut.

      Preventive maintenance of garden tools is also required. When cutting, viral diseases are often transmitted from plant to plant.

      Digging and storing tulip bulbs

      After the aerial part of the plant dies off (July - August), the tulip bulbs are dug up, discarded, treated with a fungicide or kept in a dark solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes, immediately dried well. It is very important that after processing the bulbs do not start growing, since the root system of tulips does not renew when damaged. Dry bulbs are laid out in a container in one or two layers and stored in a cool, dry place.

      plant diseases

      Gray rot

      Often this disease affects tulips, like spirea, a video of planting and caring for which can be viewed in the material, late flowering in cold and wet weather. The rot spreads to nearby plants at the speed of a fire. Take action at the first sign of infection.

      Outwardly, the onset of the disease manifests itself in the form of brown spots on the leaves, then the spots twitch with a gray coating of fungal spores. Plant growth slows down or stops completely. Rot affects not only the aerial part of the plant, but also the bulb.

      For the treatment of gray rot, a 0.2% solution of foundationazole or a strong solution of potassium permanganate is used.. Re-treatment is carried out after 10 days.

      This disease is not so pronounced, affecting primarily the underground part of the plant. The roots die, the tulip bulb is damaged. The plant is weakened, the leaves die off, the flowers do not develop.

      Sick plants must be destroyed. Tulip bulbs after digging are carefully inspected. Bulbs affected by Fusarium often give off an unpleasant odor. If there are light brown or brown spots on the bottom of the bulb, they are also destroyed.

      sclerocial rot

      With this disease, the bulb is covered with a white or gray coating, resembling felt in appearance. A diseased plant is significantly stunted, then rots.
      Such plants must be dug up and destroyed.

      The soil within a radius of 15 cm from the source of infection is treated with thiazon. It is necessary to dig the earth to a depth of 30 cm.

      variegation

      A viral disease that weakens the plant. Bulbs and aerial parts of plants become smaller and degrade. If the variety of your tulips does not genetically provide for variegated petals, such plants should be culled. On yellow and white varieties, the manifestations of the virus are quite difficult to notice. The disease is given out by young green leaves, on which lighter veins and yellow stripes appear along the leaf plate.

      The variegated mosaic virus quickly infects closely growing tulips. The main carriers of the virus are aphids and untreated garden tools.

      In addition to bacterial, viral or fungal diseases, tulips can suffer from pests:

    5. In wet weather, young shoots and bulbs are threatened slugs and snails. Tobacco dust is effective against them.
    6. Medvedka, Khrushchi(May beetle larvae) gnaw out roots and bulbs. Digging and loosening the soil is effective for destruction. They put traps on the bear.
    7. wireworms(larvae of the click beetle) damage tulip bulbs by gnawing through passages. This beetle prefers areas densely overgrown with weeds with high acidity of the soil. Therefore, getting rid of it is quite easy - remove weeds, add ash, lime and ammonium nitrate to the soil, loosen and dig the site more often.
    8. Greenhouse aphids. Drinks juice from young leaves and peduncles, which greatly weakens the plant. But the most unpleasant thing is that aphids are a carrier of many viral diseases.
      Kill aphids with pesticides.
    9. Variety of spring flowers

      But if you follow all the tips and recommendations correctly, then growing tulips in your summer cottage will not be difficult, whenever you decide to plant them.

    Do you want to know how the Dutch tulips brought to the Russian cold grow? I'm telling!

    Not on purpose, by a coincidence of reasons - we got to the local mini-fair of tulip farmers ...

    Times and centuries have passed since then, when for one super-tulip bulb you could buy a whole quarter in Amsterdam ... It was a long time ago. The tulip business is now for those who grow flowers for sale bouquets - completely on the verge of profitability. According to all conversations - 3 euro-cents from a flower. In the place about which the story is told, 1.5 million flowers grow from the end of December until about now.

    But in general, several interests coincided - and we moved on March 19, already three weeks ago, to the tulip greenhouses nearby. I confess, there was a cunning plan - to agree on hourly employment just for the sake of the ringing of some coins. But firstly, everything has already been mastered by the Central Europeans, and secondly, almost by the end of the entire season.
    Therefore, I’ll just tell you what I saw - all the tulips from the Netherlands in Russia most likely also grew. Hydroponics and greenhouses.

    But in order. First, the bulbs are frozen in the dark. Therefore, when they are placed in plastic boxes, they are reddish and shriveled. Well, it's like you from super-frost - strong red-cheeked. So are they.

    In the first week, they will be just like that. Then they will warm up, grow up, stretch out ... Fortunately, the sun - light through the transparent roof + heat (warm) + humid (sing). And so another 3 weeks. From here you can see pallets with plants in different stages of growth.
    And now the flower arrows are ready! There are at least 8 signs by which they are sorted for suitability in a bouquet. Honestly, I don't know all of them. Associated with the state of the external flower and leaves.

    The first stage of selection is manual and collective. The clearly Romanian guys were very free to select right along the way (see About the criteria above) rather suitable tulips - and with a beautiful gesture put them on their hands, and then - in a box.

    The boxes are brought to the conveyor. There are also quality controls - at any moment the flower can be rejected and you will never see it ...

    But first - from the drawer - to the sorting and trimming tape.

    That is, the bulb is cut in any way and then even shredded-to-nothing (from tulip diseases) ...

    …and the flowers go through the conveyor to the girl-boy 8-10-sprout-bouquet (a micro-bouquet is made more often from 10 flowers, but sometimes from 8 - and it depends on the recipient country of the bouquet!).

    From mini-bundles, the final girl on the assembly line makes the usual tulip bouquet, which will go to the auction ...

    I hope I remember correctly. The cost of 1 flower is approximately 26 - 27 cents. At a tulip auction, the price of 1 flower (in a mega-lot of course) is not the worst - about 30 cents. The office grows about 3 million tulips from December to March. Consider for yourself what is next for water - light - labor from 3 cents per flower.
    This year, judging by the words of a friend, the people are still in profit.

    By the way, they also teach here.

    The most famous location for a photo shoot in the tulip fields is, of course, the Dutch royal tulip park Keukenhof. Almost every girl, woman, grandmother dreams of getting here. By the way, there are more men among Chinese visitors.

    The park was founded in 1840. It is located 30 km from Amsterdam, in the town of Lisse. And it works a little less than 2 months a year - from the end of March to the middle of May. In 2018, the park will be open from March 22 to May 13.


    Already at the entrance to the city of Lisse, huge tulip fields begin. But in this part of the country they are cut off early, in May the picture looks like this in the fields:


    But the fields can still be found along the highway in the north of the Netherlands, around the cities of Drachten, Groningen.

    Today in Holland, more than 22,000 hectares of land have been allocated for growing tulips, on which about three billion flowers grow. Two-thirds of it is exported, and only one-third remains in the country. Tulips are the most important export commodity of the Netherlands. By the way, the first tulips were brought from Constantinople in the 1550s. It is amazing how flowers born in Asia got along and took root in the northern country.

    In the Lisse area, you can see how huge harvesters cut ripe tulips and pack those that have passed computer quality control into bouquets. And those that do not meet the quality, remain by the side of the road.

    There is a market next to the park, where the assortment of fresh bouquets and bulbs is many times greater than that at the famous Bloemenmarkt flower market in the center of Amsterdam. Here is such a bouquet of 50 tulips in Liss costs 3-5 euros, in Amsterdam 10 euros:

    And we do not waste time and go to the park.

    Entrance fee 16-17 euros, parking 6 euros. From Amsterdam airport, central station and Haarlem there are transfers to the park by bus or train. Tickets in this case are combined and are equal to 24.5 to 35 euros (depending on the starting point, the cost is for a round-trip). Read more about transfers.

    We arrived by car on May 5th. We were afraid to see only withered flower beds, but we were lucky with cold weather a week before our trip.
    Love the pictures:





    There should have been colored fields of tulips in this place, but there were only pale daffodils. The tulips have already been cut. The park has 3 panoramic platforms, from where a beautiful view of the fields should open in April, but not May:









    Different varieties. By the way, the main pride of the Dutchman is that a new variety of tulips will be named after you.




    Postcards for all women's holidays for many years to come are ready:





    The main flowerbed meets us at the entrance to the park:



    Park landscape. Please also note the small number of visitors. We went in at about 3pm. The park closes at 19:30. We ran almost until closing, we missed something, but there are still a lot of impressions:






    And this we successfully got to the flowering of fruit trees. We missed the tulip fields, but the trees combined with the flower beds are just wow:









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    The visitor harmoniously blends into the background



    Recently, helicopter rides have also been organized in the park.

    In addition to flower beds and fields, the park has 3 closed greenhouses, where flower festivals are organized. In 2017, we couldn't take our eyes off the colorful bouquets in one of the pavilions:


    The scenery is very cool.



    You must visit the pavilions!

    Orchid Pavilion:


    So, you must visit the Royal Tulip Park at least once! It works from the end of March to the middle of May. Specifically, every year you need to specify the dates of work on the park's website.

    Tickets to Amsterdam from the most popular cities:


    In general, interesting offers for the price for this period (March-May) appear around January. The KLM airline regularly launches air ticket sales after the winter holidays.
    Accommodation in Amsterdam itself is above the European average, but you can look for very interesting hotels away from Amsterdam itself. Thus, to see a country that is very different from the capital.

    We traveled all over the Netherlands from Belgium (Antwerp) to Germany (Bremen). Incredible and very interesting. Therefore, in addition to Amsterdam, you can include the following cities in your trip:
    1. The Hague. We are delighted with the Madurodam miniature park and the waterfront. The Automotive Museum Louwman Museum and the Peace Palace are interesting here.
    2. Rotterdam captivates with modern architecture. And the Kinderdijk mill complex.
    3. The Belgian-Dutch town of Baarle-Hertog, walking along which you cross the border between Belgium and the Netherlands 24 times!!!
    4. Open-air park with mills and local industries in Zaandam
    By the way, it took us only 3 days to complete this route with a visit to Keukenhof (tulip park). But it's not worth repeating.
    Route St. Petersburg - Paris for 3 weeks, through 8 countries

    Have a nice trip and a lot of impressions to YOU!

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