Tulips: The Astounding Flower Symbolizing Love & Royalty
Tulips are one of the most popular and glooming flowers across the world. It glooms well before the other flowers in the garden have even picked up the momentum. The look of these flowers symbolizes true love.
Tulips are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous geophytes. You may find them in almost every color apart from true blue. Showing their blossoming beauty in spring, this flower is a must-have in your garden if you wish to give it a mesmerizing look.
What Is A Tulip?
A tulip comes from the type of a perennial flowering bulb belonging to the family of Liliaceae. The leaves of the flower are in oval shape and medium green in color. This gives it a mesmerizing look, becoming a priority flower for the gardeners.
Tulip Care
Tulips can be grown in moist, cold, and warm weather. You can even plant them in dry summers. This shows that these flowers are not that complex and hard to grow in your garden. The flower is not at its best in intense sunlight, so you may prefer growing them under some shade. After growing a bit, the tall plants can face damage from strong winds. So, protecting them with stakes is a good option.
Water
The ideal way to water a tulip is to leave it undisturbed for some time after growing it. Tulips are among the easiest growing flowers in the garden. As they grow early in spring, their water intake is not much.
If you think that the soil is quite dry then you can water it till it gets moist. After that, leave the plant undisturbed until the soil shows signs of dryness. If you are planting it in an area where weekly rainfall occurs, then there is no need to water them.
If you plan on growing it in arid regions, watering them once every two weeks is preferable.
Light
Tulips being easy-to-grow flowers, prefer full exposure to the sunlight. Yet, in severe heat, the plant may dry out. So, we recommend planting them under deciduous trees that can provide a shady cover. This gives the plant enough sunshine in the spring, accelerating its healthy growth.
Soil
The best technique for this flower coming from the family of Liliaceae is to grow it in loose soil. Make sure that the soil has good drainage and a pH that is acidic. You can prefer mixing the soil with compost. This improves its drainage and provides nutrients to the bulbs.
Make sure to not grow them in wet soil as it will instantly rot the bulbs. You may even use compost for a few inches after planting the bulbs to attract earthworms to tunnel in the soil. This increases the circulation of the flower.
Temperature
This daffodil flower enjoys moderate cold winters and warm dry summers. The preferable conditions are present in much of USDA zones 3 to 8. A temperature below 55 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 months is beneficial for tulips to bloom.
Apart from the temperature, these flowers bloom best in dry conditions. On the other hand, humidity comes hand-in-hand with a lot of rain, which can damage the bulbs.
Fertilizer
While planting the tulip bulb, use fertilizer having a nutrient ratio of 9–9–6. The vital part to note here is that the fertilizer should release its nutrients slowly. This provides the essentials to the bulbs continually. A quick-releasing fertilizer can leach away the nutrients earlier before the bulbs grow.
The idle way to plant the flower is by adding some bone meal, compost, or granular fertilizer in the planting hole. Do this while planting tulip bulbs. Feed the fertilizers in the following spring, when they bloom.
Rest Period
Tulips must have a rest period of at least 12 weeks. The highest temperature for this blooming flower is 40 degrees in Fahrenheit. So, we recommend storing them in a refrigerator.
Make sure to not keep them around any fruits. The ethylene gas released near the flowers can reduce its blooming. Use a ventilated mesh bag to store the bulbs of the flower. This way, it gets enough moisture and temperature to rest and bloom once again.
Propagation
The best way to propagate Tulips is through offsets of bulbs and seeds. This process is known as micropropagation. You can even propagate the tulips from seeds. The process includes dividing the offset bulbs from the attached mother bulb.
Use a trowel to dig up the bulbs. Gently break off the offset bulb from the mother bulb after brushing off the soil. Make sure to get rid of all the offsets that seem soft. After the separation, replant the bulbs. The depth should be at least three times the bulb’s diameter, with the pointed side in the upward direction.
The best time to propagate this daffodil flower is in the fall, during the time when the tulips grow the best. After a wait of three years, you can expect the tulips to bloom out of the bulbs.
Facts About Tulips
Name Origin
In 1554, western Europe was the first region where the word tulip came into existence. It seems that the name of the flower comes from the Persian word delband, which means “Turban”. This is because the flowers resembled the turban shape.
It can also be due to a translation error during the ancient times when the Ottoman Empire wore tulips over their turbans. However, the scientific name for this genus is Tulipa which has over 100 species.
This flower comes from the family of Lily and is also called the flower of love and royalty.
Size
The size of a tulip plant can be anywhere between 9 to 24 inches. The width of the plant is generally between 6 to 9 inches. The plant does not show significant growth in the first two years. But in the third year, it grows to its full capacity, depending on its condition.
This perennial flowering bulb can be of tons of different species and in varying colors. This variation makes it a priority for many gardeners.
Leaves
The leaves of the Tulip are few in number. The other larger species contain many leaves. The basic tulip plants have around 2 to 6 leaves. The leaf is born on the stem and is in a shape of a strap in an alternate formation.
The leaves of the plant are generally in a bluish-green color covered by a tunic. You will find it generally hairy from the inside.
Roots
The roots of the plant develop during fall, after which they get dormant until spring. These roots start growing out of the base as they form in the dirt after taking nourishment.
Tulips don’t grow out of the fibrous roots. Instead, they use bulbs which means they have no need for seeds for propagation.
Flowers
Tulip is generally large. It is hermaphrodite, erect, and usually a single terminal flower. The shape of the flower is mostly in the form of a cup or star.
Talking about the other members of the Liliaceae family, the perianth is similar. The tepals of the plant are generally petaloid and bright in color.
If you notice the inner petals of the flower, you will notice a tiny cleft at the top. This gives it a gorgeous and contrasting look.
Habitat
The flowers are present in parts of Europe such as Greece, Kosovo, and Bulgaria. They extend to parts of Ukraine, Russia, and Turkey in the west. History says that Tulips were brought to Europe by travelers for cultivation.
Tulips are said to be originated from mountain regions. It was first planted in moderate climates with Mediterranean vegetation. The idlest climatic conditions for tulips are mostly long springs with dry summers. Hence, they are generally found in steppes, chaparral, and meadows. You may even find them in orchards, fields, and abandoned gardens.
Conclusion
Tulips are among the most astonishing members of the Liliaceae family. They are also among the most popular flowers across the world.
Color options and an easy process of propagation make it desirable for all gardeners.
Let us have a recap of all that we learned so far about this blossoming flower:
- A tulip is a type of perennial flowering bulb that belongs to the Liliaceae family. Tulips are generally striped and flamed from the bottom. This gives it a contrasting look over the petals.
- The flower does not need any hefty maintenance. Sunlight, good fertilizer, and moist soil are enough for tulips to blossom.
- The flower can also be stored separately during extreme conditions. Leave them out in moderate winters and dry summers.
To sum up, Tulip is a low-maintenance plant that is easy to care for. Bringing these plants to life in your gardens with their delicate pendant flowers will surely give your garden the look of enchantment when blooming.
