How Do Flowers Whistle? With Their Tulips!!
It is Sunday evening and I am preparing my article for submission on Monday morning, once its gone through my husbands careful spell check in the AM. The weather has been horrendous with the strong winds and colder nights. It’s hard to complain when in Alberta and Saskatchewan have received nasty snow storms with up to 40 cm of snow in some areas and left people stranded on the roads near Fort Mc Murray.
The communities south of Edmonton, where I have family, received about a foot of snow and with the wind temperatures plummeted to minus 19. I would be in tears, however we have had temperatures that have reached minus 4 or 5 and even in the greenhouse several plants especially Tomatoes were damaged. I put them back on the heat mats and covered them to prevent further damage. Fortunately this is an unusual event and temperatures will return to normal or above by the middle of next week.
I have recently been reading a novel where the story’s plot is located in Istanbul and was amazed to find some interesting history on one of the most beloved Spring Flowers grown around the world. The Tulip!
The Tulip originated in Iran (known as Persia at that time) in the 10th Century. It then traveled to Central Asia and the Ottoman Empire which included Turkey and Istanbul in the 16th century and then shortly after to Vienna and Amsterdam and the rest of Western Europe by around 1573, In the 17th Century Tulips were so much in demand that in Amsterdam that the whole country went through an era known as Tulip Mania where the popularity and rarity of the bulbs became so overwhelming that people sold their homes and businesses to invest in the bulbs that reached prices higher than what a house would cost.
The Tulip was sold on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. It was a status symbol for the rich and famous and artists and artisans made it very symbolic in its time. Unfortunately in 1637 supply out did demand and the crash was horrendous and many lost everything they owned. This was especially true of a variation that came to be known as the Broken Tulip, This was a variation from the solid coloured Tulip that presented itself in the form of feathered blooms or blooms that presented with stripping or spots. This stunning presentation was studied and many attempts to replicate this phenomena were met with failure until the early 1900’s when it was discovered to be caused by a fungus that was spread by certain aphids primarily the Green Peach and Potato aphids which cause Botrytis Blight. Unfortunately this blight can inevitably affects the roots and leaves of the plant and it will eventually die. Modern Tulips with these traits are still sold but now have less virulent amounts of the disease and the Tulips themselves are less susceptible.
Planting them in your flower beds should be done with caution keeping them well away from other flowering bulbs. Of course these variation or Broken Tulips are the most stunning and are my favourite.
Tulips are easy to grow but for the best results they should be planted in well drained very sunny locations away from other crowding and shade causing perennials Spent flowers should be removed immediately to prevent the plant from spending its energy on creating seed. The leaves should be left on the plant until they yellow and then should be removed. This will allow the bulbs to get the best input of life giving nutrients before they go into a hot dormant period needed for next years growth. Tulip bulbs are planted in the Fall and should be separated every few years to give them space.
As the Daffodils start to fade I look forward to the blooming of the Tulip. It comes in so many colours and is a long lasting cut flower bringing joy to your home.
Happy Gardening!
Samantha Nason
BS Ranch & Greenhouses
250 547 6567
sam1nason@gmail.com
