Amazing facts about Tulips

Tulips which originate from central Asia are one of the most beautiful flowers in the world. Let’s look into facts about tulips which are the third most popular flowers in the world.

• There are over 3000 varieties of cultivated Tulips and billions of Tulips are cultivated every year.
• Tulips are available in wide range of colours from red, yellow, orange, purple, pink, black, white, brown and many more.
• Colour is either solid or streaked. Streaked tulips are because of a harmless virus.
• Origin of the word Tulip might be from the Turkish word “tulbend” for turban.
• Most of the Tulips are grown and exported from Holland.
• Next to Roses and Chrysanthemum, Tulips are the third most popular flowers across the world.
• Typically a Tulip plant can grow up to 10-70cms, some species of tulips have2-6 leaves while other species have up to 12 leaves.
• Some species of Tulips have 4 flowers in a single stem.
• The average lifespan of a Tulip flower is 3-7 days.
• Tulip is the National flower of Turkey and Iran.

• The first person to identify “broken tulips” which is a viral infection that caused beautiful streaks in the petals was Carolus Clusius.
• Efforts made by Clusius created many new colour variations of Tulips, some of which became much sought after.
• The period around1634-1637 is known as “Tulip mania”, enthusiasm for the new flower started an economy of trading burgeoned nearly overnight. Tulip mania is considered to be the first speculative bubble.
• Tulip bulbs are considered to be the best substitute for Onions in recipes.
• Tulip flowers are considered as token of love, passion, romanticism, dreaminess, and also a perfect lover.
• Tulips are cultivated in a well drained, airy and loamy soil.
• They bend and twist towards the light, even when placed in a vase.
• They continue growing even after removing the flower from the ground. A tulip in a vase can grow up to 1 inch in length.
• Tulip is the official symbol of the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (adopted in 1980 as its symbol).
• The Dutch royal family sent 1,00,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa in 1945 to thank for sheltering Princess Juliana and her daughters during Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.
• World’s largest tulip festival is celebrated by Canadians in the month of May, stretches from Commissioner’s Park at Dow’s Lake to Parliament hill, and then across the Ottawa River to Gatineau Park, Quebec.
• Tulips are classified based on the time of bloom.
• Early flowering tulips bloom in March and April. Mid season flowering tulips bloom in April to May, Late flowering tulips bloom in May.