Love What'S In Season - Tulips
The New Zealand Tulip season is here!
For the month of March, we're starting Feel Good With Flowers by celebrating Tulips. Starting in March and finishing in December, Tulips are grown throughout New Zealand. They prefer a frost to help develop the flower bud and are sold in a tight bud stage. Tulips come in a variety of styles from single, double, fringed petals and many more!
An interesting fact about tulips is that they continue to grow after being cut, up to 5 cm or more. They are “phototropic”, bending towards the light, so rotate containers daily to keep stems more upright.
Tulip average vase life is 5 to 7 days with proper care.
How to care for your tulips
- Select a tall vase that will support the tulips, as they will continue to grow for 2 to 5 cm after cut.
- Add room temperature water to the vase and pour in flower food.
- Cut the tulips stems diagonally.
- Place the vase in a cool spot, out of the sunlight and away from any fruit or fruit bowl.
- Tulips are thirsty flowers, so top up the vase with fresh water daily.
Fun Fact
The Nomads brought the colourful flowers to Turkey, where sultans began wearing a tulip on their turban. That’s how the flower got its name: ‘tulipan’ translating to ‘turban’.
Our New Zealand Grower
Joost Kerkhoven, from KJ Flowers is a local tulip grower based in Pukekohe, Auckland. Joost has been growing Tulips in New Zealand since 1997. See more images below of his Tulip farm and the production process..
