Is it tulip season yet?
After a weekend full of tulips because of National Tulip Day (see our socials), we often get one question: “Is it tulip season yet?”
In the Netherlands we have two, or combined one very long, tulip season. We have tulips from the greenhouses and from the tulip fields. For people who have traveled to the Netherlands: you see greenhouses everywhere. Greenhouses are clearly visible from the highways, especially around the provinces of North and South Holland. Not only vegetables are grown in these greenhouses, but also many flowers. The tulips grown from the greenhouses are mainly grown for the vase. These tulips end up at the florist, where people take them home to put in a vase on the table. The season for greenhouse tulips starts just before Christmas and ends around the end of March.
This timing is perfect for the tulips in the fields. They start to bloom from early April to late April. But keep in mind that all those beautiful tulips from the tulip fields are mainly grown for the bulbs. These tulips are harvested during the summer months and shipped all over the world in September. In the autumn they form a beautiful cluster of bulbs, so you can plant them in your garden. At the end of April, 90% of the tulips in the fields are chopped to put the energy back into the bulb. The remaining 10% of the tulips are harvested in April and put in the vase at home.
On National Tulip Day we celebrate the start of the Indoor Tulip Season. From now on, tulips are widely available from florists throughout the Netherlands. We have to wait until April for tulips in the fields.
If you want to visit one of the tulip festivals this spring, take a look at our calendar with all tulip and flower-related events. Or sign up for our free weekly newsletter in the spring with information about the blooming of tulips and other spring flowers. For tickets have a look here.
Source: ©TulipsinHolland.com
Photo credits: ©TulipsinHolland.com