Tulip mania

With all the hubbub about the future of social security and the recent ups and downs in the stock market, I have decided to invest in tulips. My retirement account currently consists of twelve different species of tulips. My hope is that nature will selectively produce a new, highly desired and expensive variety -- perhaps blue in color!

In case you are thinking I have taken leave of my senses - April fools! I recently watched Tulip Fever and found the history of the tulip industry utterly fascinating. Since it’s just about tulip time here in Colorado, I thought we would talk about this cherished plant.

The tulip is one of the most popular spring flowering bulbs. It comes in almost all colors, except blue. Apparently plant breeders are getting closer to a true blue, but right now the “blue” tulips are more purple or lilac in color. Regardless, they are fantastically beautiful.

The University of Missouri shares some interesting facts in an online article. Tulips are a member of the lily family and closely related to the onion. There are over 150 different species and 3,000 varieties of tulips. They were once the most expensive flower in the world. In the 17^th century, the cost of a tulip bulb was more than ten times the average worker’s salary. And, did you know tulips are the only cut flower that will continue to grow in a vase? https://ipm.missouri.edu/MEG/2016/10/Tulip_A_Brief_History/.

In the 1600s, tulip mania took over the Netherlands which resulted in a “crazed speculative buying of rare tulip bulbs. It was the first futures markets in history, and like those that followed, it suffered a dramatic crash”. The most highly prized bulb was the Semper Augustus “with its garnet flames vividly streaked on white petals”. You can see a picture here: https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/7-of-the-most-expensive-flowers-in-the-world.

The prices for the coveted bulbs were likened in similarity to the cost of a cow, a parcel of land or even a house at times. To put this into perspective, the average home in our area is around $400,000 according to Zillow. Can you imagine purchasing a flowering bulb for nearly a half a million dollars? I love tulips, but that is a lot of money for a plant infected with a virus.

Tulips typically only bloom for three to seven days. However, if you plant a variety of types with different blooming dates, you can easily have four to six weeks of tulips for your viewing pleasure. Iowa State University Extension shares a list of tulip classifications that can be helpful in planning a tulip garden. https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/1998/9-4-1998/tulipclasses.html

Also, the University of Vermont Extension has a list of “time-traveling tulips”. You can actually purchase some of these heirloom flowering plants that ”inspired ‘Tulipmania’ in the 1600s and appeared in paintings of the Dutch Masters at that time”. http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/timetulips.html.

There is a classic scene from Meet the Parents when the father, played by Robert De Niro, after being presented a Jerusalem tulip from his future son-in-law says “from the Jerusalis tulipizius genus, yes, yes”. Funny stuff!

Kelley Rawlsky has an M.S. in horticulture and is the director of Bringing People and Plants Together, an organization dedicated to bringing horticulture education and therapy to the community. For more information: PeopleAndPlantsTogether@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook.

Originally published in the Broomfield Enterprise - April 1, 2018