10 Tulip Tips from FTD

Tulips –

My personal favorite flower for the spring – well…really anytime.  I always said I’d marry the man who sent me tulips and low and behold I did.  Here are ten tulip tips to keep your tulips fresh and beautiful.

A few tips on how to keep these beautiful flowers from looking like noodles bent over the side of their vase.

1. Read all the tips before you start

2. When your tulips first arrive, it is best to keep them in the protective wrap or create a cone of newspaper or parchment for tulips that don’t come wrapped or you cut from your garden.

3. COLD water. Tulips love the cold.  I even put ice cubes in the vase and change the water with cold water every day

4. Give them time to absorb that cold water before you let them free. Hydrate for the first 4-5 hours while still in the wrap to help straighten and support the stems.

5. Remove excess leaves as they can start rotting in water and cause flowers to droop too early.

6. The right size vase. A taller vase will give them the support that they need as they grow.

7. Keep cutting them. Tulips are a rare flower that actually keeps growing after they’re cut so you need to keep cutting them.  Or get a taller vase! Tulips can grow almost an inch daily.

8. Don’t put them in a vase with Daffodils! Both beautiful spring flowers, right?  But they are not friends.  Daffodils and others in the Narcissus family exude a substance that causes flowers to fade faster.

9. Tulips also naturally bend toward the light, so carefully consider placement to avoid a lopsided bouquet. You can also rotate the bouquet to keep them in even sunlight!

10. Enjoy your tulips through the whole process! Even drooping tulips can be beautiful!

Be sure to enjoy some tulips this spring!