Tulips
This information was presented at our 2002
Spring Flower Show, "Tulipomania". Please read through
for information on tulip botany, history, culture, classification,
structure, life cycle, name and native range.
Tulip Botany
I. Introduction
Tulips are probably one of the most popular, widely grown and easily
recognized groups of spring flowering plants. The history of tulips
in cultivation is long and distinguished, but even the most highly
bred and flamboyant tulips can trace their roots back to "wild"
tulips. There are approximately 100 of these wild or species tulips
that occur naturally in the world, and from these arose the thousands
of distinctly different hybrids and selections that grace gardens
around the world.
II. Name and Range
The scientific name for this group of bulbous plants is Tulipa and
was assigned by the famous Swedish botanist Linnaeus in the mid
1700's. The name tulip is derived from the Persian word toliban
meaning turban, which is an apt term to describe the flower shape
of certain tulips. As odd as it may seem, there is not a single
species of tulip native to Holland, the country most frequently
associated with these colorful, well-known flowers. In fact, only
a small handful of species can be found in the wild in Europe, and
those are all restricted to southern parts, primarily in the Mediterranean
region, as far west as Portugal. The vast majority of species, however,
occurs in central and western Asia in countries such as Turkey,
Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Georgia,
among others. East of this center of distribution, the range of
a couple of species extends into northern India and far western
China, but on a limited basis.
III. Structure and Life Cycle
Understanding the climate of their homeland is helpful in understanding
the structure and life cycle of tulips. Central and western Asia,
in general, experience a distinctly hot, dry summer. Many plants
that grow there have developed special ways to survive in this type
of climate. Tulips, and many other plants in that region, rely on
underground storage organs, such as bulbs, to survive the long period
of dormancy. Technically speaking, not all plants that we refer
to as bulbs are true bulbs. For example, crocus and gladiolus arise
from corms, dahlias from tuberous roots, and certain begonias from
tubers, even though these are all commonly referred to as "bulbs".
However, many of our most beloved spring flowering bulbs are true
bulbs including hyacinths, daffodils, and, of course, tulips.
True bulbs are composed of a compressed stem, and fleshy, modified
leaves surrounding a bud or growing point. The compressed stem forms
the basal plate and is the part from which roots and the growing
point develop. The fleshy, modified leaves are responsible for food
storage and protecting the bud. The outermost layer is a dry, papery,
reddish-brown coat known as the tunic. Overall, this structure enables
the plant to survive in a dry, dormant state for many months, whether
that be in central Asia or in a colorful box on a garden center
shelf!
The ideal time for planting tulips is from late September into
early November, but we've had great success planting as late as
mid December, though it is not recommended and people will give
you some funny looks as you dig in the frosty earth! Moisture is
what triggers the dormant bulb to begin growth, and as soon as the
bulb is in the moist soil it begins to awake. By December a bulb
planted in October will have developed a dense root system, and
a healthy shoot that you would find not far below the soil surface.
Little more happens in the growth cycle until the soil begins to
thaw in late winter and early spring at which time the shoot begins
to grow again and emerges from the soil. By early or mid-April the
earliest tulips are braving the elements and opening their colorful
goblets. The flowering season extends through mid to late May when
Double Late Tulips and Single Late Tulips finally open.
The leaves are also developing during the flowering period. The
foliage of tulips, and all bulbs for that matter, plays an essential
role in the life cycle. The leaves are responsible for converting
the energy of sunlight into food through the process known as photosynthesis.
The food, in the form of carbohydrates, is necessary for growth
and flowering the following year and is stored in the bulb. So as
unsightly as the large, floppy leaves are, they should not be cut
down. Rather, the leaves should be left to turn yellow and whither
at which point they can be removed. Once the leaves are gone, the
bulb enters a dormancy, completing the yearly growth cycle.
IV. Classification
It is not surprising that a plant that has been cultivated for nearly
500 years has given rise to several thousand variations. In fact,
it is largely due to this seemingly endless variation that gardeners
and plant breeders are continuously developing, or discovering by
chance, tulips that are new and unique even beyond the wealth that
already exists. To help organize the great diversity of tulips,
they have been separated into 15 classes based on season of bloom,
various floral characteristics, and parentage. Throughout the Show
are panels that highlight each class of tulips, including the general
season of bloom, average height for the members of the class, and
a list of those tulips that can be seen at this year's Spring Show,
"Tulipomania".
Tulip History
The tulip, much beloved flower of spring, brings to mind cheery,
brightly colored, cup-shaped flowers held on smooth green stems.
Before tulips became practically ubiquitous in every springtime
garden, they were grown and prized by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire
and later the Dutch during the late 1500's and early 1600's. However,
tulips also inspired an insidious side in people that coveted them.
The Dutch tulip craze from 1636 to 1637 is a good example. Later
in Holland, tulips were gradually bred and cultivated into the many
forms we see today.
Tulips and the Turks
Tulips are native to Central and Western Asia, and parts of the
Middle east, roughly in the region near Afghanistan. These tulips
were small, red and well suited to the harsh, dry, cold mountain
conditions. It is thought that nomadic tribes moving west through
the region first brought tulips out to the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
The Turks prized tulips for their beauty and perfection, and held
them up as examples of the perfection of God's creations. Eventually
tulips came to be thought of as the flowers of God, and were strongly
symbolic. The Turks also associated the tulip with God since the
Turkish word for tulip, lale, and Allah are composed of several
of the same letters. Turkish emperors and aristocrats enjoyed tulips
immensely, and would plant them by the hundreds in elaborate gardens.
The Turks also experienced a bulb craze from 1703-1730 in Istanbul,
coinciding with the reign of Ahmed III.
Tulips come to Europe
Tulips first came into the hands of Europeans in the late 1500's.
Conrad Gesner of Switzerland wrote of seeing a tulip in bloom in
1559 in a garden in Bavaria. In 1554, Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq,
an ambassador from Vienna, visited Istanbul and Suleiman the Magnificent,
the current ruler of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The ambassador
admired Suleiman the Magnificent's tulip garden, and was presented
with bulbs and seeds as a gift. These bulbs and seeds returned with
the ambassador to Vienna, Austria, and most of them ended up in
the gardens of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. The rest of the
seeds and bulbs were presented to a botanist named Carolus Clusius
who was employed by the Imperial court. Clusius grew the tulips
and sent samples of his plants to other botanists all over Europe,
and for this reason became known as the Father of the Tulip. In
1593, Carolus Clusius became the professor of botany at Leiden University,
in Holland. He took his tulip bulbs and seeds with him when he moved.
"Broken" Tulips
In Holland in the late 1500's and early 1600's, the popularity
of tulips steadily increased. The arrival of Carolus Clusius at
Leiden University was one factor that helped to boost the popularity
of the tulip. Another factor was that the allure of tulips was hard
to resist. The beautiful tulips with fantastic colors seemed to
magically rise from the earth after the depths of winter had passed.
Dutch plant lovers and flower enthusiasts eagerly purchased any
available seeds or bulbs offered for sale. Flowers with stripes
or streaks were especially popular. These "broken" tulips
were highly prized by bulb owners. Although the Dutch didn't know
it at the time, these striped flowers were produced when a tulip
bulb became infected with the Mosaic virus. It wasn't until the
early 1920's that scientists were able to determine that the Mosaic
virus was spread by aphids, and that infection with the virus caused
tulip bulbs to produce the flame-like striping on the petals.
Tulipomania
The high demand for these fantastic, streaked flowers increased
the prices for individual tulip bulbs and cut flowers. By the early
1630's, tulip ownership had become a prized status symbol among
Dutch middle and upper class families. The financially struggling
lower classes soon recognized that selling and trading tulips was
a quick and easy way to make money, and starting trading bulbs at
local taverns. Single bulbs started to sell for today's equivalent
of thousands of dollars. Tulips were soon listed on local market
exchanges. By 1636, the tulip craze got so out of control, that
buyers were exchanging ridiculous amounts of goods and money for
a single bulb.
Crash!
The Dutch tulip market crashed dramatically during the first few
days of February 1637. Prices in the previous weeks had soared to
such extraordinary levels, that soon the smaller tulip traders and
buyers were priced out of purchasing the bulbs. Eventually tulip
prices rose so much that most buyers were unable or unwilling to
purchase bulbs. At this point, the prices for tulip bulbs crashed
astonishingly. Attempts by the Dutch government to stabilize prices
failed. Tulip prices soon crashed by 90%. Meanwhile, ordinary people
who had become caught up in the mania of selling tulips found that
they had lost everything they owned overnight. Finances of former
tulip buyers and traders were in such an uproar that eventually
Dutch courts refused to honor tulip contracts, considering them
gambling debts. Finally, authorities in Amsterdam declared null
and void all tulip contracts created prior to November 1636.
References
- Bryan, John E. Bulbs- Vol. II, I-Z with appendixes and indexes.
Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 1989.
- Dash, Mike. Tulipomania. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1999.
- Rockwell, F.F., and Esther C. Grayson. The Complete Book of
Bulbs.
- Garden City, NY: American Garden Guild and Double &
Company, 1953.
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