Tulips

My Favorite Flower
By Smokey Amber

My favorite flower is the Tulip. Tulip's seeds are bulbs. I like the beautifur Tulip called Fluted or Scalloped. Tulip is the common name fur any other member of the genus of spring-flowering, bulbous herbs, of the Lily family. About 80 species of Tulip exsist.The Tulip is native to Asia and the Mediterranean region, and thousands of varieties are widely cultivated as garden flowers.Tulips are erect plants with long, broad, parallel-veined leaves and cup-shaped, solitary flowers borne at the tip of the stem. The flowers are either single or double and occur in a wide range of solid colors.Some, called broken tulips, are varicolored as a result of a viral disease carried and transferred to the plants by aphids.
The garden tulip was introduced into western Europe from Constantinople in the 16th century and soon achieved great popularity. Interest in tulip growing mounted, especially in Holland, where it developed by 1634 into a craze called tulipomania. Wild speculation in tulip stock ensued, and enormous prices were paid for single bulbs. After many people had gone bankrupt, the crisis was ended by government regulation of the tulip trade. Tulip growing eventually became established as an important Dutch industry, and tulip bulbs are still a major export of the Netherlands. In the United States tulips are grown commercially in Michigan and Washington.
Because of extensive hybridization, the origin of the garden tulip is extremely difficult to trace. The best-known varieties include the Darwin tulip, a late-flowering plant with tall, strong stems and deep-colored blossoms; the parrot tulip, another late-flowering type, which has petals wrinkled at the edges; and the early-flowering Duc van Tol tulips, which rarely exceed 15 cm (6 in) in height. Scientific classification: Tulips make up the genus Tulipa of the family Liliaceae."

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Tulip Gardening Tips
Submitted by Smokey Amber
"Snip off just the tops of tulips and narcissi before they exhaust themselves making new seeds. Leave the plant's foliage to ripen (turn a nasty brown) for next year's food. Once they are yellowed, gently pull out the stalks and toss them into the compost"
"Tulip bulbs have a flat side, and if you plant this facing outwards, the largest leaf will face in that direction"
"When planting tulips for forcing, place tulips so the flat side of the bulb is facing out -- that way the large leaf that develops from the flat side will fall gracefully over the side of the pot"
"If you are plagued by animals who eat anything ... try the following: plant tulips and other tasty morsels with recycled plastic berry baskets inverted over them. Flag them so you'll be able to find them easily enough if you want to move the bulbs around"

Credits:
Tulips
Encarta
The Passion of Tulips

Tulip Links
Blooming of Tulips
The New York Botanical Garden
Thomas Etty, Esq., Bulbs, Tulips
Submitted by Smokey Amber