Flower Agenda 2016 starts with the tulip

The first four weeks of this year are focussed on a classic Dutch beauty with an Eastern past: the tulip. Consumers can read and discover a great deal about these remarkable flowers in the Flower Agenda on Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk. Inspire your customers with the tulip’s story during these weeks.

Origin of the tulip
Your customers may be aware that the tulip came to the Netherlands from Turkey but they probably don’t realise that this quintessentially Dutch flower actually originates from Iran, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan … a fun fact for them. When it arrived in the Low Countries, the tulip was enthusiastically embraced and tulip bulbs were even worth as much as an Amsterdam canal side house. Nowadays a big bunch of tulips is very affordable and brings with it a healthy dose of spring fever for the customer.

Colours and shapes of the tulip 
In their search for the perfect tulip, customers are rapidly confronted with an enormous choice. Tulips come in white, red, yellow, pink, purple, orange, green or with multi-coloured petals. Customers also have plenty of choice when it comes to the shape. There are tulips with a single or double row of petals, eye-catching fringed and parrot tulips with serrated petals, and the elegant lily-flowered tulip. There are peony tulips that look like peonies, and French tulips that are exceptionally tall with very large flowers.

Care tips for the customer
These care tips will enable your customers to enjoy their tulips for five to twelve days:
• Select a clean vase and fill it with tap water at room temperature.
• Add cut flower food to the water for a longer vase life.
• Cut or trim the stems diagonally with a clean and sharp knife or secateurs.
• If the tulips are drooping, place them in 15 cm of water wrapped in paper or film for an hour first. By the end the tulips will be neatly straightened up.
• Regularly top up the vase with tap water.
• Tulips’ stems can sometimes grow another few centimetres.
• Tulips last longer in a cool spot: don’t place them in direct sunlight or near a source of heat.
• Don’t place tulips near a fruit bowl. Fruit emits ethylene gas which will cause the flowers to age rapidly.

A spectacular bouquet with tulips
You can create some authentic Dutch cheer with tulips! It’s one of the few flowers to have its very own vase. Your customer can have the flowers burst enthusiastically out of the various openings.
A sizeable bunch of tulips combined with carnations, roses, Viburnum (snowball), lilac and ranunculus turns a bouquet into a celebration. Pick a nice vase with a cheerful pattern or plenty of colour for a surprising, fun and colourful effect. Your customers will be delighted with this instant cheerfulness.

The tulip’s symbolism
Not a lot of people know that the tulip also has symbolic meanings. Red tulips mean passionate love, and black tulips mean: ‘I love you so much I will sacrifice everything for you.’

Inspiration and information
Inspirational images have been produced for all the flowers in the Flower Agenda in keeping with the Horticulture Sector Trends 2016. These trends are a translation of the latest consumer trends focused specifically on the horticulture sector both indoors and outdoors.
If you would like to find out more about the Flower Agenda click here.