As soon as the bouquet of tulips is placed in the vase, the work begins. The spring flowers are stretching and stretching like crazy. Within a short time they hang their heads because they can no longer find support. Here we will tell you why this is and how you can effectively delay this process.

Tulips often shoot up significantly in the vase

That is why growth continues in the vase

They are masters of cell stretching. While other cut flowers in the vase gain only a little in size, tulips stretch mightily in the air. Since the flowers absorb large amounts of water, their tissue cells expand accordingly. The separation from the bulb is of little importance, since the water contains enough nutrients for further growth.

Delaying cell elongation means extending shelf life - this is how it works

According to Mother Nature's laws, completely stopping the cell stretching of tulips in the vase is not possible. To do this, the water supply would have to be stopped, which would cause the cut flowers to die. After all, you have the opportunity to have a reducing effect on this growth process. These methods have proven themselves:

  • Never replace the water in the vase completely, but refill it regularly
  • Trim the flower stalks by 1 to 5 cm every few days
  • Keep cut flowers cooler overnight to reduce growth rate

Repeated trimming not only keeps growth in length in check. At the same time, fresh pathways are exposed so that water and nutrients can be transported to the flower. Please only use a clean, sharp knife for this. Scissors carry the risk of crushing the stem.

Pins hold flower heads upright

Tulip blossoms gain weight in parallel with the increase in height. So that gravity does not gain the upper hand and the flower heads sadly bow to the ground, use the following trick in good time:

  • Push a thin pin through the stem just below a still upright tulip flower
  • Thick darning needles are unsuitable as they damage the fabric too much

tips

Would you like to experience a tulip garden of superlatives in real life? Then travel to Keukenhof in Holland between mid-March and mid-May. Enjoy a floral spectacle with more than 7,000,000 bulbs spread over 80 acres of sprawling parkland.

Category:

Vegetable garden