Pull and properly care

Suitable tulips - tips on varieties

Not all tulips thrive with bulbs in the vase. So that the effort for a bloom outside the natural season is worthwhile, the choice of suitable varieties makes an important contribution. The following selection presents proven tulips for forcing:

• Simple flowers: Duc van Tol (red), Belle Lisette (white), Gelber Kaiser (yellow), Bride of Harlem (white-red)
• Double flowers: Tournesol (red), Murillo (pink), Sweetheard (yellow), Turban (dark purple)

It is especially the early blooming tulips that will give you a lot of joy in the vase of onions. The late beauties, such as viridiflora tulips or parrot tulips, are less suitable.

The perfect glass

Tulip bulbs can only be motivated to bloom in winter if they do not come into direct contact with water. So look out for a vase with these attributes:

• In the upper part, the glass is laid out in the shape of a bowl, big enough for tulip bulbs
• Below that, the vase narrows, like an hourglass
• This is followed by a bulbous area in which the root strands find space in the water

These proportions ensure that enough water is transported into the bulb via the root system. At the same time, rot has no chance, as the outer shells of the tulip bulbs remain dry.

This is how the tulip blossom gets going

The starting shot for the tulip forcing is given in November. Pour boiled water into the vase. Then place the tulip bulb in the bowl so that there is a maximum of 5 mm between the water and the bulb. Place the jar in a dark room with temperatures of 5 to 8 degrees Celsius for a period of 8 to 12 weeks. If the water level drops, please fill up with fresh water.

Then bring the vase into the room to place it on the bright, warm window sill. Since a vital root system has now formed, a stem sprouts within a short time in order to produce the desired flower.