The Tulip—A Flower With a Stormy Past

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN THE NETHERLANDS

“WHEN spring comes to Holland, it is as if thousands of acres . . . come to life,” says the Netherlands Bureau for Tourism. Suddenly, in an outburst of color, bright ribbons of blossoming tulips stream across the fields, creating a floral splendor that attracts tourists from all over the world. For most visitors, these graceful and popular garden flowers are as Dutch as windmills, cheese, and wooden shoes. But did you know that tulips actually have their roots in Turkey?

Dutch Tulips With Oriental Roots

Turkish ornaments dating from the 12th century portray tulips, but European literature mentions tulips for the first time in the 1550’s, notes botanist Adélaïde L. Stork. In 1553 a traveler from France wrote that “amazed foreigners” were buying unfamiliar “red lilies with big onions” in the markets of Constantinople (Istanbul). Locals called the flower dülbend, meaning “turban” in Turkish, and that word, explains Dr. Stork, became “the etymological source of the word ‘tulip’.”

One of the foreigners intrigued by these turbanlike flowers was Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq, the Austrian ambassador to Turkey (1555-62). He took some bulbs from Constantinople to Vienna, where they were planted in the gardens of Ferdinand I, the Hapsburg emperor. There the tulip bulbs flourished under the skillful care of Charles de L’Écluse—a French botanist better known by his Latin name, Carolus Clusius.

Before long, Clusius’ fame attracted the attention of the Leiden University in the Netherlands, which persuaded him to become the curator of the university’s botanical garden. In October 1593, Clusius—and “a stash of tulip bulbs”—arrived in Leiden. Some months later, in the spring of 1594, Clusius’ new garden became the setting for the first tulip ever to flower in the Netherlands.

Tulipomania—A Stormy Period

The vivid colors and exotic shapes of the tulip fascinated the Dutch. Romantic tales of the extravagant value that Turkish sultans put on the bulbs made them the envy of every status-conscious citizen. Before long, growing tulip bulbs became a lucrative business, and when the demand began to outweigh the supply, prices for bulbs shot up and triggered a stormy period that Dutch historians call tulpenwoede, or tulipomania.

Tulipomania reached its peak in the 1630’s when tulip bulbs became the hottest commodity. In those days, says art historian Oliver Impey, it was more affordable to buy a painting of a tulip done by Jan D. de Heem (a great 17th-century Dutch painter of still life) than to buy a rare tulip bulb. One bulb was acceptable as a dowry for a bride, three bulbs were the price for a canalside house, and a single bulb of the variety Tulipe Brasserie was traded for a flourishing brewery. Bulb traders could earn some $44,000 (U.S., in today’s currency) a month. “At inns and public houses around Holland,” says one source, “the talk and transactions centered around only one item—bulbs.”

“Steadily rising prices tempted many ordinary middle-class and poor families to speculate in the tulip market,” adds The New Encyclopædia Britannica. “Homes, estates, and industries were mortgaged so that bulbs could be bought for resale at higher prices. Sales and resales were made many times over without the bulbs ever leaving the ground.” Fortunes were doubled in the blink of an eye. Poor men became rich; rich men became superrich. Bulb trading had become a wild speculator’s market until suddenly, in 1637, there were more sellers than buyers—and the market crashed. Almost overnight, thousands of Dutch went from riches to ruin.

The Love Affair Goes On

Nevertheless, the love affair with the tulip survived the aftermath of tulipomania, and the tulip bulb industry began to flourish again. In fact, by the 18th century, Dutch tulips had become so famous that a Turkish sultan, Ahmed III, imported thousands of tulips from Holland. So after a long journey, the Dutch offspring of Turkish tulips returned to their roots. Today, growing tulips in the Netherlands has become a major industry—or beautiful business, as some say. Of the country’s 13,000 square miles [34,000 sq km], some 19,000 acres [7,700 ha] are used for tulip bulb growing. Each year, the country’s 3,300 growers export nearly two billion tulip bulbs to more than 80 countries.

Though the tulip has had a stormy past, man’s love affair with this garden favorite has been steady. Throughout the centuries this beautiful flower has moved artists, poets, and scientists to capture its elegant shape and striking colors on canvas and paper. After one of them, 18th-century scientist Johann Christian Benemann, had written a monograph in German about the tulip, he named the treatise Die Tulpe zum Ruhm ihres Schöpffers, und Vergnügung edler Gemüther (The Tulip for the Glory of Its Creator and Enjoyment of the Noble-Minded). To him and many other authors, notes Adélaïde Stork, the tulip “is not only an object in the gardener’s hand, but it reflects the greatness and the glory of the Creator.” Looking at this delicate flower, you will find it hard to disagree.

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How to Grow Your Tulips

AS LONG as there is a sufficient supply of water, almost every type of soil is suitable. However, planting can be made easier by mixing the topsoil with sand, peat, or compost.

Plant tulip bulbs in the fall. There are two ways to go about it: You can dig a hole for each individual bulb, or you can make a seedbed to plant all the bulbs at once.

A rule of thumb for planting tulip bulbs: The planting depth should be twice the height of the bulb. That means that the lower end of the bulb (flat side) should be about eight inches [20 cm] below the surface. Place the bulbs about five inches [12 cm] apart.

Cover the bulbs with the dug out soil, and water immediately so that growth can start. In heavy frost a layer of peat or mulch of leaves will protect the bulbs and will also prevent the soil from drying out. Remove the mulch in spring when the shoots first appear.

Cut off the flower heads when the petals begin to droop; otherwise, the plant will go to seed and rob the bulb of food needed for next year’s growth. Allow the foliage to die naturally, and remove it when the leaves become yellow.

Instead of planting an occasional bulb here and there, plant bulbs of the same kind and color together in groups. That way you will create splashes of color and fully enjoy the floral masterpiece in your garden.—International Flower Bulb Centre, Holland/National Geographic.

[Picture Credit Lines on page 17]

Page 16 bottom: Nederlands Bureau voor Toerisme; Top left, center, and top right: Internationaal Bloembollen Centrum, Holland; Page 17 bottom: Nederlands Bureau voor Toerisme/Capital Press