“When it’s Spring again I’ll bring again, tulips from Amsterdam. With a heart that’s true I’ll give to you, tulips from Amsterdam. I can’t wait until the day you fill these eager arms of mine. Like the windmill keeps on turning, that’s how my heart keeps on yearning. For the day I know we can share these tulips from Amsterdam.” ~ Tulips from Amsterdam, a popular song recorded in 1958 by British entertainer Max Bygraves (1922-2012).

At the 2002 Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa, Canada, the “Great Tulip Conference of the Royal National Tulip Society” (last held in London in 1897), was revived under the new title of the World Tulip Summit, according to the organization’s website.

The Summit brought together delegates from some of the world’s leading tulip festivals and floral events to celebrate the special history of the tulip and its relationship with mankind over many centuries.

Representatives from seven attending delegate countries signed a declaration agreeing to:

“And tulips, children love to stretch. Their fingers down, to feel in each. Its beauty’s secret nearer.” ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet (1806-1861).

In the floral industry, cut tulips used to only be popular in the spring, but now they have become an important flower category throughout the year.

“I love tulips better than any other spring flower; they are the embodiment of alert cheerfulness and tidy grace . . .” ~ Elizabeth von Arnim, British novelist (1866-1941).

As a fourth generation tulip-grower, Leendert (Lane) DeVries has literally been in the floral business his whole life. His father, his grandfather and his great-grandfather before him all pursued the same flower-growing occupation with passionate devotion.

“Mid the sharp, short emerald wheat, scarce risen three fingers well. The wild tulip at end of its tube, blows out its great red bell . . .” ~ Robert Browning, British poet (1806-1861).

“Tulips have a mind of their own in designs,” Rita Peters, director of floral at Hy-Vee in West Des Moines, IA, told The Produce News. “They open quickly and will continue to ‘grow.’ They are great for unstructured garden designs.”

There seems to be conflicting advice about whether to add anything other than water to a vase of fresh-cut tulips. Since flowers from bulbs don’t need the sugar in flower food for energy to open, most florists think it is easier and cheaper to use just plain water. But how does this affect the life expectancy of the blooms?