Saved by the Bud || Tips for Buying and Using Cut Bulb Flowers

BUYING CUT BULB FLOWERS OR CUT TULIPS
	+ Look For Tight Buds that Show Some Color – Cut flowers are all about timing. In general, you want to by them so they last the longest. To do that, choose cut tulips with “tight buds.” The flowers should be closed with some color showing at the top, but still green at the base. Closed tulip buds will open up in the first few days in the vase. They will last a good week or more, with some help. + Avoid Buds Open Too Little/Too Much – Tulips that are totally green, with no flower color showing at all, may have been cut too early in growth and won’t ever fully open. On the other hand, tulips with buds too fully wide open have already brightened the days of folks in the shop, but their vase lifespan for you is reduced. Unless you need them open that night, avoid.
PREPARING CUT TULIPS
	+ Clear those Pipes – Before placing tulips in a vase or arrangement, take a sharp knife and re-trim the stem tips. Cut off about at inch. As stems essentially act as water uptake channels, you could say this quick step “clears the pipes” allowing tulips to drink in fresh water freely. + Enough Water, Not More – Tulips “drink” heavily and last longer if kept in cool clear fresh water. Experts suggest giving them just enough water in the vase, not more than the flowers might drink in one day or two. Fill vases approximately 1/3 full, providing the flowers plenty to drink but no more. Each day, top off the vase with fresh cool water. This technique makes life easy: the tulips drink up, you refill afresh with a continual supply of cool fresh water, no water sits letting bacteria grow, the flowers last longer with little fuss. + Eat Light, Drink Deep – Most cut flowers like cut flower food in the water. Tulips are the exception. Cool clear water is all they want. Topping off with fresh cold water every day or so is all they need to keep vigorous.
SOME ODD THINGS ABOUT TULIPS
	+ Tulips Stretch – Unlike most cut flowers, tulips keep growing in the vase. Plus, as they grow taller – often up to an inch – they tend to bend toward sources of light. This response to light is called phototropism. + Fancy Dancing, Dips and Dives – While growing and leaning toward the light, tulips dip and dive in the vase. Lots of people like this unpredictable tulip “dance” and consider it part of tulips’ special charm. + For Those Who Prefer the ‘Tighten Up’ – But some people want only straight stems. To re-straighten tulip stems, simply remove the flowers from the vase, re-trim the stem tips then roll the tulips in newspaper with the paper extending above the flower tops but not covering the lower third of the stems. Place the wrapped bunch upright in a container holding cool water deep enough to submerge the exposed stems. Leave in a cool place for an hour or two. This will recall the dancing tulips to their duty: stems straight, shoulders back, heads up. + Keep Cool – Temperature matters to cut flowers. Cut tulips like cool water and a cool room. For longest indoor flower life, keep tulips and all fresh flowers away from sources of heat, including televisions and computers. Move them to a cool spot when you’re asleep or otherwise not around to enjoy them for any period of time.
A FEW TULIP ARRANGING TIPS
	+ Wild, Subtle, Jolly or Bold – Color is the tulip's strong suit. You can create a wild riot of color or more subtle monochromatic color combos such as purple with lavender, light yellow with deeper yellow. Flamed or multi-colored tulips look great mixed with solid color tulips in related shades. + Tulips as Partners – Tulips combine well with other flowers; they are particularly suited to pairings with the forced early spring branches of forsythia, pussy willows (no jokes), and corkscrew willow found in the flower market in season. + Separate Quarters – If combining tulips with narcissi (daffodils), first treat the narcissi by trimming the stems and keeping them in a separate container of water for a few hours before adding them to your arrangement. This step allows a slimy alkaloid substance in the narcissi stems to run off. This sappy stuff, if allowed to leach out in the vase, can adversely affect other flowers, shortening their vase life.