Tulips Bulbs -- Plant Them Right And Watch Them Flourish...

 By Sharon Stajda,

In history, the Dutch will be remembered for their passion, and production of tulips. After 400-plus years, the Dutch people still enduring a love affair with the tulip. First introduced to Holland in 1593, the tulip has become a lasting symbol for the country Holland. Ask anyone, anywhere to name things that remind one of the Dutch or Holland, as a rule they will respond with the answer tulips, windmills and wooden shoes....

But- Is Holland actually the true country of origin for the tulip? It is a widely-spread misconception that tulips and other bulb flowers are native to Holland? The fact is that almost no bulbous plants are native to Holland. To find the true origin origins of the tulip, we must look to central Asia. Asia being the prime site of their genetic center. The tulip originated from Tien-Shan and the Pamir Alai Mountain Ranges near modern day Islamabad, close to the border of Russia and China. From these prime growing areas, tulips spread to other regions China and Mongolia to the east and to other regions to the west and northwest.

The fact is tulip's love mountainous regions. They are found growing at very high elevations in the mountains, which means that they are often covered with a thick layer of snow during the winter period, which stands to protect them from the severe cold.

Given this natural proclivity for high places, it is all the more remarkable that the Dutch should become known for growing tulips when their country is largely situated below sea-level and "enjoys" winters that are more wet than they are cold. As a rule these are conditions that make for poor tulip growth. Holland tulip growers invented a systems that provide winter soil ample drainage. Through the draining the surplus water quickly from the fields into the ditches into the canals. The Dutch system provides great conditions for growing tulips.