Water-grown tulips bloom indoors for early signs of spring

'Banja Luka' single tulipThis year, I went a little crazy with the water-grown flower bulbs. It was a therapeutic pandemic project.

As a result, I have several groupings to display around the house, including a fiery and fragrant arrangement of red and yellow 'Banja Luka' tulips mixed with red and white 'Carnival de Rio' tulips that look gorgeous in a white porcelain ice bucket. As usual, these tulips were all grown in water from bulbs supported by rocks, marbles or clear acrylic crystals in a variety of vases and containers.

Tulips are among my favorite flowers. I used to plant the bulbs outdoors, but the last time was one April when I waited with excitement for the bulbs to open. One daily visit to the bed was met with the heartbreaking sight of headless plants snatched from the soil by hungry deer. They basically live in my backyard now, so I grow my spring flowers indoors where they are safe from four-legged munchers.  

The 'Ad Rem' tulips bloomed on compact stems in a square glass vase. For the Easter table, a dense clutch of pink 'Finola' tulips is showing off cotton candy colors on the pedestal of a glass triffle bowl. These have been a pleasure to watch. The flower buds emerged in the same green as the leaves and gradually showed signs of pink. The pink colors range from pale pink to deep fuchsia, with white mixed in. The color gets darker as they mature and slowly open. In the triffle bowl, they are a floral confection that looks pretty enough to eat -- and they're taking the place of dessert!

The last time I grew and posted photos of numerous arrangements from flower bulbs forced in water, a number of the pictures were stolen. In one case the thieves had the nerve put their own watermark on my photo. So, the new plan is to wait a few months to publish this year's images in print as a winter project.  

The 'Banja Luka' tulips shown at left below came from a bag of supermarket bulbs. They performed better than fancy bulbs I ordered online -- many of the latter group developed mold, rotted and didn't flower.

The 'Banja Luka'  flower in bloom on the right below started out like the smaller bud on the bulb beneath it. The first flower opened inside the vase, and over days its stem, and the flower itself, continued to grow. (Anyone who has had cut tulips in a vase knows that they will continue to grow taller.)

At right below, a partially open bloom from the double tulip, 'Finola' is being preserved in a vase after its stem was broken. This heavy-headed, peony-type tulip seems to produce blooms too heavy for its slender stems. I now have three of them saved from their broken necks in a tall glass on my desk. 

Two 'Banja Luka' tulip bulbs, left, and an 'Ad Rem' tulip in narrow vases. A heavy-headed 'Finola' double tulip that weighed down and broke its slender stem.