How to Choose Long-Lasting Tulips (And Keep Them Fresh) – Gardenista

There are a few chosen constants in life—necessary domestic objects that become our anchors, or even beacons, to hold us fast or to draw us forward within the unpredictable currents of personal or public events. These objects are different for everyone, of course. For me, they are books (always), and, in late winter, a weekly sheaf of tulips, bought from a local deli, their buds pointedly closed, their leaves squeaking with freshness. They are simple, reliable, and gratifyingly long-lasting. Their form and silhouette evolving voluptuously as days pass, a pleasure in its own right. Catching a glimpse of the flowers in the room where you work, sleep, or cook is a small but potent reminder that beauty exists.

Here’s how to choose, and to keep, tulips fresh. And: Did you know that tulips are edible?

Photography by Marie Viljoen.

Affordable city tulips’ immediate origins are humble: In New York it is the quintessential corner store, purveying fresh produce, groceries, sandwiches, life essentials, and, often, cut flowers. In January or February tulips appear, flown in from Holland or trucked under-or-over the Hudson River from where they grow in covered tunnels in New Jersey. In buckets on the sidewalk, they stay fresh in the cold air and thin winter light.

Constants being constants, and rituals requiring repetition, my chosen tulip vase is (almost) always the same—one I found in a junk shop in Adams Morgan, Washington, DC, when I was a new immigrant to the US. Catching a glimpse of it, filled with flowers, tells me my own story, quickly.

But these lovely flowers work in any vessel.

Whether the tulips are long-stemmed or chopped short, jam jars, old bottles, and thrift store finds work perfectly.

How to choose tulips: Counterintuitively, tulips that show the least color will last the longest. They will also be tightly closed. Back home, in their vase, they will develop whatever their saturated color is destined to be, and their blooms will also continue to grow larger, opening slowly in the light and warmth of the room you choose to place them. Tulips bought in tight bud and given ample water should last at least a week, or longer, if you follow some extra pointers.