TRUE OR false: a penny, a
sugar cube, a splash of
bleach or a dash of soda
pop in the vase water will
help cut tulips last longer?
Although many people
think these tips are true,
unfortunately none of them
will help.

The only additive that actually
has any effect is cut flower
‘*food,”’ the white powder avail-
able in litle packets in most
places where flowers are sold.
This food not only prolongs the
vase life, it helps the flowers open
more fully and retain their natural
color.

If you take the trouble to put
the vase in a cool room each
night, and keep it out of direct
sun and drafts during the day,
your tulip bouquet will last even
longer.

Canadians can enjoy tulips right
now and through the winter. Al-
though they and other spring-
flowering bulbs won't be in bloom
in the garden for several months
yet, they are widely available as
cut flowers. Dutch and other pro-
fessional flower growers work
with a wide variety of cultivars
that force well through the winter
months and tulips today are on
the market virtually year-round.

Forced tulips are grown in
greenhouses. Their biological
clocks have been altered by special
temperature treatments so that
they bloom earlier than usual.
Fortunately, interfering with the
tulip’s biorhythm does not seem
to affect the flowering in the least.
On the contrary, the quality of
these forced flowers is just as high

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Friday, February 14, 1992 - North Shore News - 24

= HOME & GARDEN
fm Enjoy tulips right through the winter

ALTHOUGH TULIPS and other spring-flowering bulbs won’t be in bloom in the garden for several

months yet, they are widely available as cut flowers.

as those that will be harvested
outdoors a few months from now.

Several classes of tulips lend
themselves well to forcing. The
Triumph group, for instance, con-
tains more varieties suitable as cut
flowers than any of the other
classifications.

At Jabot, we bave made quality window coverings accessible to everyoze. So whether your decorating

Triumphs, which flower in
mid-spring outdoors, were
hybridized at the turn of the last
century. The name is quite ap-
propriate in that these tulips are
triumphant in many ways. The
grouping contains more varieties
than any other; more of them are

people envision when they think
of tulips. Five of the world’s
favorite tulips are Triumphs:
‘Merry Widow’, ‘White Dream’,
‘Attila’, ‘Kees Nelis’ and ‘Don
Quichotte’.

The group of tulips known as
Darwin hybrids is just behind
Triumphs in order of popularity
and importance. Created in the
mid-1930s, Darwin hybrids gener-
ally have large, brightly-colored
flowers and a blossom that is
almost triangular in shape.
‘Apeldoorn’ and ‘Golden
Apeldoorn’ are two of the best
known Darwin hybrid tulips; the
second is the most often cuitivated
tulip of the entire group.

Lily-flowered and double late
or peony-flowered tulips are two
other types that attract attention.
Both of these are unusual in that
they bearlittle resemblance to the
classical tulip appearance.

Lily-flowered tulips, modeled
on the botanical Tulipa retroflexa
species, bear long, slim blossoms
whose pointed petals bend in to a
form a waist and then arch
backwards gracefully. In the
garden they bloom in mid-season
but are available as cut flowers
from mid-winter onwards. Pinks,
reds, whites and yellows are the
most popular.

Peony-flowered tulips are aptly
named; these are double blooms
with a diameter of 10 cm (4 in.).
The best-known cultivar probably
is ‘Angelique’, which bears pink
flowers that .are very similar in
appearance to the fre-
quently-cultivated rose-colored
Peony ‘Sarah Bernhardt’. While
we have to wait until summer for

Photo submitted

grown commercially, and there is
a wider range of colors in the
Triumph group than any other
single type.
Sturdy stems
shaped flowers
Triumphs. This
oval-shaped bloom

and bdeautifully-
characterize the
is the classical,

that most See Tulips page 22

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7 wo

NE, Wi
7

EATURING a wide range of
quality window coveriags,
including; ' Drapery Fabrics,
California Shatters, and
Silhouette Shades.

We also stock fabrics ideally
suited for Upholstery and
Bedding.

We would be pleased to
coordinate all asperts of your

interior decorating project,

including Paint and Mill Work.

JABOT

plans be modest or ambitious, whether your budget be limited or Mexible, drop by to see us.
Together we can turn your plans into reality.

Specializing in

las.

WINDOW FASHIONS