5 Tips for Tulip Wedding Bouquets
Things you can do with Tulips
Arrangement Idea #1. Cut the stems off short enough so the blooms sit on top of the vase and cram as many into the vase as you can without mashing the blooms.
Tulip arrangement #2 Put the tulips in a clear vase and cut the stems at the exact height of the water so the tulip flowers appear to be floating on water. This can be done with an opaque vase as well.
Tulip arrangement tip #3. Tulips do several things differently than other flowers. The first thing is that they continue growing so stems will get longer and longer over the life of the flower. The second thing is that they are “phototropic” (they bend toward the light) so if you put a strong light source on one side of the vase, they’ll bend towards this. With a bit of creative lighting, you can make this kind of arrangement beloved of high-end designers. Hint - turn the vase regularly as the flowers bend.
Tulip Arrangement #4 Why not tilt your blooms? Instead of standing them upright as soldiers - lay them in a larger bowl as loungers.
Tulip Arrangement #5 This trick takes a bit of attention. If you leave a freshly cut tulip out of water for several hours, the stem will become pliable. You can bend and weave it into any shape you like with a bit of care not to crimp the stem. (so gentle bends). After getting the shape you want, recut the ends and immediately get into water to stiffen up the stem and keep the flower blooming.
Images courtest Netherlands Flower Bulb Information
Growing Your Own Tulip Wedding Bouquets
This is a tough thing to tell brides and mothers-of-the-bride but here’s my two best bits of advice on growing your own flowers for the wedding.
Don’t. The reality is that flowers in the garden have a mind of their own and between the weather and pests and other problems, hitting an exact date with flowers in the peak of perfection is tricky for the pros growing in greenhouses. It is impossible to guarantee anything growing in a garden - and bulbs are particular weather sensitive.
Obtaining or growing out of season bulbs like tulips is a tough thing to do at the best of times and forcing a spring flower bulb for a fall wedding is likely to bring tears to your eyes at some point (and you don’t want tears of frustration)
Having done the kid-marriage thing, I can tell you there’s enough stress on family and friends without having to hit specific dates with unreliable flowers - particularly tulip wedding bouquets
Second advice. Flowers tend to rise in price when they’re for weddings. It’s a fact of retailing. When my daughter was married, the flowers (ordered by a sister and no I didn’t even try to grow them) were for a family reunion and were priced accordingly.
Bottom line
Order your tulips for your personal tulip wedding bouquets and have fun making them yourself or arranging them. But don’t count on growing them.
Click here to ask a questions about tulip wedding bouquets
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