Tulip flowers are a welcome sight at the end of months of lingering winter. The bright blooms signify an awakening, that spring has arrived and color is about to return to the gray earth. But through tulip growers education and training, the growers learn that the tulips need to endure the cold before the tulip bulbs can begin their growth.

Horticulture training and personal experience will benefit tulip growers, but obtaining tulips information specifically will be the most advantageous for success in growing wholesale tulips. This knowledge added to careful attention to detail and careful harvesting will make a business among the select in the grower industry. Some steps to pay careful attention to when learning are:

1. Choose only the best tulip bulbs.

2. Ensure proper care for newly planted tulip bulbs.

3. Maintain the tulip plants for the best cut flowers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose the best tulip bulbs and learn how to best care for them

To get the best yield of flowers, start with the best bulbs. The size of the bulb and its proper care and careful preparation will produce the largest and healthiest flowers. Learn how to choose which bulbs will guarantee choice flowers.

I recommend: Consider purchasing wholesale tulip bulbs from Color Blends. Visit their website for information on choosing the best bulbs and other planting and growing aids. Van Engelen gives advice on bulb care. Expert Village has a video series on growing tulips.

Choose the kinds of tulips you want to grow

With over 3,000 varieties of tulip, and more being developed each year, choosing which kinds to grow can be daunting. Learning about the different species will help you be able to choose which are best for your business and your selling market. Petal type and color and blooming time are all things to take into consideration. Specialty tulips may draw particular attention and should be considered for those customers with special requests. Some of these options include organic, treated, uniquely colored and uniquely petaled flowers.

I recommend: From Growingtulips.com, you can learn all the types of tulip varieties to choose from to grow. For some choices of specialty bulbs to grow, visit Holland Bulb Farms.

Find classes that help you in growing bulk tulips

Classes dedicated to the tulip might be difficult to find but are well worth the effort in the amount of dedicated information you will receive. With so many tulip options, being educated about your options is wise. Classes can be found at some universities, online and at agricultural centers.

I recommend: The Plant Expert has a series of classes dedicated to the tulip. Get a thorough explanation of tulip types from Iowa State University.

Learn from tulip grower associations

Being involved with an industry association puts you in constant contact with others who have the same passions as you. Sharing tips, holding events and finding out the newest research are all benefits to being a part of such an organization. Information you receive will not just pertain to flowers but can also be beneficial to improving business.

I recommend: The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers will be an asset by providing current research and industry information. They also send out a quarterly magazine. The Mailorder Gardening Association will help with the business side of growing.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  To get to the roots of tulip education, visit the Amsterdam Tulip Museum in Holland.

Tulips are one of the most popular flowers in the US, often being considered the symbol of the dawning of spring. People request them for weddings, proms and other events as well as general flower giving, thanks to their variety of available colors, their fragrant nature and the special seasonal touch tulips add to a bouquet. Tulip growers offer wholesale tulip bulbs, wholesale tulips and bulk tulips, giving you a range of tulip options for your floral business.

Choose from dutch tulips or Holland tulips in multiple colors. To find the best tulip growers and purchase the tulip varieties most popular with your customers, you should:

1. Survey your customers about the varieties and colors of tulips they prefer to help you determine which ones to offer in your floral shop.

2. Purchase tulips or tulip bulbs from a reputable tulip grower that offers quick service and quality guarantees.

3. Ask for wholesale tulip flowers, shipping discounts and other deals to save money and in turn pass the savings on to your customers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Decide on the breeds and colors of tulip to offer

Before looking for a tulip grower, you should narrow down the varieties of tulips you want to offer. If you want to leave your options open, find a tulip grower with many varieties and a quick shipping policy to get you custom orders fast. If you have the room or a greenhouse, consider growing tulips yourself.

I recommend: Attend the Society of American Florists Annual Convention to find out the latest trends in tulips, including colors, breeds, arrangements and meet tulip growers. Visit the Flower Expert for the most popular varieties of tulips and the meanings of the different colors.

Purchase tulips or tulip bulbs from a reputable tulip grower

When looking for a tulip supplier, find one with a large variety of tulips that are fresh cut. You want a grower who has been in the business awhile and can offer solid references. If you are looking for custom tulips, find a company offering genetically modified tulips for decorative purposes only, not edible.

I recommend: Washington Bulb Co. is the largest producer of tulips, iris and daffodils in the US. Aside from their fresh cut tulips, they also boast a large selection of tulips bulbs. Wedding Flower Shop offers a wide variety of tulips fresh-cut year round. They offer bulk tulips to help you save money per stem.

Ask for wholesale tulip flowers, shipping discounts and other deals to save money

Don't be afraid to ask for discounts or purchase through a wholesale tulip grower. You should be entitled to discounts if the tulips are not fresh cut, if it's the end of the season, if you are purchasing a large quantity or if you offer to pick up the tulips instead of have them delivered.

I recommend: The Grower's Box offers discounts on bulk purchases, which is a perfect way to save money on large wedding and event orders. Plus, you get savings on each stem you order and can pass these savings on to your customers. Tulip World offers a huge supply of tulip bulbs in every variety. They offer them in value packs. For optimum savings, purchase the hundred bulb pack.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Tulips have delicate little 'necks' that take some special care when packing. If you have the space, order extras to feature in your coolers for 'grab-and-go' customers who are in a hurry or for those quick, last minute arrangements. The more colorful your coolers are with these happy flowers, the better for you and your business.

Growing tulips can be a fun hobby, as well as a lucrative business. There are many varieties of tulips you can grow, such as Dutch tulips, the Holland tulip, the blue tulip and the black tulip.

There are many choices available, and you'll want to choose the type of tulips to grow and sell before starting your business. One of the areas you'll want to research before starting your business is tulip growers pricing and costs.

1. Find the pricing and costs of wholesale tulips.

2. Find the pricing and costs of wholesale tulip bulbs.

3. Find the pricing and costs of bulk tulips.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Compare prices and costs of wholesale tulips

If you want to start your business right away, your best bet is to stock up on already grown tulips. You can start your business this way economically by purchasing the tulips from a wholesaler. Many tulip wholesalers can offer multiple types of tulip styles and colors at wholesale prices, allowing you to choose a large variety to start your business off.

I recommend: Growers Box offers wholesale tulips in 100-400 stem sets from $204-$589. FlowersGrowers.com offers tulips in 50-400 assorted sets from $135-$500.

Compare prices and costs of wholesale tulip bulbs

If you decide that you can wait a little longer to start your tulip growers business so that you can grow your own tulips, you'll want to research the pricing and costs of tulip bulbs. You can save money by purchasing the bulbs from wholesalers. You'll be able to choose a variety of styles and colors to grow yourself by buying them at wholesale prices. You can then enjoy the pleasure of growing and tending to your tulips yourself before you start to sell them.

I recommend: Tulip World offers multiple tulip bulbs in a variety of styles and colors from $65-$325 per 100. Holland Bulb Farms offer groups of 1,000 tulip bulbs for $300.

Compare prices and costs of bulk tulips

Now that you're buying a variety of tulips in either stem form or bulb form, you'll want to start adding to your collection to keep improving and building up your tulip growers business. One way to do this is by offering Bulk Tulips. Bulk Tulips are larger tulip bulbs that can help fill your shop with a variety of colors. You can find them at wholesalers so that you're still saving money while adding these beautiful, large tulips to your inventory.

I recommend: GoodBulbs.com offers a variety of Bulk Tulips in groups of 100 for $60. My Flower Buyer offers Bulk Tulips from $170-$290 per box.

There are several ways to grow tulips, and tulip growers will want to know the differences between them so they can determine which way is best for them. Tulip growers also need to learn how to properly plant their tulips and care for them. They will need to learn tulip growers key terms so they can fully understand how to grow and take care of their tulips, and be able to talk to professionals about these flowers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Tulip offsets

Offsets are clones from a mother plant. Tulips can be propagated through this method, but it will take up to a year to start seeing results. This method will produce a natural copy of the plant.

I recommend: Ivanhoe.com explains what offsets are, and how they differ from seeds.

Tulip bulbs

Tulip plants grown from bulbs have a wide variety. They can cross pollinate, causing a mixture of hybrid plants and populations of mixed plants. Tulips produced from planting bulbs will often look very different from their parent plant.

I recommend: TulipReview.com explains how tulip bulbs work.

Micropropagation

Micropropagation will allow you to grow tulips rapidly and produce a large number of plants. There are different methods to micropropagation, and several advantages of it. But there are also some disadvantages, so you'll want to do your research before determining if this is the best method for you.

I recommend: Tamu.edu defines micropropagation.

Tulip life cycle

Understanding the tulip life cycle will help you know the best time to plant them, when they'll bloom, and when to start caring for them. If you don't plant your tulips at the right time, in the right place, they won't grow.

I recommend: Tulip Care Tips explains the life cycle of tulips.

Tulip species

There are several different types of tulips that you'll want to learn about so you can determine which ones you like the best, and which ones you'll want to plant and grow.

I recommend: HowStuffWorks.com describes different types of tulips.

Tulip diseases

Like any other living species, tulips can become diseased. Tulip growers will want to know how to check their tulips for diseases, and how to treat them when they get sick.

I recommend: The Penn State Department of Plant Pathology provides a list of tulip diseases and how to treat them.