I'm NEVER growing tulips again (and here's why)!

Regenerative gardening course: blossomandbranchfarm.teachabl...
Flower arranging course: blossomandbranchfarm.teachabl... Growing tulips in the garden can be fun (we've planted around 25,000 of them over the years), but this year we aren't planting ANY. In this video we will tell you why--what we're worried about from a regenerative gardening standpoint, an ecological standpoint (hello soil fungicide contamination) and a profitability perspective, along with challenges we've encountered over the last several years that have led us to cut tulips from the spring flower lineup!
Article on fungicides and tulip production: www.theatlantic.com/science/a...

[@valerietzand3681]

I'm from the Netherlands, and luckily people are finally catching up with this. I always buy organic bulbs, grown in the Netherlands, by companies like Huiberts bio bollen, Bloemoloog and Natural Bulbs. I would never ever buy non organic, because of the reasons you mentioned. I see so many gardeners and/or garden influencers (from here, and from the US and UK) that claim to be organic/wildlife friendly but still fill up their gardens with dirt cheap crappy bulbs from Walmart or Aldi or something. Same thing with plants from garden centers and nurseries, people just don't realize that most of them are doused in pesticides/herbicides/fungicides and synthetic fertilizer, and they're growing "pollinator friendly" gardens with these plants. In the consumers defence; many of these companies add nice little brown cardboard labels with cute bee illustrations to their products, to insinuate they're organic and safe. Only way to be sure is to check with growers what they use to keep their crops healthy. Luckily in NL there are quite a few organic nurseries, but don't expect to find anything organic in the big garden centers.

[@jelmerbeats44]

Je zegt nu wel huiberts dat zijn goeie bollen dit jaar zat john huiberts onder het vuur zijn hele oogst is mislukt niet grappig natuurlijk maar bio is niet mogelijk nog misschien in de korte toekomst

[@jenmclean1999]

I have a small flower Farm and I agree with you 100%! For so many reasons they are just not worth it and I stopped growing last year.

[@MyFocusVaries]

I really appreciate your sharing this important information! I didn't go out to the big tulip festival this spring because of your sharing the info about the fungicide resistance in a previous video. The message needs to be repeated! Then I got tulip fire in the old tulips I had in my garden. No more tulips for me.

[@Blossomandbranch]

I feel like more and more people are having tulip fire problems every year!

[@bathblooms]

I did about 1000 tulips this spring, although I wasn't going to... I am for sure NOT going to this year! There is no way to compete and what you can get needs too much work, water, time, hustle...we try to be as organic as possible, but I couldn't resist!

[@cbak1819]

Oh.. that's what happened to me garden tips last year! I decided to give it a break this year. Thanks for sharing this!!!!❤

[@evitaslittleparadise]

I just love your channel! You always give so many valuable information. Thank you so much! I have very good and bountiful tomato harvest almost every year because I change the bed location every year, like you said, to prevent diseases.😊Have a wonderful weekend! - Evita

[@elib7311]

Anyone else watching the cute sheep?❤😂

[@Blossomandbranch]

Hahah I blocked them from the barn this time so they had to look for trouble elsewhere 😂

[@kellycornett6219]

Yup

[@russwalls8947]

I'll put it this way I'm watching cute all right

[@richbishop7896]

I'm just a home gardener and I plant mostly alliums and daffodils. Your videos are so informative. Glad I didn't order any this year. I've got some Darwins that have come back for years. Bonny

[@user-rf2vk8zp2u]

Finally!!! Someone that doesn't practice the click bait culture of youtube. Thank you.

[@ireneNL9349]

I also live in NL and only have a small garden so not the same problems as someone who needs to grow commercially. I only put them in pots because they do badly in my heavy clay soil with a high water table in winter. I also struggle with mice getting at them (in the pots). I buy mine from a producer who sells bulbs grown organically called 'Naural Bulbs', but they cannot yet produce enough to satisfy demand. It is well known that the fancy tulips and those with beautiful, subtle colours, almost never come back. I appreciate all the information (& tribulations) you give us on growing plants. Keep up the good (hard 😊) work !

[@TheLARAS-gh4bp]

Thank you for the 411. I too stopped growing for similar reasons you mentioned and I’m just an average gardener. Thanks again

[@katebarrett1924]

Now I know what happened to some of my tulips last year! Tulip fire! Thanks for this very helpful info! Keep it coming!

[@sophian7366]

Thank you for informing us of this issue. Im very sad about this because i ❤ tulips and order them every year for my garden. Now i will think twice. 😢

[@kfaulknerstudio]

I’ve stopped planting tulips in my home garden because of deer. I’d rather invest in daffodils that I can be confident will do well and perennialize.

[@amandabrook5089]

Thank you, I love in oklahoma and was considering tulips but now I will probably do something different. I bought ten acres and really want to start a flower farm

[@latebloominghippie]

💚💚💚Thank you for the education!

[@lauragalenkamp454]

Thanks for sharing this, I had no idea. I will be making a point to look for organically grown bulbs in the future.

[@Blossomandbranch]

Let me know if you find any! We’ve never found any, unfortunately

[@faithannetoo]

Great information on a sad and important topic. I may have laughed out loud at Schmeden Fruthers 😆

[@t.hummel2838]

I get your point, I don't know what the growers in NL use (for funghi etc) on their crops but I live in NL, near a couple of tulip growers, and I know they do rotate their tulip fields! In the field near our house there are only tulips every 3-4 year, the other years other crops are planted there.

[@chickenfarm09]

sorry to hear your troubles and I guess it is clear geoengineering is have detrimental effects on tulips but also flower farming in general

[@linhmoberly4493]

Thanks for these important informations …I always have problems to grow tulips anyway…I have fences , so deer are not an issue, but the bulbs were mostly dug up by squirrels. So I usually plant few tulip bulbs in the pots with chicken wire to cover for protection But this fall, I don’t think so after what I have just learned.. always love ur videos…

[@jeromegagnon8335]

Thanks so much for the info

[@jolienwillowtree2248]

I think I'm going to try. I live I Belgium, so perfect Environment.

[@Sean_neaS]

I have one single tulip that has come up every year for at least the six years I've been here. Since it's so well adapted I should really try to propagate it from seed or dig it up and see if there's any baby bulbs down there that I can help out.

[@kmsch986]

Is copper based spray ok to use on plants? I have some peach leaf curl on my peach tree and powdery mildew on my peonies and was going to use it. Thanks for the info on tulips! I always planted them at old house and had good results from High Country bulbs with them coming back every year but never knew about fungicide issue. I have amazing bearded irises, daffodils, and peonies that grow great in my new garden and am experimenting with 🌹 roses for the first time after watching your rose video.

[@KK-FL]

I made one attempt at growing tulips in NE FL (zone 9a). Even with keeping them in the fridge for 3 months, it went very bad haha. It's ok though. I tried, and I will grow what works here instead!

[@chriseverest4380]

Okay. No problem.

[@mal1090]

Thank you so much for this video. I just finished planting 400 bulbs in my garden beds and they’re from Colorblends (Netherlands based) ☹️ I noticed that the article is from 2018. Are there any more recent articles or resources you could link?

[@Blossomandbranch]

It is an ongoing issue. Here is a study done in Japan in 2020 on imported bulbs and rate of infection with fungicide resistant aspergillus www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7453303/

[@mal1090]

@@Blossomandbranch thank you! Definitely going to look into this further. What a bummer!

[@sheilahurford5931]

Only have a micro farm here in UK. Grew tulips my first year but def lost money even though they were beautiful . Don't grow tulips at all now . Just not worth it

[@SharkSandwich451]

I'm not a huge fan, either, of tulips. They seem to be wasteful flowers: most don't naturalize and I think of the fuel used to ship something like this from Holland is just...unsettling to me.

[@Plantandpeoplecarer]

Try the tesslaar farm here in Australia! Award winning tulips

[@madelinestark6386]

Is midnight the black sheep that I saw in the window? So cute!

[@Blossomandbranch]

Yes, he’s cute but also the naughty one! 😂

[@beaverrunfarm]

I am a third year flower farmer, did tulips each year and I agree, tulips are too much work, definitely prefer Daffodils. I think I am going to plant the bulbs I have and just leave them in the ground to see what becomes of them the following year, if they don't make it, they will be compost.

[@cecilleflowerfarm]

Same with all the bulbs, lilies, ranunculus,anemones, all the bulbs plants outside US is all treated with pesticides and fungicides.

[@Blossomandbranch]

Yes this is true of many bulbs but especially tulips with the rampant tulip fire!

[@evamandri]

I planted tulip bulbs last winter, they bloomed but have no colour....? Wondering what I have done wrong 😢 was looking forward to them so much.

[@Blossomandbranch]

Unfortunately they may have been diseased. We’ve had so many problems with tulip fire when we grew tulips in the past…

[@cherriethomas9538]

Oh my heart when you cut the bulb off an tossed them! I know you grow for profit but isn't there a way the save them bulbs. I understand picking what is the most profitable! And that was my thoughts were the big stores buy in mass how to compete with them. The peonies are by far my favorites. I believe ill grow some in pots for some beautiful in pots great information.

[@Blossomandbranch]

Nope, unfortunately they don’t rebloom even when we leave them in the ground. Our climate isn’t right for it.

[@teresataylor8267]

I had Tulip Fire last year...185 Tulips stunted or didn't bloom.😢

[@Blossomandbranch]

Ugh it’s really awful, and then your soil is contaminated! I’m done with them, too much money and hassle!

[@hinemarama6778]

Plus the squirrels LOVE eating tulip bulbs. But won't eat daffodils coz it's poisonous to squirrels.

[@treelover7566]

Thanks my tulips had fireblight

[@jerrymiller5140]

Tulip World got me. Never again!

[@DalhiaSun]

I started planting daffodils to protect my tulips. Now I have hundreds of white daffodils. They look great and neither the turkeys or deer touch them!

[@michaelmiller2200]

Kind sounds like need switch things up little more talking others farmers. Anyways i grow watermelon we learn more every yesr and have adapt we always use fungicides i no many people have problems with it, if we don't, wouldn't we never would have a crop just as weather temperatures swings different everyear , we sell our curbit crops 3 times whatever box store crap has .We trying 8 rows tulips on 3ft plastic mulch doupleplanted 6 inch apart so we probably fail but we set them up like we grow watermelon just we planted on strawberries spacing we will probably fail this year hopefully learn lot this year thanks 4 video your just trying learn good luck

[@wincymeow3831]

Australian here..... what sort of price do you pay in the US for bulbs?? They cost about $10 for 2 or 3 tulip bulbs. I cant imagine buying thousands......and, for a single season 😱. I bought 12 and only a few flowered 😖. WAY too expensive. Love your videos!!

[@flowerfairy1950]

Just as an aside; depending where you live in Oz you need to put tulip bulbs in the fridge for 6-8 weeks before planting. Of course the other issue is how the bulbs have been chemically treated. 😢

[@Flowersanon]

Wholesale costs for flower farmers is about .60 a bulb

[@JwlsMambo]

Why tulip fire happen?!?

[@MsForeverYoung924]

Makes sense, this is a business.

[@JMvW100]

Warm dry summers?!! 🤣 where? Or it’s way to hot or it’s raining all summer long…

[@kaitlinjohnson2915]

Makes total sense. I grew just a couple hundred fancy cut flower varieties for myself and some gift bouquets a couple years ago and decided it’s just not something I’m gonna do again. They are so expensive for an annual, the bunnies love them, they are a ton of work to harvest, etc etc. We don’t tend to have issues with chill hours where I am (Minnesota-it never gets into the 60’s in winter here, at least not yet 😬), but I just don’t see how any flower farmer can grow them profitably when labor is taken into account!

[@kathrynmettelka7216]

Daffodils win in my garden! I’m a home gardener and avoid growing plants that make me crazy. Robust, disease- resistant roses deserve space in my garden when fussy hybrid teas do not. Monocultures are the worst. If everyone else is growing something, I won’t. Think boxwood and boxwood blight. Now I will stop ranting and meditate.

[@thishtns]

I also love daffodils! There's so much variety available, and they're relatively low maintenance. I hardly see any in my area, it seems the most common bulbs here are crocuses and irises. I also like snowdrops, they're my favorite early flower, but they're not exactly a traditional option for a flower farm since they're so short. I'm just gardening for fun so the stem length doesn't bother me!

[@mihaelageorgescu2024]

But the are tons of plants that fight funguses and even insect pests, solely by growin among/next to (and together with) your cultures!

[@jelmerbeats44]

Well i am a tulip grower and what you say about tulip fire is not right. If you have a good biodiversity than the chance to get it is significantly lower. So if you plant tulips make sure you plant them in the soil around every 6 so 1 time and then wait 6 years then the disease chance is much lower. But good luck😁

[@louisapdjones]

Sheep butts are too cute. Those guys have some serious attitude. Hopefully tulips can recover, the fungus will fade and we can enjoy them again in 10-15 years time. 😢

[@Mar.y.Luz111]

ORGANIC IN ALL PLANTS ALWAYS BETTER.

[@MichiganUSASingaporeSEAsia]

It’s comes from Holland city Michigan. You didn’t know this? They produce the most in the USA

[@DragonsGaura]

I ordered the tulips from the same place and this year they had to the fire and they didn't bloom and they didn't do well

[@Blossomandbranch]

Tulip fire is so common these days, it’s a big part of why I don’t buy them anymore-too risky and plus the fungicide use, ugh!