The History of Tulips

Tulips are thought to be native to Asia Minor, the Near East, and the Mediterranean, and most modern tulips are thought to have descended from Tulipa suaveolens, a red flower native to Crimea. The first recorded mention of tulips appears in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, which dates to around the late 11th or early 12th century. Tulips were important cultural symbols in the Ottoman Empire, especially during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent. It was around this time that early horticulturists began selectively breeding tulips. Tulips were introduced to Western Europe by an Ottoman ambassador to the Habsburgs around the same time and the word tulip itself was first used in the man's 1554 manuscripts. The earliest known European cultivation of tulips began shortly after, in 1559. In the 1590s, Charles L’Ecluse planted tulips at the University of Leiden’s gardens in Holland and realized that the flowers could handle the harsh Northern European climate. Tulips quickly became a luxury item and were so popular among the elite that they were sold on speculation during a craze known as Tulip Mania, which began in Amsterdam around 1634 and lasted until 1637. (Reportedly, a single bulb could be sold for the price of a townhouse!) After the craze ended, tulips remained important in the Netherlands. By 1642, the flowers had also made their way to America and were being grown in what is now Manhattan. (They first arrived in the colonies as a symbol of Dutch imperialism.) Tulip cultivation was popular among elites in America by the time of the American Revolution, but it wasn’t until 1849, when a travelling salesman named Hendrik van der Schoot began selling tulip bulbs in America, that they became popular among the rest of the populace. Many of van der Schoot's bulbs were reportedly purchased by recent immigrants who missed their homelands. Later, an immigrant named John Scheepers revolutionized the American tulip trade when he began selling tulip bulbs through beautifully illustrated catalogs. In 1951, he introduced Darwin hybrid tulips (which are one of the most popular types today) and advocated for mass planting. Today, tulips remain popular in the United States, the Netherlands, and around the world for their unusually brightly colored blooms and elegant shape.