British-grown tulips in October: How hydroponic tulips are grown

Tulips in October?

British-grown, you say?

Really?

Yes, really. And there is a fascinating growing story behind them.

At Evolve Flowers, we have been looking at hydroponically grown tulips from a grower in Norfolk, where tulip bulbs from New Zealand are being brought into flower in England well before we would normally expect to see them.

And these aren't simply tulips that have been cut and brought into the shop. They are being sold on the bulb, giving you the flower now and the opportunity to plant the bulb afterwards.

Why are there tulips in October?

We tend to think of tulips as quintessentially spring flowers. In the UK, their main flowering season is generally associated with March, April and May, depending on the variety and growing conditions.

So what are they doing flowering in October?

The answer begins with where the bulbs came from.

These tulip bulbs have been grown in New Zealand, in the southern hemisphere. Their growing cycle is therefore different from that of bulbs produced for the traditional UK spring crop. The Norfolk grower is able to use this to produce tulips at a time when we would normally be waiting several more months for our home-grown spring flowers.

It is one of those wonderful examples of how much more there is to seasonal flower production than simply looking at a calendar.

But the really interesting part is what happens once those bulbs arrive in Norfolk.

From bulb to flower without soil

These tulips are grown hydroponically, which means they are grown without soil.

The process begins when the bulbs arrive at the production facility. They are tipped onto a conveyor belt and gently moved along the line, where loose bulb skins are removed. This makes the bulbs easier to handle before they enter the automated part of the process.

And this is where things get rather clever.

The grower, Collison Cut Flowers, has invested in a new automated handling system, including a number of robots affectionately known as the “Bobets”, working alongside a larger robot called Bob. The technology took around two years to progress from the initial idea to installation, following government funding.

The robots handle the bulbs and place them into hydroponic trays before they are transferred into the glasshouse.

When the glasshouse is full, the growing area covers around two acres.

Growing tulips in clean water

Inside the glasshouse, the tulips grow in clean water rather than soil, with precisely controlled nutrients supplied to support the crop.

Hydroponic growing allows the grower to control the environment very carefully, from the nutrients available to the plants through to the movement and organisation of the crop within the glasshouse.

There is some impressive technology behind this. A visual mapping system manages the layout and logistics of the glasshouses, effectively keeping track of where the different parts of the growing system are and how the crop moves through it.

For the grower, that means a highly controlled production process. For florists and flower buyers, it means British-grown tulips arriving at a time of year when we don't normally expect to see them.

And these tulips come with their bulbs

There is another reason we particularly like these tulips at Evolve. They are sold on the bulb.

That means that once you have enjoyed the flowers, you don't simply throw away the stems and say goodbye to your tulips. You have a bulb that can be planted.

With a little help from good-quality, peat-free compost, such as that produced by british-grown, the bulb may flower again.

There are no guarantees when it comes to getting a second flowering – bulbs are living things and their future performance depends on how they are treated after flowering – but it gives the tulip another life beyond the vase.

And the bulbs themselves are impressive. They are large, clean bulbs, noticeably bigger than many of the bulbs associated with standard UK spring crops.

For anyone who loves flowers and likes to understand where they come from, we hope you’ve enjoyed learning about our hydroponically grown autumn tulips.

Meet ‘Lech Walesa’

Among the varieties being grown is ‘Lech Walesa’, a striking tulip with marginate flowers.

If you haven't come across the term before, “marginate” describes a flower where the edges of the petals are a different colour or shade from the main part of the petal. In this case, the effect is combined with a bicoloured flower, giving the bloom two distinct colours.

It is a good example of why tulips can be so much more varied than the familiar single-colour spring varieties we often picture.

What happens to the bulbs after flowering?

Not all the tulips are sent out on the bulb, and one of the most interesting parts of the growing process comes at the other end.

Once the tulips have finished flowering and the bulbs have been used in production, they don't simply become waste. The spent bulbs are sent to an anaerobic digestion plant, where they are used to produce biogas. That gas can then be burned to generate electricity.

So there is another part of the story happening after the flowers have left the glasshouse: the bulbs that have completed their role in production are being used as a resource rather than simply discarded.

It is a good reminder that modern flower production can involve considerably more technology and resource management than we might imagine when we look at a finished stem.

Tulips have changed and so has growing them

Seeing tulips flowering in Norfolk in October feels slightly strange at first.

But flowers don't always fit neatly into the seasons we associate with them, and demand often goes beyond the traditional growing seasons. Different growing conditions, technology and sourcing can all change when and how a crop can be produced.

In this case, New Zealand bulbs, hydroponic growing and carefully controlled conditions are coming together to produce British-grown tulips in autumn. And because some of them are sold on the bulb, there is something else to enjoy too: the flower you have today and the possibility of growing that bulb on afterwards.

We think that's rather special.