Tulip delivery in Amsterdam: the country's signature flower, Dutch groups and field-fresh stems
The tulip and Amsterdam are bound together more tightly than any other city-and-flower pair. Here in Holland the famous "tulip mania" flared up in the 17th century, from here the tulip spread across the world, and today the Netherlands is its largest producer. For an Amsterdammer the tulip is no exotic novelty but part of the national code: people buy it readily and in quantity, simply to set an armful on the kitchen table. And the nearness of the fields makes the bouquets genuinely fresh.
This category covers single-variety bouquets, market-style bunches in kraft, boxed compositions and mixed arrangements with hyacinths, ranunculus and eucalyptus. Tulips work at any budget: a modest bunch of 9–11 stems looks no worse than a monumental armful of 51 — variety and presentation decide it.
Groups and varieties in the catalogue
Over 3,000 tulip varieties are registered worldwide, and the lion's share were bred and grown in the Netherlands. Around 35–45 key ones reach the working shelf, sorted by bud form, stem length and flowering character.
- Triumph — the classic cupped bud, 40–50 cm stems. The largest group. Varieties: Strong Gold (yellow), Negrita (purple), Ile de France (red), Purple Prince (purple).
- Darwin Hybrid — large-headed, bud up to 12 cm across. Apeldoorn (scarlet), Ivory Floradale (cream). For large armfuls and accent bouquets.
- French Tulips — long-stemmed premium tulips up to 70 cm. Maureen (white), Menton (soft peach). For weddings and high-end floristry.
- Parrot — fringed petals with a ruffled, torn texture. Rococo (red), Blue Parrot (blue-violet). For signature and dramatic compositions.
- Double / Peony — fully double, peony-like. Mount Tacoma (white), Foxtrot (pink), Angelique (pale pink). An alternative to peonies out of season.
- Queen of Night — an almost-black deep purple. A favourite of interior designers and signature floristry.
Season and main occasions
The tulip's natural season is April–May, when the fields of the Bollenstreek near Haarlem and Leiden break into stripes of colour and Keukenhof opens its gates. Through glasshouse forcing the Dutch run flowering from October to June, and the cut-flower season officially opens on the third Saturday of January — National Tulip Day, when a vast picking garden is laid out on Dam Square and locals gather tulips for free. That covers all the main occasions: Valentijnsdag, Pasen, Koningsdag and Moederdag. For Moederdag (the second Sunday of May) and Valentijnsdag (14 February), book seven to ten days ahead.
Amsterdam's climate suits the tulip well: cool maritime spring is its natural element. The tulip also handles winter transport calmly — with a properly built hydro-box the stems are unharmed even when it is near freezing and windy outside.
A tulip quirk: it keeps growing
A cut tulip is a living plant. In the vase the stem grows another 2–3 cm in the first days, and the bouquet changes shape day by day: by the end of the first week the tulips lean toward the light — that is normal and rather beautiful, not a fault. To keep an even shape, use a tall narrow vase that holds the stems upright.
A fresh tulip is easy to spot: a firm, cool stem, a tightly closed coloured bud, leaves with no yellow patches. If the stem is warm and soft, the batch is already at its final stage. In Amsterdam we have almost no transport leg, so every delivery is no more than one to two days from cutting.
"In the Netherlands the tulip is almost a folk flower — we grew up among these fields. An Amsterdammer knows the groups, can tell a Darwin from a French, and that makes it a pleasure to talk shop. They are also spoiled for freshness: a tired tulip simply will not sell here."
— Bart Meijer, florist, Amsterdam, 13 years in the trade
Freshness and logistics
Here Amsterdam is almost unmatched. The Bollenstreek fields and the Royal FloraHolland auction at Aalsmeer lie 20–40 km from the city, and a tulip cut in the morning reaches the bouquet the same day. Tulips travel in cold hydro-boxes, stems in water at +6 to +8 °C until delivery. A recipient in the Jordaan or Oost gets a full bloom cycle of five to seven days with proper care — and that is on top of the shortest possible journey.
Delivery specifics in Amsterdam
Amsterdam has a maritime climate: mild damp winters around +2 to +6 °C, moderate summers of +18 to +22 °C, and wind and changeable weather all year. The tulip is well suited to this, but moisture and wind inside the wrapping are worth avoiding, so in winter bouquets travel in thermal bags with the bud shielded from damp. The best season for delivery is March–May and September–October.
We deliver tulips across all districts of Amsterdam: Centrum, Jordaan, De Pijp, Oud-Zuid, Oud-West, Oost, Noord, West, Nieuw-West and Zuidoost. Payment is in euros (€, EUR). Order ahead — three to seven days, and a full week for Moederdag.
Home care
The tulip needs a different approach from roses. The key rules: only cold water at +6 to +10 °C, a straight (not angled) re-cut every two days, and a minimal water level of 5–7 cm from the bottom of the vase. The tulip does not tolerate deep water — the stems rot.
Do not place tulips next to daffodils without preparation: daffodil sap accelerates ageing by 30–40%. For a mixed bouquet, keep the daffodils separate for 24 hours, rinse the stems, and only then add them to the shared vase. Amsterdam flats heat to +20–22 °C in winter — keep tulips by a cool window, away from the radiator. Overnight you can move them to an unheated hallway: that adds two to three days of life.
