Once upon a time, a striped tulip known as the Rembrandt tulip was so highly prized that men bankrupted their family fortunes to acquire them. Today, Rembrandt tulips have somewhat fallen out of favor, but a look back in time at the history of this fascinating tulip may intrigue the modern gardener enough to entice him to add these unusual flowers to the spring garden bed.
The History of Rembrandt Tulips
Tulips made their way from Asia to the gardens of Europe through the Ottoman Empire and the gardens of Suleiman the Magnificent, who reigned from 1520 to 1566. Travelers and merchants brought tulips from the Ottoman Empire to Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands around 1559. By the early 1600s, these rare flowers were so highly prized that men paid dearly for bulbs. They were the pride of aristocratic gardens throughout Europe.
A new type of tulip appeared on the scene sometime in the early 17th century. These flowers sported unusual stripes and multicolored petals. The first striped tulips that later became known as Rembrandt tulips appeared among the flower beds of the University of Leiden gardens in the early 1600s. Enterprising gardeners, spying the exciting new colors blossoming in the gardens, climbed the walls and stole bulbs in the night, cultivating them secretly to sell on the black market. The resulting bulbs were then sold for exorbitant sums. This period became known as "Tulipmania." The men who mortgaged their fortunes for flower bulbs during this era fell prey to what Allan Greenspan would call "irrational exuberance" the same as modern-day traders fell prey to the current stock bubbles. Times and causes of trading booms differ; people's reactions to the heady promise of wealth do not.
The painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, one of the most famous Dutch painters of the era, was born in Leiden, where the famous tulips were found. That's how the tulips got their name. Bulb traders of the late 1800s nicknamed the infamous striped flowers "Rembrandt Tulips" knowing that the painter and the bulbs hailed from the same town. Rembrandt himself painted portraits, but other Dutch painters of the day often incorporated tulips into still life paintings.
Why Rembrandt Tulips Have Stripes
What caused the unusual striped and multicolored petals of the Rembrandt tulips in the 1600's? Horticulturists now know that the original Rembrandt tulips suffered from a virus, a blight that affected flower color. While initial generations of bulbs produced striped flowers, later generations fell prey to the virus. The resulting damaged and diseased bulbs failed to grow or produce flowers, and fortunes fell on the collapse of the tulip market in the early 1600s, resulting in an economic disaster for the men who bet their fortunes on the unusual flowers.
Modern Rembrandt style tulips take their distinct coloration not from a virus but from careful breeding. Various Darwin hybrids have been crossed to produce the unusual multicolored blossoms. Rembrandt coloration may be found among Darwin hybrids with their telltale bell shaped cups and frilly-edged parrot tulips.
Growing Tulips in the Home Garden
Growing tulips requires full sun, well drained soil, and prolonged periods of chilly weather. Select a sunny location and add compost to the soil if it has excessive amounts of sand or clay. Plant bulbs pointy-side up at a depth of approximately eight inches; follow the package directions carefully, since different bulbs require different depths. Add a handful of bone meal to the planting hole for an extra fertilizer boost. Like other Darwin hybrids, Rembrandt tulips are late blooming tulips, so plant other tulips or early blooming bulbs such as crocus to ensure continuous blossoms in the spring flower garden.
Rembrandt tulips have fallen out of fashion of late with modern gardeners choosing tulips of unusual colors such as the Queen of the Night black tulip or Pink Impression for their flower gardens. But part of the fun of growing tulips is understanding the history of these prized bulbs. Today, anyone may go to the local garden center and buy bags of tulip bulbs for under $10, but once a long time ago, men mortgaged their life savings to acquire such bulbs. Fortunes rose and fell on the little bulb now known as the Rembrandt tulip.
Sources
- Van Der Horst, Arend Jan and Benvie, Sam. Tulips: The Complete Guide to Selecting and Growing. Firefly Books, 1997.
- "Time Traveling Tulips." The Bulb Project.
