Colour blind tulips

The early cv. T. 'Semper Augustus' presumed to be painted by Pieter Holsteyn the Younger (1614-73)
The early cv. T. 'Semper Augustus' presumed to be painted by Pieter Holsteyn the Younger (1614-73)
An earlier version of a red-and-white tulip: The early cultivar T. ‘Semper Augustus’, presumed to be painted by Pieter Holsteyn the Younger (1614-73).

Last fall, Home Hardware sold four million Canada 150 tulips across the country. Intended to mimic the colours of the Canadian flag, the bulbs were bred to produce white flowers with central red “flames” or vertical streaks. Gardeners snapped them up in droves, and most outlets had completely sold out within a week or two.

But early reviews from some of our warmer regions — where tulips are already in full flower — have been mixed, to say the least. Some gardeners have complained that the colourful flames of their Canada 150 tulips are pink and not red. Others have shared photos on social media of yellow tulips with pink streaks, pure white or bright orange flowers, and in some cases, the bulbs have come up “blind” — in other words, lots of leaves but nary a bloom.

I must admit that I’ve harboured private reservations about the Canada 150 tulip ever since its rather grandiose introduction last year.

To begin with, I was uncomfortable with some of the promotional material that claimed that the Canada 150 tulip had been expressly bred in the Netherlands to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial. The fact of the matter is that white tulips with red flames have been around for 400 years, and I puzzled over what set this new cultivar apart from existing varieties with the requisite colouration. Furthermore, no one seemed to know what division this new tulip belonged to (there are 15) or what its correct cultivar name was — “Canada 150” is simply a convenient retail moniker.

As well, the timing seemed a little off to me: From hybridizing a new tulip cultivar to producing four million sales-ready bulbs is a process that usually takes many years. Has Home Hardware been working on this project with Dutch breeders for the past eight to 10 years? Possibly, but to me it smacks more of a quickly concocted marketing scheme to cash in on 150 years of Confederation.

My final quibble with the Canada 150 tulip is that when planted en masse, from a distance the red-and-white blooms read visually as pink; the same is true if you see them from your car as you speed by a large display. Last autumn, I advised gardeners to plant solid red tulips with solid white ones in generous side-by-side drifts, or alternatively, to intersperse dots of red tulips in beds of predominantly white-flowered cultivars if they were aiming for the “flag” effect.

But for displays destined to be admired up close — where bi-coloured red and white tulips would be desirable — bulb supplier Botanus in Langley, British Columbia, offered the temporarily renamed Triumph tulip “Canadian Celebration” (syn. Tulipa ‘Happy Generation’) and the wonderfully ornate Parrot tulip ‘Estella Rijnveld’ at patriotically discounted prices last autumn.

Although the production of tulip bulbs in the Netherlands is a highly mechanized process, most bulb experts agree that mistakes must have been made in the field when the bulbs were being harvested last summer. And as more tulips come into flower across Canada, it will be interesting to see if this amounts to a minor — or major — gaffe.

And then suddenly two days ago, in a weirdly well-timed twist, three companies in the Netherlands collaborated in the unveiling of a new, advanced DNA-sequencing technology that is sophisticated enough to take on the genus Tulipa together with its 100 species and 400 years of largely undocumented breeding baggage. It will be fascinating to see what mysteries this research unravels.

Meanwhile, it would appear that Ottawa’s National Capital Commission planted 300,000 Canada 150 tulips last fall in anticipation of the 65th annual Canadian Tulip Festival — the largest of its kind in the world. Somewhat ironically, the festival’s slogan this year is “One Tulip, One Canada.”

 

Did you plant Canada 150 tulips in your garden last fall?

Share your comments below about Canada 150 tulips.

Gardening in the summer of Canada's 150th
Editor’s Note: This weekly series by Stephen Westcott-Gratton celebrates Canada’s 150th birthday in summer 2017. New posts are published Wednesdays.

 

CTV News report about Canada 150 tulips blooming orange

CTV News report with Sharon Teetzel's image on Facebook image of orange Canada 150 tulips. Link to CTV.
CTV News report: Sharon Teetzel on Facebook about orange tulips. Link to CTV.

 

CBC gardening diaries reporting on Canada 150 tulips

CBC Gardening diaries from across the country: Claudette Sims in Hamilton is eagerly awaiting full bloom. Link to CBC. (Photo by Claudette Sims)
CBC Gardening diaries: Claudette Sims in Hamilton awaiting full bloom. Link to CBC. (Photo: Claudette Sims)

 

What’s being posted on Twitter about Canada 150 tulips

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33 thoughts on “Colour blind tulips”

  1. I purchased a box of 75 Canada tulips from Home Hardware in St. John’s NL. I have several blooming in various colours and combinations but so far no red and white and red for that matter……very disappointing .

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  2. I planted 20 – red & white Canada 150 bulbs purchased as a gift for me from Home Hardware Stores. 18 came up and all are yellow.
    Disappointing.

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  3. I planted a box of 50 bulbs from HH Kanata and they were stunning! I got a few perfect miniatures in the group and all ended up white with red flames. They are just about finished now and I’m so happy I got them.

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  4. Our HH tulips were a disappointing burgundy and creamy yellow. We dug them out as they had no curb appeal.

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  5. Most of my Home Hardware Canada bulbs are coming up pale yellow. A hint of red on a few, just opening now. Pretty disappointing – wish I had just bought red ones and white ones separately! I’m in Cobourg.

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  6. CANADA 150 TULIP UPDATE: Several Garden Making readers have asked about obtaining refunds for the Canada 150 tulips that they purchased from Home Hardware which did not resemble the flowers as advertised (yellow and red blooms seem to top the list).
    Today, Jessica Kuepfer, public relations manager at Home Hardware’s head office in St. Jacob’s, Ontario, said that gardeners should submit photos of their rogue tulips, and that HH would investigate and issue refunds.
    About 25% of complaints have come from Ontario. Gardeners who still have receipts should submit them along with their photos.
    Ms. Kuepfer added that “…people are disappointed, and we are taking this very seriously.”

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  7. Waited patiently and they just came out last week….very disappointing. They are not white at all. Yellow and red.

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  8. We prepared special sections in our front garden for a display of early Red and White for Canada’s birthday. What a disappointment. Ours are all yellow. Will Home Hardware give us our money back?

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  9. I bought the home hardware Canada 150 bulbs. What a huge disappointment. My 4 year old and I planted these and we have been waiting patiently for months. Today they finally bloomed Creamy yellow and zero red. What a let down!?

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  10. Was looking so forward to spring and the 50 Canada 150 bulbs blooming I bought in our local Home Hardware when they were available in 2016.
    Well today there are 5 in bloom and they are red with a pale yellow. They are pretty, do blend in well with the other tulips/daffodils and the red does look like a maple leaf’

    If I get 25 that bloom I’ll be shocked. From the time they started to pop through the ground I have been concerned as they seemed odd…

    They are not like what was advertised and what I looked forward to for 10 months…

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    • Yesterday I went to the Home Hardware store where the tulips were purchased in the fall and got a refund (approved via Home Hardware head office). Apparently I have been the only person to do this at that store … Through talking with the person that served me found out somewhere along the line they were told that clients had to be patient that the yellow would eventually turn white, which mine did. They were beautiful in the end but went from squaty, little questionable tulips when they first popped out of the ground to beauties in the end. Like the end results but went for a refund because they are not as advertised and were very disappointing when they first bloomed yellow. It took the bloom off of what was to be a Canada 150 special addition to my gardens.

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      • Whops forgot to add that mine did turn white about 10 days after they bloomed. However, if it was not for the cold weather we have had this spring double there would have been much blooming time left in them by then.

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  11. We made a special bed lined with Canadian Shield granite on the front of our lawn. We bought ten boxes of them (250 bulbs) so far just a handful of boring yellow and red tulips, many many blind tulips. All are short and scrawny looking. Wish I bought from Veseys instead of Home Hardware. Big disappointment. Wish I had my lawn back, will be ripping these hideous things out and spend another small fortune on some perennials.

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  12. I bought from Home Hardware, planted 50. 35 are up and blooming yellow/red with a few cream/burgundy. Several are blind.

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  13. I purchased 100 of the Canada 150 at two Home Hardware one in Wallaceburg and 1 in Chatham. I was hoping for a patriotic display but they are all yellow with some red streaks. They bloomed about 10 days later than our other tulips which was OK but the yellow tulips are not what I was anxious to see.

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  14. I direct a church handbell choir and members of my group gave me a gift certificate large enough to purchase 200 of these bulbs from Home Hardware. One box was planted at the church and I planted most of one box at home, reserving a few that I tried, unsuccessfully, to force. I’m currently away from home for a week but when I left, there was little sign that the bulbs would be truly red and I think there will be a high percentage of blind plants. Disappointing.

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  15. I bought 150 red (75) and white (75) tulips from Vesey’s last fall. I now have 150 beautiful, tall and healthy red and white tulips in my front and side gardens. I am really pleased with my purchase. It looks amazing. I also received a certificate from Vesey’s and the Canadian Garden Council as congratulations for saying Happy 150th Birthday Canada. This was a surprise, a very nice one.

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  16. Bought 50 Canada 150 bulbs from Home Hardware last fall – had to drive to another town to get them as most stores were sold out.
    Watched eagerly as the flowers grew, but now I have a garden full of yellow tulips with red flames – they are pretty, but they are not what I wanted.
    What is Home Depot doing about this — probably nothing.

    I live in Belleville.

    Reply
    • It’s not “Home Depot”, it’s “Home Hardware” who were the official supplier of these bulbs, and if you contact the company at [email protected] with details including where the bulbs were planted and which Home Hardware location the bulbs were purchased at, as well as pictures of the tulips and the surrounding area, they will look into it for you with the company in the Netherlands who developed them. I happen to know that some people are receiving refunds as a goodwill gesture, because Home Hardware is just as disappointed when they hear of bulbs not turning out as advertised. They want to make it right, because customer service is important to them. (Yes, as a matter of fact, I do work for them, but I had disappointing results too, and I have contacted them this morning with my pictures and information, and I am waiting to hear from them.)

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  17. I planted the Canada 150 from Home Hardware and they are all a deep pink! Very disappointing. Live at Avenue Road & Lawrence in Toronto

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  18. We’ve planted two boxes. The tulips from the first one are just like in the pictures. The others are yellow with red flames, shorter, bloomed a few days earlier and have darker leaves with now lighter edges. You can clearly tell one box had the “wrong” product in it.
    I have zero intention of digging them, but should we ask for a refund?

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    • Hi Julio,
      Please have a look at the update I just posted. My understanding is that HH will issue a refund if you can supply a picture of your yellow and red tulips. Happy 150th anyway!

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  19. Mine are red and white and later than my other tulips which is nice as while the others are gone these are blooming. Bought at a garden store. Not home hardware.

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  20. My Canada 150 red and white tulips are all in full bloom. They are ALL orange with about 3 or 4 yellow mixed in. Not a red or white one in sight. I live in Waterloo Region Ontario.

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  21. I had heard that there were bulbs to celebrate Canada’s 150th. I looked at my go to for bulbs, Botanus. I bought at pkg of “Canadian Celebration”. Then I was told that the “official” bulbs were being sold @ Home Hardware. I managed to get a box. The “Canadian Celebration”bulbs were beautiful – they were large and firm. The Home Hardware bulbs were a disappointment to say the least. None were the size of the Botanus bulbs, at least half were puny, little things. I planted all of them. I planted the tulips in amongst daffodils in hope of discouraging pesky squirrels. The Botanus bulbs have flowers nearly ready to bloom, but I would say a half to a third of the Home Hardware bulbs have produced a plant and flowering behind the Botanus bulbs.

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  22. I purchased 150 supposedly red tulips and white tulips (supposedly 75 of each) from Vesey’s last fall. I live just north of Cobourg in Baltimore and while some squirrels got at some of my tulips, the tulips about to burst open appear to be all red.

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    • Hi Mark,
      Have a look at Judy’s comment (below). It’s possible the red tulips are just opening a bit earlier than the white ones. Fingers crossed!

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  23. Lennox & Addington Horticultural Society purchased 600 Vesey’s Canada 150 Celebration Tulips, 300 solid Red & 300 solid White. We planted 400 in alternate groupings at the Napanee Public Library and 200 remaining in members private gardens. Mine are opening true to form, red is slightly ahead of white. They are stunning! So glad we opted to go with Vesey’s as a trusted supplier.
    Judy Bullock, President Lennox & Addington Horricultural Society

    Reply
    • Thank you for your informative comments, Judy. It sounds gorgeous– sincere congratulations!

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  24. I bought one box of 24 of the Canada 150 bulbs and they have been in bloom now for at least a week (I live in Essex County, Ontario) and most of them have come up a light yellow and red! They are still pretty but a bit disapointing when expecting the red and white! I have seen mass planting of them in several parks in the area and they are all red and white! So I wonder why the ones bought by the public at Home Hardware are different?!

    Reply

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