Len Busch Roses Preparing for Spring Tulips
At Len Busch Roses in Plymouth, staff members are always preparing for the next big holiday. In Minnesota, the end of winter may not be an official holiday, but it’s always cause for celebration.
“People are just clamoring to get outside, into their yard, do some planting and that kind of thing,” said Jake Ziebarth, who works in sales for Len Busch Roses.
The company is a wholesaler and grower that provides flowers to stores across the five-state area. In the coming months, one particular flower will occupy much of their time.
“There’s actually about a million tulips in these greenhouses right now,” Ziebarth said. “We annually will cut about five million tulips from the end of December to the beginning of May, right up to Mother’s Day.”
Len Busch Roses grows about a dozen different varieties of tulips in eight different colors. Make no mistake, it’s a flower that’s synonymous with spring.
“I think tulips are unique to people because you really only have them a certain time of the year, and then they’re finished,” Ziebarth said.
Tulips make up 15 percent of the company’s business. The flowers initially start-off as bulbs stored in a cooler. Eventually, they make their way into the greenhouse where they become the beautiful plants we all know and love.
When the tulips are ready to harvest, a machine cuts off the bulbs and ties them up in bundles. That way, they’re ready to ship out to retail flower shops.
“It’s an everyday sale, everyday shipment out of here to our retail outlets,” Ziebarth said.
If you happen to buy or receive one of these colorful flowers, they should last about 7 to 10 days.
“This is that one kind of thing that gives you that breath of fresh air of spring,” Ziebarth added.
Meanwhile, here’s an insider trick from Len Busch Roses — If your tulip starts to droop, there’s an easy tip to keep them standing upright called, “slitting the throat.” All you have to do is take a knife and make a small, vertical incision in the stem to keep the flower growing up straight.
