Do you know about “Rembrandt Tulips?” They’re some of the oldest of them all. Named after the 16th century hybrids which were some of the earliest efforts of the Dutch tulip growers, they are the ones that touched off “Tulipomania.” It was an astonishing financial craze in Holland over the new bulb production industry which was just getting going.
Rich folks bid the prices up sky high whenever a new tulip was developed. And since there were only a few bulbs of the latest hybrid, they were treated like diamonds. It was the old story of supply and demand. Eventually, bulbs were actually traded on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, and some “investors” paid up to today’s equivalent of over $61,000 per bulb! Of course, this boom ended with a bust.
Today, you can have them for a song. They’re the ones with the dramatic “flaming” of colors on the petals, giving you an endless display of designs.
Rembrandt, the painter, really had nothing to do with it. But the magnificent paintings done in Holland and Belgium at that time often featured the rare new tulips. Today, they’re (the bulbs, not the paintings) available at regular tulip prices, so just a dozen or two of our Rembrandt Mix will give you a beautiful historic display, your own Rembrandt. You might say these are the ultimate Heirloom Tulips. Enjoy!