Did you know that there is an official tulip for Canada’s 150th anniversary, celebrated next year (2017)? It’s called Canada 150 and is white streaked with red, a combination that “recalls the Canadian flag” according to the press releases. Well, maybe you had to be there…
Another attraction: its foliage is variegated, rimmed with a thin white edge.
Over 300,000 Canada 150 tulips will be planted this fall by the National Capital Commission in its gardens in Ottawa and Gatineau to ensure a spectacular show next spring at the Canadian Tulip Festival (May 12 to 22, 2017). Also, many municipalities across Canada will be planting huge beds of this bulb very soon.
You too can obtain bulbs of Canada 150. They will be distributed exclusively this fall through Home Hardware stores across Canada at a cost of $ 12.97 for 25 bulbs or $44.99 for 100 bulbs. The bulbs are scheduled to arrive in stores in time for the weekend of September 10-11.
Note that other suppliers will be selling the same tulip under the name Canadian Celebration. You’ll likely find it under this name in your favorite garden center this fall.
American and European readers of this blog will also be able to locate this bulb, but this time, under its real name, ‘Happy Generation’. (Yes, the tulip was renamed in Canada for commercial purposes… sorry, I really meant “patriotic reasons”!)
‘Happy Generation’ is a Triumph tulip and reaches about 20 inches (50 cm) in height.
A Few Words About Tulip Care
Tulips need cool to cold winters to grow well and can be planted in hardiness zones 3 to 8 as well as colder parts of zone 9.
Plant the bulbs when soil temperatures start to drop in the fall, but before the soil freezes. That can be as early as September in zones 3 to 5 and as late as December or even January in zone 9.