MOUNT VERNON, Washington — Now that the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival has come and gone, what’s next for the tulips?
The tulip fields are mainly planted for bulb production. After the month-long festival is over, flowers are “topped," a process that involves removing the flowers from the stems. If the petals fall off to the ground, they will decay and possibly disease the garden or field.
The bulbs will stay attached to their stems and will sit underground for another six weeks. This process feeds more nutrients to the bulbs and allows them to continue growing.
Once the bulbs are ready, they are dug up and dried. After they dry, they will be sold to customers or kept for next year's fields, and the process will start all over again. Farmers rotate the rows in the field to preserve the soil.
The majority of the freshly cut flowers you receive from RoozenGaarde Farm come from the on-site greenhouse. RoozenGaarde ships out millions of tulips annually through tulips.com all over the country.