Tulip

What the tulip means

In the Victorian language of flowers a red tulip was a declaration of love, while a yellow one once signaled hopeless love before it came to mean cheer. Tulips reached the Netherlands from the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th century, and in the 1630s speculation in rare bulbs drove prices to extraordinary heights, a period remembered as tulip mania. In Turkish and Persian poetry the tulip was tied to love and devotion. Today tulips are mostly given as a sign of spring, cheer, and affection, though meanings vary by tradition.

Flower meanings come mostly from Victorian floriography, and they vary between books, eras, and cultures.

Often sent for

• Just because
• Mother's Day
• Birthday
• Get well

By colour

• Pink Often given for affection and caring.
• Red Traditionally, a declaration of love.
• Yellow Now read as cheer; Victorians linked it to hopeless love.
• Purple Associated with royalty and admiration.
• White Often used for forgiveness or a fresh start.
• Orange Associated with energy and warmth in modern use.