National Flower Afghanistan

Tulip: The National Flower of Afghanistan

afghanistan national flower: tulip

The National Flower of Afghanistan is tulip. Its Scientific name is (Tulipa). It belongs to Liliaceae family i.e part of the lily family. Tulip flower only bloom for 3-7 days in the spring. Most of the tulip farms found in Holland because the weather in Holland is suited to tulip growing. For tulips planting Choose an area that receives the right amount of sun for the tulip variety you are growing.

Bulbs need to be planted between 4 and 6 inches apart, so choose an appropriately sized plot. Plant the flowers without chilling them first if your area has cold winters with freezing temperatures. Hold off planting until soil temperatures measured at a depth of 6 inches (15 cm), fall below 55 degrees Fahrenheit (12 C).

Most tulips do best with full sun, or at least 6 hours of sun each day. Some varieties will also grow in partial or full shade. If you forget to fertilize in the fall, you can also fertilize in late winter early spring, once the first green shoots appear.

Use high nitrogen, fast-release fertilizer for best results . To make cut tulips last longer in a vase, cut the stems diagonally, then wrap the upper two thirds of the flower in a newspaper funnel. Leave the tulips to sit in cool water for an hour or two, then remove the newspaper and re-cut the stems. The  flower should stay fresh for a week.

These flowers are brightly colored, upright flowers which bloom from early spring to early summer. Native to the foothills of the Himalayas and Eastern Turkey, tulips grow best in areas with cold winters and dry, hot summers.

Most tulips sprout a single flower bud, but a few varieties have up to four on a single stem. Tulip flowers may be single, double, ruffled, fringed, or lily-shaped, depending on the variety.

10 Facts About Tulip Flower: you should know

  • Tulip is a native and popular flower of Afghanistan.
  • There are over 150 species of tulips with over 3,000 different varieties.
  • You can find tulip-flower in almost any color.
  • Different colored tulips have different meanings. The red flowers symbolize true love while purple represents loyalty.
  • This flower is also said signal as it conveys information about the arrival of spring
  • The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation main office in New York (Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder that is chronic and progressive, meaning that symptoms continue and worsen over time) uses a tulip as its symbol.
  • Tulips were once the most expensive flower and In the 1600s. They were even said to cost 10 times more than a working man’s average salary in the Netherlands, making them more valuable than some homes(The time period where the flower was so expensive (around 1634 to 1637) is now known as “Tulip Mania)
  • It’s petals are eatable and can be used in place of onions in many recipes
  • This will bend and twist to grow towards light (even in a jar)
  • The tulip was a topic for Persian poets from the thirteenth century. In the poem Gulistan by Musharrifu’d-din Saadi, described a visionary garden paradise with ‘The murmur of a cool stream / bird song, ripe fruit in plenty / bright multicolored tulips and fragrant roses.
  • The gift of a red or yellow tulip was a declaration of love, the flower’s black center representing a heart burned by passion
  • The shape of emblem of Iran is chosen to resemble a tulip, in memory of the people who died for Iran

Why is Tulip the National flower of Afghanistan

Different countries of the world select their endemic plants or flowers to represent their geographical location. Afghanistan national flower Tulip was used by Canada and Australia also as the national symbol and later it was followed in many countries of the world. Some countries have followed their centuries old historic or religious significance of any particular flower of plant and adopted that.

Tulip is very much associated with Netherlands and other European countries but only few of us know that this significant flower was originated in the Pamir and Hindukush mountain ranges of Afghanistan and central Asia.

In the Persian empire Tulip was named as “Laleh” and it was grown in Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and other parts of Central Asia. Most of the this flower found in Holland their farms in Holland are located in the Noordoostpolder (Northeast polder), in the province of Flevoland, and in the area known as the Kop van Noord-Holland.

The Netherlands is the world’s largest commercial producer of tulips, with around three billion exported each year .Due to all the above facts Tulip is officially considered as national flower of Afghanistan country.

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