Firmly Rooted

By Tori Carver

Typically, flower farmers across the country are seasonal growers. They are limited by their environment. If a farmer desires to extend their season (generally it runs from first frost to last frost) they have to build structures to protect their plants from the elements in order to start their crops earlier and keep their crops alive longer in the Fall.

But what about keeping their plants colder? Such is the case when forcing tulips. Generally we think of Amaryllises or Hyacinths when discussing forced flowers, but tulips can also be forced to bloom earlier (or even a little later) than those grown in the field or garden. The key is to mimic nature.

Since I began flower farming back in 2020, I have wanted flowers for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. I don’t have a hoop house (those long giant tunnels) or a production greenhouse so having traditional flowers blooming by those holidays is impossible. Enter tulip forcing. Enter creatively mimicking nature.

I’d say that tulip forcing isn’t an exact science because you merely have to replicate winter conditions, but in actuality, it is. Tulips require very specific cooling times; they require and grow best at very specific temperatures; they perform best with very specific humidity levels; and require plentiful watering. If one of these elements is out of whack, the entire crop can fail. To add insult to injury, only certain varieties of tulips force well.

I took a huge risk this winter and planted my first round of forced tulips in soil crates. It

Victoria (Tori) Carver is a flower farmer. From the thousand bulbs and plants that she puts in the ground each year she creates lovely bouquets. Many enjoy her flowers in their home each week. She has established a subscription program for her customers or a honor-system bouquet sales for random purchases. Tori and her husband and children make their home in Clayton, where they are a treasured part of the community. If you are interested in Firmly Rooted Flower Farm please reach out by email to firmlyrootedflowerfarm@gmail.com or phone 706-490-0041. You will also enjoy their website at www.firmlyrootedflowerfarm.com wasn’t without incident (maintaining the correct temperature was our biggest hurdle) and I doubted my ability the entire growing period, but I’m thrilled to say I had tulips for Valentine’s Day!!! It was thrilling to say the least and I’m totally obsessed now. Our cooling unit, affectionately known as the “tulip trailer”, is still loaded with crates of tulips in hopes of a Mother’s Day harvest. In true fashion, I’m not holding my breath, but I’m being hopefully optimistic. Y’all probably know by now I love to grow flowers and forcing tulips is my jam. I hope to iron out all the kinks in the coming seasons and become better and better. Truth is I would rather harvest 10,000+ tulips in the comfort of my grow room than out in the muddy field where nature is not always friendly. I’m also planning on trying my hand at hydroponic tulip forcing next season so I’ll be sure and keep you posted.

If you’d like to follow along on our tulip forcing rollercoaster and all of our other flower growing successes (and failures), we’d love to have you. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook at Firmly Rooted Flower Farm.

P.S. It’s tulip season so Porch Pick Up is open every day. We are located at 245 N. Church Street in Clayton. The flower porch is at the little gray building at the beginning of the paved driveway. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at tori@firmlyrootedflowerfarm.com.