Flowers: bad tulip harvest drives the prices

Many people like to treat themselves to a colorful tulip bouquet at the start of the spring. However, the fact that prices in the shops have increased should not be delighted. A 10-person bundle of tulips is about one euro more expensive in purchasing than in the previous year, even more for some varieties, said a spokeswoman for the Blume 2000 company. The prices are therefore 30 to 50 percent higher, but the quality of the tulips is worse. The Rewe supermarket chain reports similar problems.

This is due to the fact that the harvests are not well. According to industry experts, the past two years have been too wet. Because it rained a lot and gave frost, the tulip bulbs could not grow properly. Therefore, only 70 to 80 percent of the usual quantities are available. A smaller offer has led to the higher prices.

A comparison shows that in shops of dealers such as Blume 2000 or flowers cracks in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg there is currently a covenant Tulp from 4.99 euros. Parrot tulips, the premium variant, cost 7.99 euros. In a Rewe supermarket in Düsseldorf, 4.79 euros are due. The prices fluctuate regionally and depending on the variety. The quantities are also different: sometimes a covenant consists of 10 flowers, sometimes only 7 or 8. Some dealers indicate that the higher purchasing prices do not pass 1: 1 to customers.

Most tulips come from the Netherlands

Tulips are usually available from mid -January and until July. Most tulip onions and finished tulips that are sold in Germany come from the Netherlands. There, tulips make up most of the flower and flower skiing. More than half of the approximately 28,000 hectares of fields are planted with tulip bulbs. The Dutch dealers sell around ten billion tulips worldwide every year – both onions and flowers.

The breeders harvested significantly fewer tulips and tulip onions than in the previous year, said the director of the umbrella organization of the flower onion “Royal Anthos”, Mark-Jan Terwindt. However, the dealers are not afraid of a break -in. In January 2025, the export of flowers and plants from the Netherlands was seven percent higher than a year earlier. Germany is the largest sales market.

Why tulips are so popular

Tulips are the symbol for spring, but they would be like no other flower, said Nicola Fink from the German Florist Association. “In the dark winter months and at the beginning of the new year, people want color. That is why tulips are so popular.”

There were also bad harvests with other spring flowers such as daffodils or hyacinths. However, these varieties are not so sensitive. In Germany, prices for cut flowers have already increased significantly in recent years. According to the Federal Statistical Office, consumers paid 31.3 percent more than 2020.