Although the outdoor landscape may still look colorless and bleak, there is a way to enjoy some popular spring flowers prematurely.

Growers use “ice tulip” technology (bulbs are held in sustained cold) to confuse the biological clocks of tulips and “force” them to bloom on a different schedule than they normally would outdoors, so you can delight in them even during winter.

“One of our favorite tulip stories involved 45 million viewers witnessing the in-studio celebrity wedding of Tiny Tim on Johnny Carson’s ‘Tonight Show,’” Joe Barnes, manager of new business development for Kennicott Bros. Co. in Chicago, told The Produce News. “Jacob Van Namen (Van’s Floral, now a Kennicott brand) was asked to provide tulips for the televised event, which remains one of the most-watched Carson shows ever. Tiny Tim, most famous for his rendition of ‘Tiptoe Through the Tulips,’ wanted the soundstage covered in the beloved bulbs. But tulips were extremely hard to obtain in December, which was the timeframe for the broadcast. The high-profile nature of the event, and the relationship our company had with Dutch growers, motivated the farms to ‘force’ the production of tulips at a time when such practices were largely unheard of. Since then, ‘force’ growing has become a common industry practice for several flower varieties (not just tulips), in order to meet growing off-season demand,” Barnes said.

And very few flowers can match the wide color palette and diverse types of tulips available, including singles (having six “petals”), parrots (ruffled petal edges and multicolored), fringed (serrated petal edges), doubles (peony flowered) and lily flowered (pointed petals) varieties.

“Tulips for the end-user are a great way to get through the dreary months of winter, a sign that spring is just around the corner,” said Barnes.

“Our tulip season is year-round but Easter/Mother’s Day is the busiest consumer season,” he continued. “The Kennicott family of businesses moves over four million tulip stems each year, putting them in our top five flower items.”

Tulips are also fifth on the list of top ten cut flowers sold in the United States by stem count, according to the Society of American Florists. This ranking is based on total stem counts determined by adding domestic production to import figures.

Phil Ivey, mass market/supermarket salesman at Holex USA in Miami, told The Produce News that it has been importing Dutch tulips for 30 years and it imports around 40 million tulips from Holland each year.

“Tulips are a great item to bring color and décor to your home during winter and spring,” Ivey said. “We ensure that all of our customers receive within their tulip mixes the newest and exciting varieties that are currently available.”

So, if you’re impatient for spring to arrive, perhaps it’s time to indulge in some “forced” flowers.

“There are countless ways that top floral designers work with tulips,” said Barnes. “But tulips by themselves in a vase almost always brings a smile to someone’s face.”