Connoisseur Collection

[Lvandelft]

Zhirair,
Flaming Torch, Kaiserwalzer, Majestic were bred by Hybrida.
Inflammation was bred by P. Nelis & Son.

they were only registrated by Mr. Connoisseur.
He never made crosses with tulips himself, but he had a keen eye for good bulbs,
being a bulb commissioner for growers and traders.

[Lvandelft]

After I started this topic, the question raised about how such an enormous
collection is handled without machines.
Here I show you some pictures of the harvest of tulip bulbs.
The work is done with an old-fashioned tool (pict. 1a)
First the leaves and weeds are pulled away and then the upper surface is
gently taken away.
You have to be careful, because the bulbs will often grow a bit aside.
Then the soil is taken away some deeper, so that you may see where the bulbs are.
With the tool the bulbs are then lifted and the most roots cut off, so you can easy
 take them out by hand.

harvesting tulips
harvesting tulips (1)     
harvesting tulips (2)       
harvesting tulips (3)       
harvesting tulips (4)     
harvesting tulips (5)
harvesting tulips (6)
harvesting tulips (7) 

[Lvandelft]

Every cultivar comes separate into a trough together with the label.
The work has to be done very accurate to avoid cultivars mixing up!
Then they are sifted a bit to loose most of the sand and put into a netted bag.
These bags come into crates with a bottom of iron netting and then put on a
staple, to let them dry by wind.
Every crate contains 15 cultivars.
On the last picture you may see that the staple is covered with double empty
crates, to avoid to much water comes to the bulbs when it's raining.
After a week or so the crates are brought inside to wait for cleaning.

harvesting tulips (   
harvesting tulips (9)     
harvesting tulips (10)   
harvesting tulips (11)         

[art600]

Luit
How many people are employed on harvesting?  Now it is Tulips, have they already harvested other bulbs?

It seems an impossible task - and then everything has to be replanted!

[Lvandelft]

Hi Arthur, the whole collection is managed by 1 person.
He started to harvest some weeks ago with Corydalis, Crocus, Iris etc.
Last week he finished with all so called botanical Tulips like T. kaufmanniana, T. greigii etc.
and the Single Early Group. When I met him today at the Weekly Flowershow, he told that
he last week also dug the most Colchicum and that he would start with the Triumph Group
this week.
After the tulips he will go on with Fritillaria, Allium, Narcissus and so on.

[Armin]

Incredible
Mr. Connoisseur must have strong knees and intervertebral disks 
He got my full respect!

[David Nicholson]

What a job he must have a strong back and knees, he deserves a medal.

[afw]

As an aside ..

I have the same  purple vetch growing in my garden, all I need now are the bulbs!

[mark smyth]

Best thread and longest running. Amazing to see bulbs from flowering right through to lifting

[Lvandelft]

Best thread and longest running. Amazing to see bulbs from flowering right through to lifting

That is a very nice compliment Mark!
But don't forget that YOU are one of the long time Forumists who did help making
the Forum what it is now with your many very interesting contributions!

[Lvandelft]

I thought it might be interesting to show some pics of the harvest of tulips comparing
to the handwork needed with a big Bulb Collection.
Two tractors are needed.
One is needed to pull the machine which digs and sieves the sand away.
Behind this machine is a place for cubic crates where the bulbs are collected.
Two man take on the sieve some rubbish like roots etc. away.
When the crate is full the machine is stopped and another tractor takes
the full crate away and places an empty one.
The digging machine has a speed of about 5 km./h

Harvesting Tulips 1             
Harvesting Tulips 2         
Harvesting Tulips 3       
Harvesting Tulips 4

[mark smyth]

I've gone through these pages trying to find a Tulip I really liked but I cant see it. Was it called Candy Stick or something similar? From memory it looked very like T. clusiana. Can anyone remember it?

[Jim McKenney]

I've gone through these pages trying to find a Tulip I really liked but I cant see it. Was it called Candy Stick or something similar? From memory it looked very like T. clusiana. Can anyone remember it?

Mark, was it 'Ice Stick'? That's a form of Tulipa kaufmanniana, but it looks a bit like T. clusiana.

[afw]

Mark

There is Tulipa clusiana ' Peppermint Stick' . MBC listed it this year.

[Lvandelft]

Despite the warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days
I think it is o.k when I put some new pictures here..

Some pictures of Colchicum made during the last two weeks:

Colchicum Autumn Herald 1 Visser             
Colchicum bivonae 1 J. Huism. 2008             
Colchicum bivonae 2 J. Huism. 2008               
Colchicum bornmuelleri                           
Colchicum byzantinum (naam ?)     
Colchicum cilicicum var purpureum             
Colchicum cilicicum                         
Colchicum Conquest Visser 1993