Tulips

The Skagit Valley is famous for tulip and daffodil bulb cultivation and up to a million visitors come every year to see acres and acres of colorful, blooming flowers.

The daffodils are peaking now and the tulips are not far behind.

 Crop rotation is necessary for disease management so each field will be used for tulips just once every five years. Agricultural workers walk through the rows during the early blooming stage to cull out the rogues, varieties of flowers that are different than the ones planted.

Shortly after full bloom, the plants are "topped" to prevent the spread of disease and to force the plant to store energy in the bulb.  Forty five days later, the bulbs are harvested and prepared for sale.  Gardeners around the world will plant them in the fall and enjoy Skagit Valley tulips in their gardens next spring.