Tasmanian growers looking to fill gaps from tulip shortage

Tulip bulb sellers are grappling with a product shortage, but say there is no need to panic. Stoneman’s Garden Centre owner Graham Stoneman said his business had been getting fewer stocks of tulip bulbs than usual.

“We’ve been told that there’s a shortage from the supplier, which is why we haven’t been able to land the stock that we normally get,” Mr Stoneman said. “It’s a very seasonal product, so whilst it can have some impact on customers, it’s a relatively small number of people buying tulip bulbs.”

Van Dieman Bulbs and Table Cape Tulip Farm owner Dave Roberts-Thompson said the shortage was limited to Australia. “Tulips are slow multipliers and they’re difficult to grow,” Mr Roberts-Thompson said. “Difficulties with quarantine and bringing bulbs into the country mean it’s a very challenging crop to start.”

Mr Roberts-Thompson said they were aiming to make the most of the tulip bulbs they had. “We’ve still got bulbs available for sale for gardeners. We’re trying to increase the area that we are growing into to help fill those gaps.”