Most people associate spring with the vibrant colors and diverse shapes offered by the wide varieties of spring-flowering bulbs. According to the International Flower Bulb Centre in Holland, the number of bulbs exported from the Netherlands has steadily increased every year due to the successful promotional programs run by the Centre as well as the growing interest of the general public for colorful flowers in early spring. A significant portion of the bulbs are forced in the greenhouse for cut flower production. Americans purchased more than 83 million cut tulips each year. Of that, 24 million stems were grown in the US and the remaining 59 millions stems were shipped from Holland (Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center in Brooklyn, NY).