Grand scale deceit on Amsterdam Flower Market

Research shows that only 1% of the tulip bulbs sold on the Amsterdam Flower Market grow into flowering tulips.

Also, all of the flowers that come out don't look like the flowers on the packaging.
This is shown by research carried out by the City of Amsterdam, in cooperation with the Royal General Bulb Growers' Association.

The investigators bought 1,364 flower bulbs last April, and planted all of them. Only 14 of the bulbs started to flower, amounting to a deplorable 1 percent.

Furthermore, not all of the tulip bulbs sold were actually tulips, but other bulbs. Also, some of the packaging promised to contain blue and black tulips. Tulips that are blue or black don't exist. Some of the packages contained less bulbs than promised.

In other words, if you would like to buy tulips or other flower bulbs as a souvenir, the Flower Market is best avoided completely. It's a major tourist trap.
The outcome of the investigation surprises no one; earlier research pointed in the same direction.

THe same problem appears to occur with bulbs sold along the highways to the tulip fields, in full bloom, in April/May, that attract large numbers of tourists, both domestic and international.

Bulbs are generally best bought in flower shops or garden centers outside the city centre.