Jan Ligthart, Self-Taught Tulip Breeder

Jan Ligthart

Most people who make their living in Holland's bulb business are born into it, following in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers. Jan Ligthart's father was a carpenter, not a bulb grower, so he has had to learn the ins and outs of the business himself through field experience and classes. Not having a head start in the bulb business doesn't seem to have held Jan back very much. Today he is considered one of the top tulip breeders in Holland.

Jan started in the bulb industry at the age of 14. After school he worked for a company that specialized in forcing bulbs for winter blooms. During the summer he worked out in the fields for various bulb growers. Jan eventually went to the Royal School of Horticulture and after graduation, continued to take classes in plant breeding. His commercial start in plant breeding happened at the age of 18 when he selected and bought three tulip seedlings from a grower. He named the tulip Strong Gold because of the vivid color, disease resistance and strong growth habit. It became so popular, that now more than 350 acres of Strong Gold are grown in Holland, and more than 100 growers are producing it worldwide.

Jan loves breeding tulips, even though it's a long-term proposition. Each year he plants 9 acres of new varieties. Of the more than 100,000 seedlings that grow the first year, he selects only about one thousand to be saved and replanted the next year. The rest are discarded. This process of elimination continues, until after 10 years of growing, selecting, harvesting and replanting, he is left with approximately 30 varieties from the original 100,000. After another 5 years of trials and building up stock, he will hope to bring five new varieties to the market. It is an arduous process, but Jan has been very successful. Today more than 30 of his tulip varieties are being grown commercially. When asked what he looks for when he's selecting new varieties, he says "the best quality bulbs need to have good disease-resistance, grow in healthy soil and be a vigorous variety."

The long wait for a market-ready tulip variety doesn't daunt Jan. He's now working on a third generation of the Strong Gold tulip and has bred other colors of that variety as well. He's always on the lookout for selections that bloom very early and will be good as a cut flower.

Some of Jan's other top tulip varieties include Washington, a bi-color Rembrandt tulip with a yellow base and red flames on the petals. It's considered one of the best Rembrandt tulips available today. The Friendship tulip is a solid yellow selection that has good disease resistance, multiplies well and makes a great cut flower. His Royal Acres tulip features double, deep-purple flowers on short, strong stems.

Jan has named some of his varieties after famous people. Laura Bush tulip is a pink selection named after the U.S. first lady. The Marjolein Bastin tulip is a triumph tulip named after the famous Dutch artist.

Jan has become so involved in his breeding efforts that he now has little time for growing. Ten years ago he formed a partnership with the Rooyakkers family. This allows him to focus on the breeding, while the Rooyakkers family grows out the market-ready varieties on a commercial scale.

Jan is currently working on a new red parrot tulip with white edging, as well as several other two-toned tulips. He is also working on the world's first blue tulip. Though he knows that a true-blue tulip probably isn't possible, he's also aware of how much people love blue flowers, and is trying to try to get as close as possible to that color.