In Western Europe, tulip lovers favored a rounded, cup-shaped flower, well marked with contrasting colors. The tulip made its official transition to the West in the mid 1500s. A Flemish ambassador to Suleiman the Magnificent introduced it to Northern Europe and it was quickly taken up by the aristocratic gardeners of the age. Historically, the Northern European gardeners of the 16th century were a cross between people who wanted to put on a show and plant collectors with a greater or lesser degree of scientific purpose. The exotic plants from the East were curiosities as well as decoration.
Tulips pose a bit of a challenge for the cultivator.
Grown from seed, a tulip takes seven years to produce a flowering bulb. Moreover, seed does not tend to breed true. Bulbs, on the other hand, would provide offsets and these would bear the same characteristics as the parent bulb. The most highly prized tulips in Europe were breaks in which instead of a vivid, solid red or mauve, a tulip had a pattern against a background. These were rarities and could not be bred.