New tulip named after the American Ambassador to the Netherlands

The American Ambassador to the Netherlands, Ms Shefali Razdan Duggal, has been honoured with a tulip named after her. She attended a ceremony at Keukenhof Castle on 8 March – International Women’s Day – to pour champagne over a vase with ‘Shefali’ tulips.

The pink Tulipa ‘Shefali’ tulip comes was bred by Maveridge International from St. Maarten and is the result of an extensive project, which began in 2009 with the aim to create strong and disease resistant tulips.

Ambassador Shefali Razdan Duggal was thrilled to have a tulip named after her. She said, “The tulip is a beautiful flower which has been cherished and loved for centuries and so positively represents the Kingdom of the Netherlands.”

The name giving ceremony coincided with International Women’s Day, a cause close to the Ambassador’s heart. “Throughout history, women been forced to overcome gender bias and discrimination, and we have worked hard and continue to work hard to reach milestones. We do this for ourselves and for future generations of women to be seen, to be heard, to be included and to be empowered.”

The Shefali tulip is the outcome of a cross between the Tulipa ‘Lucky Strike’ and an excellent cut tulip. Lucky Strike is resistant to fusarium and so is its ‘Shefali’ offspring.

An added bonus is that the variety is easy to grow and propagates well. A rough estimate is that within 5 to 7 years several hundred thousand bulbs will be available for greenhouse flower forcing.

Ambassador Shefali Razdan Duggal is an advocate for inclusive women’s rights and is an “International Gender Champion. Ambassador Razdan Duggal: “Advancing gender equity and equality is a critical matter of inclusion, justice, and fairness. As was famously stated at the 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women, evolving around the theme ‘Women’s rights are human rights’.”