Who doesn’t love the wide world of tulips that will be soon on display at your favorite public garden? How would you like to create something similar in your home garden, albeit on a slightly smaller scale? It’s not that difficult, and it’s definitely worth the effort.

In this article, Jean Starr, one of the top contributors at PlantersPlace.com, discusses the various types of tulips and how to shop for each including some of the best online sources that are taking orders now.

It is hard not to be in awe of the beauty found in these flowers. Their colors range from vivid crayon shades to pastel and they come in forms that run the gamut from parrot and lily-flowered to fringed, double and multi-flowering. There are tall ones, short ones, and even mid-sized ones. Some tulip varieties appear early and others quite a bit later.

The Problem with Tulips – One Hit Wonders!

In Jean Starr’s view, tulips are the ultimate luxury — kind of like a wedding gown — you only wear it once and during a ‘memorable ceremony’. In the first year after planting, a tulip’s beauty is unquestioned. However, if you leave it to bloom again in subsequent years, its evil twin returns — distorted, dwarfed and pale.

It’s admittedly difficult for ordinary gardeners to discard these previously beautiful plants. But that is just what the professionals at the botanical gardens do. Once the spring bulb displays are complete, gardeners pull the tulips up by the thousands in preparation for the next display. Mimicking the pros is pretty much impractical for the typical home gardener.

Varieties That Are Truly Perennials

Instead, home gardeners – even those in the passionate category – want more than a one-year commitment from their tulips. Fortunately, there are options. “We find that Darwin hybrids are the best for re-blooming, large-blossom tulips,” says Lorraine Calder of White Flower Farm. “Species tulips – another variety – are smaller-flowered and are also good repeat bloomers since they are so closely related to their native cousins.”

Kathleen LaLiberté of Longfield Gardens concurs. “Even for Darwin hybrids to come back more than a couple years, they need to be planted in an ideal spot that’s similar to where they would have grown in the wild: winters are cold, summers are hot and dry, and the soil is gritty and well-drained.”

There are no guarantees that these tulips make good perennials, able to return and even multiply each year. But there are some that are much more likely than others if planted according to label directions. According to Atlanta Botanical Garden, Tulipa clusiana, Tulipa tarda, and Tulipa kaufmanniana (in particular “Red Riding Hood”) come back year after year and multiply if planted in the correct spot.

Three varieties that have been coming back in my garden each year since 2013 are ‘Analita’, ‘Exotic Emperor’ and ‘Honky Tonk’.

‘Analita’ and ‘Exotic Emperor’ are varieties of Tulipa fosteriana, a wild species of tulip found in mountainous areas of Central Asia. These also go by ‘Emperor Tulips’. Fosteriana Tulips have the ability to return year after year.

‘Honky Tonk’ is a named variety of the species Tulipa batalinii. Native to Uzbekistan, this division of tulip typically produces single, soft yellow flowers on 6 -10” stems in April. It’s one of the best naturalizers, increasing in numbers to the point where I’ve divided them to plant in more places. Their narrow leaves make them easier to blend into the background when they’ve finished blooming. One of the best mixers for ‘Honky Tonk’ has been Grecian windflower (Anemone blanda) with its low-growing daisy-shaped blossoms that bloom at the same time as ‘Honky Tonk’.

Planting Annuals with Tulips

For those hoping for another tulip show next spring, planting annuals in the bed is a good way to disguise the dying tulip foliage. It’s best, however to select annuals that don’t require lots of moisture. Good choices would be Salvia, Euphorbia, Cosmos, Bachelor’s buttons, Cleome, Dusty miller, globe amaranth (Gomphrena), or blue thimble flowers.

Perennials That Work with Tulips

You can grow dozens of perennial plants among the tulips. Lorraine Calder recommends Bergenia,  perennial Geranium, Myosotis sylvatica, Ajuga. Phlox subulata or Sedum ‘Angelina’. An interesting trial was conducted by Cornell University Department of Horticulture in Ithaca, NY (Hardiness zone 5), in which spring blooming bulbs were combined with established perennials to determine whether the two would be compatible planting companions. The trials were planted fall of 2004 at the Bluegrass Lane Research Facility; flowering and timing data were collected in 2005-2007.

The Time to Order Tulips Is Now (spring)

Whether you choose the “one hit wonders” of the tulip world, or the species tulips that are likely to come back each year, planting a few or a few dozen tulip bulbs this fall is an easy enough exercise. But while the tulips are fresh in the ground and fresh in your mind, it’s a good idea to order them. As you visit botanical gardens to see the magnificent spring bulb displays, make notes and take photos so you will remember what captured your attention. The bulbs won’t arrive until fall, so you might want to make a note after you order as a reminder.

Analita Tulips / Parrot Tulips / White Tulips (l to r) – photos by Jean Starr 

Five Unusual Tulip Types: (courtesy of ibulb.org)

1. Fringed Tulips: These also go by ‘orchid tulips’. What makes flowers in this group exceptional are their serrated petals. They are 16 to 24 inches tall and bloom from the end of April until far into May. ‘Curley Sue’, ‘Lambada’ and ‘Bell Song’ are some of the well-known cultivars in this group.
2. Lily-flowered Tulips: Characteristic of all the lily-flowered tulips are their slender elegant flowers with pointed petals. Tulips in this group bloom in May and are 20 – 24 inches tall. The lily-flowered group is small. Its most familiar members are ‘Ballade’, ‘Ballerina’ and ‘White Triumphator’.
3. Parrot Tulips: Parrot tulips are single-flowering tulips. They are famous for their fascinating flowers with deeply incised petals. Exposed to hours of sunshine, the petals of these large flowers open all the way to look like saucers. They have a height of 16 to 24 inches and bloom in May. Cultivars included in this group are ‘Apricot Parrot’ and ‘Rococo’.
4. Rembrandt Tulips: The name given to this group tells something about their origin: they were all the rage in Rembrandt’s time. Back then, painters often included them in paintings and referred to them as ‘broken tulips’. In those days, a virus caused the unique feathered patterns on their petals. You can find the descendants of ‘virus-bearing’ Rembrandt tulips in historic collections, but are not commercially available. But for those who love the look of Rembrandt tulips, breeders have found a solution: bulbs with the same feathered patterns on their petals but without the virus. Good examples are ‘Rems Favourite’, ‘Zurel’, and ‘Sorbet’.
5. Viridiflora Tulips: ‘Virida’ is derived from Viridis, which is Latin for ‘green’. The outer petals of a viridiflora tulip are still entirely green when they begin to open. The longer they remain in flower, the more their second color is revealed. Viridiflora tulips start blooming in May and stay active for a surprisingly long time. They are 8 to 20 inches tall. The most familiar in this group are ‘China Town’, ‘Artist’ and ‘Spring Green’.

Tulip Planting Tips

Lorraine Calder, of White Flower Farm, offers some planting tips for Zones 3 through 5:

• Purchase bulbs from a reputable source who keeps bulbs cool (heat impacts spring blossom size).
• Wait until soil has cooled in the fall before planting. I wait until October in Z5, but of course it depends on the weather.
• Full sun and good drainage are very important.
• Pack the bulbs in! We are all given only so many springs to enjoy these beautiful bulbs!
• Protect against rodents – we successfully use oyster shells or bulb cages.
• If you garden in a deer zone, spray buds when emerging with organic deer repellent.

Planting Depth

No matter which type of tulip you choose, one of the details to keep in mind is planting depth. LaLiberté recommends sticking with the recommended depth, which is typically around three times the height of the bulb. Check the package instructions for each variety. Winter temperature variations can heave bulbs out of the ground if you don’t plant them deep enough. Even if you remove the bulbs after blooming, for the best show, you should stick to the prescribed depth.

How to Avoid Diseases

Tulip bulbs are susceptible to some fungal diseases. “If you plan to replant tulips in the same place (where they have been grown previously), it’s best to dig out the bulbs each spring. That way the old bulbs aren’t sitting around inviting disease problems,” says LaLiberté. “If no more tulips will be going in, just cut off the foliage and the bulbs will decay over the course of the growing season.”

Tulips Don’t Like Too Much Moisture

These flowers love a long, hot summer. They prefer to whither in place. They also reap the benefits of photosynthesis through their leaves. What they don’t love is too much moisture and supplemental fertilizer.

Tulip Tidbits

• New introductions take 20 years to go from seedling to the point when there are enough bulbs to be offered for sale.
• Newer varieties have fragrance. Fragrant double-flowered tulips are ‘Cheryl’ and ‘Orca’. Old House Gardens offers seven heirloom tulips with scent.
• According to Old House Gardens), the term ‘perennializing’ means the bulbs will behave like perennials, coming back year after year and multiplying under-ground. ‘Naturalizing’ means the bulbs will multiply by seed, with little or no care. As a result, tulips with this characteristic usually spread further and faster.

Sources for Tulip Bulbs

Most of the following online sources are taking orders now for bulbs and will ship them at the proper fall planting time.

• American Meadows
• Breck’s
• Brent & Becky’s Bulbs
• Dutch Grown
• Old House Gardens
• Longfield Gardens (pre-orders start mid-April)
• White Flower Farm (fall-planted bulb orders will be taken beginning late summer)