Now that Holland bulbs are back again, there is a selection of the botanical tulips or species for every garden and enough other types to guarantee a flowering period from early April to the middle of May.
The Dutch bulb growers have maintained good stocks of all the better tulip species and developed more hybrids of superior quality.
Exciting Tulip Members
One of the most exciting members of the tulip family, and one that is becoming increasingly popular, is TULIPA KAUFMANNIANA, which is white tinted carmine with a golden base.
It is often called the waterlily tulip. However, many new kaufmanniana hybrids are now available in quantity, which deserves consideration.
CESAR FRANCK is a beautiful golden yellow kaufmanniana hybrid with a base spotted red, the outside carmine, and edged golden yellow.
ELLIOT has a large flower, red on cream. GAIETY is pure white inside, flushed red outside.
For an outstanding red on a sulfur ground, choose GLUCK, another interesting kaufmanniana hybrid.
SCARLET ELEGANCE is a uniformly brilliant scarlet. VIVALDI, a carmine with a yellow edge, has beautifully flecked brown foliage.
Kaufmanniana Hybrids
The kaufmanniana group is among the first to bloom the species of tulips.
Their flowers are carried on stems usually less than a foot high and are excellent for mass planting under trees or in front of evergreens.
They are naturalized in shady places in combination with Muscari Heavenly Blue.
Because of their short stems and vivid colorings, the kaufmanniana hybrids are also choice subjects for the rock garden or the front of the border.
They should be planted about 4” to 5” inches deep in late fall.
Gardeners will find them very trustworthy since they flower yearly under ordinary garden conditions.
They will grow in almost any soil with good drainage and sunlight.
Other Tulip Species
Another species that are attracting a pod deal of attention is the TULIPA FOSTERIANA.
It is bolder in form than kaufmanniana, and one of the family members, RED EMPEROR, is the most oversized and vividly colored of all scarlet tulips.
Other good fosteriana hybrids, however, have also been developed in Holland.
PRINCEPS is an excellent brilliant scarlet, DEFIANCE is a very large scarlet with a yellow base, and Ophelia a lovely red with petals that open very wide.
These flowers are carried on stems about 9 to 10 invites in height, though RED EmPEnon has a branch of 18” inches and its open flowers are 9” to 10” inches in diameter.
Tulips Wild Species
All of the wild species are beautiful and charming.
TULIPA CHRYSANTHA, which blooms during the first days of May, is yellow with the cherry outside, and its flowers grow a foot barely off the ground.
TULIPA DASYSTEMON is interesting because its bunch-flowering characteristic produces three to five small blooms on a stem; its colors are white and canary yellow.
TULIPA CLUSIANA, tiny and graceful, continues to be popular and is often known as the Lady Tulip. It is very reliable, especially in a rock garden, and provides lovely color during the early days of May.
TULIPA EICHLERI is a magnificent red species flowering in late April.
TULIPA PRAESTANS FUSILIER, a multi-flowered variety in brilliant orange scarlet, will strike a gay note in any border or rock garden.
These and several other species of tulips are well worth trying, and if you are interested in the unusual, you will do well to remember them when planting your tulips this fall.
44659 by Margaret Herbst