In our time, only some of the older and larger firms of Holland worked at originating new tulips before the 1930s.
After the thirties, perhaps to divert their thoughts from the daily misery and hatefulness of foreign occupation and war as much as anything else, scores of bulb growers interested themselves in creating and raising new varieties.
It is well that they did. For in addition to the fact that flower varieties fall out of fashion and must be replaced by new ones, the market for them grew large enough to absorb many novelties.
Though not all of the hundreds of varieties being produced are improvements on older ones, enough are to suit the dissimilar climates and preferences of all the different peoples of the world and their changing tastes.
Growing Tulips
In commenting briefly on some of the new garden varieties that I believe will tempt Americans, I draw on my own experience of nearly 30 years in the tulip business in Holland (from where I am convinced over 99 percent of all the tulips grown in the world come) and that of other Dutch hybridizers and growers.
Some wonderful tulips have been produced by crossing Tulipa fosteriana hybrids with Darwins. They have the species’ magnificent, glowing orange-red color, flower form, and long, strong stems of the Darwins and bloom between the latter and early varieties.
Because a larger acreage has been devoted to it, the first to be made available is the large, oval orange-scarlet with a yellow-edged black base named Apeldoorn.
But the following are even more desirable:
- Parade, a blazing scarlet-red
- Oxford, a vivid orange-scarlet with a very large yellow base
- Gen. Eisenhower, a superb scarlet
- Dover, a yellow-ringed oriental scarlet with a purple-black base
- Pres. Roosevelt, a darker-edged scarlet orange with a blue base
- London, the earliest of the lot, a scarlet with a yellow-margined blue base
Though somewhat older, the fairly early flowering of Holland’s Glory is splendid. Its large, dramatic orange flowers, formed like those of Advance but bigger, occur on very thick stems. Even three bulbs of this tulip are enough to make a spectacular sight.
Several varieties created from T. greige crossed with Darwins are outstanding, and Oriental Splendour and Margaret Herbst are glorious.
Imagine, if you please, large red or yellow and red blooms on yard-long stems with the form of greige and that species’ fascinating mottled leaves.
These hybrids are still too expensive for most gardeners but Dutch growers are doing their utmost to increase stock and consequently lower prices shortly.
Of the Eichler hybrids, I must mention Fantasma, an early-flowering, stunning red. This article would be incomplete if it were left out!
Flowering Time of Tulips
Besides species-inspired colors and large flowers, the most important characteristic of all the varieties named thus far is their blooming time.
They flower to fill the gap between Red Emperor (Madame Lefeber) and Darwin and other May flowering varieties.
Since they have not appeared on the market as yet, I will refrain from discussing the fine varieties obtained by crossing T. kaufmanniana with the late-flowering tulips.
I, however, will mention a mixture (called Peacock Tulips) produced from crossing T. kaufmanniana with T. greige.
Plants in this mixture flower very early and continue to flower for some time. Most of the —white, pink, red, and yellow—have the true lily form of kaufmanniana and the beautifully spotted leaves of greige.
Most are low-growing and, therefore, extremely suitable for rock gardens and other appropriate places about the grounds needing splashes of color early in the season.
Double Late
As a class, the Double Late Tulips, forever my favorites, are still more or less new. There are scores of them in all tints and shades.
Some of the older ones that I prefer because they are both sturdy and unique are:
- The clear old-rose Eros
- Bright cherry pink Livingston
- White Mount Tacoma
- Deep golden-yellow Royal Yellow
- Glossy maroon-red Uncle Tom
The best of the newer varieties, in my opinion, are the following:
- White-based, deep Tyrian-purple lined with a light lilac-purple Clara Carder
- Blue-based, blood-red Eroica
- Tea-rose orange Myth
- Soft orange Orange Triumph overlaid with brown-orange and edged with a narrow golden band
- Warm orange-scarlet Rocket
- Muted sulfur-yellow Grand National paling to cream and ivory
- Clear lilac Lilac Queen
- Heavy brown with large clear yellow edge Mercato
- White-edged cherry-red Lord Derby
- Glowing, velvety red Red Ace
- Pale chrome-yellow, scarlet-striped Nizza
Parrots
I described the Parrots, still increasing in numbers, in October 1953, Popular Gardening, and will not do so again at this time. Still, I will name one or two of the numerous enchanting new varieties in other classes now available to gardeners.
Although I may revise my opinion, I now believe that by their unusual coloring, form, or some other quality that sets them apart, the varieties named below should have a great future in the U.S.A.
The lovely Garden Party is a sculptured white Triumph with a glowing deep pink edge that is utterly captivating and an improvement in every way on the good old Pink Beauty.
Of the Darwins, I find Sweet Harmony, an ivory-white margined lemon-yellow, exceptional. Another extraordinary one (a sport of the Darwin Eclipse) is ECLIPSE-bordered-leaf.
Its blood-red petals are striped on opening and a uniform red when fully open. Its leaves are distinguished by a white margin, making the plant interesting long before it flowers.
Of the Cottage Tulips, one of the most charming and remarkable is a green-striped dull lilac rose called Artist.
It is low and late-flowering and probably has Viridiflora Praecox blood in it. Rosy Wings, a deep rose Cottage, is outstanding for its long, elegantly formed blossoms.
Lily-Flowered
Some of the latest and finest introductions in that very gracious class of tulips known as:
- Lily-flowered are the white-edged lilac Maytime
- Large soft pink Marietta
- Smart, sophisticated Queen of Sheba
- A brown with a yellow edge
- White-based red Fire Lily
- Clear white White Triumphator
- Glowing, fiery red Scarlet Flame with darker shadings on the outside of its petals
Images:
Maytime’s soft lilac petals are trimmed with white borders. It is one of the most graceful, most beautiful Lily-flowered varieties.
A wide border of tulips in variety. Rosy Wings (foreground) is a lovely rose Cottage distinguished for its elegant, perfectly formed blooms.
Orange Triumph—one of the very tempting new classes called Double Late Tulips, which the author so favors—is a soft, subtle orange overlaid with brown-orange and edged with a narrow band of gold
A robust clump of Eros, an older Double Late variety against Oriental poppies. Eros, a clear old rose, has immense, very double, long-lasting blooms.
44659 by George Aten