Tulip Flowers
Triumph, Fosteriana, Viridiflora, Double Early and Parrot Tulips
Which Tulips make the best cut flowers? Which are the stars of the spring garden? Read on to find out.
Hundreds of years of Tulip breeding have produced some surprising results. Fifteen official Tulip Classes now include fringed Tulips, multi-colored Tulips, striped Tulips and Tulips with big frilly blooms. Here are some of them.
Triumph Tulips
These are versatile plants. Silky, old-fashioned, cup-shaped blooms on strong flexible stems make them great for cut flowers, forcing and for windy flowerbeds. Colors include purple, apricot, white, red and yellow. Some are fragrant. They flower in late April and early May and they grow to about 20 inches (50cm).
Fringed Tulips
Still rare but getting more popular every day, these eccentric Tulips have frayed edges. The long-lasting blooms suit borders and vases equally. They grow to 20 inches (50 cm) and flower in May.
Fosteriana Tulips
A popular early flowering mid-height single Tulip with neat closed buds flattening into graceful wide-petaled flowers in vivid shades of pink, yellow orange, white and red. Good for cut flowers, naturalizing and for borders. Leaves are green or greyish green and height is from 8 inches (20cm) to 18 inches (45cm). Some are fragrant.
Viridiflora Tulips
Green streaks characterize the flowers of these Tulips. For example, Tulipa 'Spring Green' has a base color of soft yellow fading to ivory that blends seamlessly with a single pale green streak on each petal. It's a favorite of flower arrangers. These Tulips also bloom for longer than just about any other. They flower in May and grow to between 14.5 inches (36 cm) and 24 inches (60 cm).
Parrot Tulips
Much too over-the-top for some gardeners but loved by others, these extravagant tulips have crumpled curly petals bunched into big blousy blooms. Some are scented. They grow to between 16 inches (40cm) and 24 inches (60cm) and flower in May. Blooming late, they're good for extending the tail end of a Tulip display and make for a luxurious display when densely planted en masse.
Double Late (Paeony Flowered) Tulips
Another flashy Tulip, but this time bearing huge, frilly, tightly packed petals. With long-lasting flowers appearing from mid to late May, they will carry a Tulip display into early summer. They grow to 18-24 inches (45-60cm) and have quite a delicate constitution.
Double Early Tulips
Double Early Tulips grow to around 14 inches (35 cm) and flower from early to mid April. If you are impatient to see their colorful blooms, they can be "forced" to flower indoors in pots. They don't like the cold.
Rembrandt Tulips
The original flamed Tulips that sent men mad during the tulipmania of the seventeenth century. They are now obsolete as garden plants.
