Do you know botanical tulips ? Not necessarily wild, but nevertheless often very close to the type species, this category of tulip shines with its simplicity. Less “worked” from a horticultural point of view than most ornamental varieties, these tulips are no less charming. Often smaller, they are also:
- easier to grow,
- more durable (they do not degenerate)
- more faithful (they are hardy and naturalize very easily),
- more natural.
Finally, they are often quite economical, which is a good point because, in the garden, it is planted in mass that they have the most effect.
In short, tulips to try urgently in the garden !
Tulip bakeri Lilac Wonder
This delicious dwarf tulip is proof that you can be small and still be an eye-catcher! For that, you just need to know how to shine… which this tulip does very well thanks to its sunny yellow heart, circled in pink tinged with lilac. It is a variety that will be perfect planted in groups of at least 30 bulbs, in beds or borders of beds, but also, in smaller quantities, in pots or spring planters.
- Flowering in: April
- Height: 15cm
- Soil: any, but well drained
- Exposure: sun
The late Tulip
Originally from Central Asia, this small tulip is particularly precocious . It shows, from the month of March, bright yellow flowers, dotted with white . Similar to small stars, the flowers are 4 to 6 per stem. They open wide and rest on shiny green foliage forming a compact and dense tuft. It is a variety that naturalizes quickly and will form dense patches in just a few years.
- Flowering in: March-April
- Height: 10 – 15 cm
- Soil: any, but well drained
- Exposure: sun
The Turkestan Tulip
Also native to Central Asia, as its name suggests, this other pluriflora botanical tulip shows between 7 and 9 flowers per stem . It flowers in March April and erects adorable little creamy white stars with a golden yellow heart . Awarded by the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) for its vigor and its ornamental character, this tulip is truly a “must have”. In the garden, it will be just as comfortable in the rock garden as it is in beds where it will multiply easily.
- Flowering in: late March- April
- Height: 15 – 20 cm
- Soil: light, well drained
- Exposure: sun
Tulip whittallii
A little larger, the whittallii botanical tulip is not often seen in gardens . Yet she is as faithful as she is easy to cultivate. It shows, in April – May, copper-orange red flowers, with slender petals which open in a perfect cup. It is a tulip that naturalizes well and can be planted in the lawn to form beautiful flower carpets.
- Flowering in: April – May
- Height: 30cm
- Soil: fertile, well drained
- Exposure: sun
Head to Head double humilis tulip
Here is an amazing variety that is distinguished by its double, generous, well-rounded flowers , but also by its pleasant, but rather indefinable fragrance. Red tinged with purple, its flowers display an intense color and reveal, when they open, a midnight blue heart. It blooms in March – April and each stem can bear up to 5 flowers. Short on legs, this tulip does not exceed 10-15 cm. Completely at ease in dry soil, this variety is ideal for rock gardens, but also pots where it will be particularly well developed.
- Flowering in: March – April
- Height: 15cm
- Soil: light, dry well drained
- Exposure: sun
In Tulipe humilis albocoaerulea oculata
Simply adorable, this very small tulip (no more than 10 cm) is unique in the color of its star-shaped flowers : a milky white, diaphanous and a midnight blue heart enlivened with steel reflections. Originally from Central Asia (Turkey, Iran), it is a very resistant tulip that does not fear drought. It naturalizes easily, even in poor soil. Its small format is very suitable for rock gardens, pots, planters… Do not hesitate, however, to install it, in groups, in your flower beds in the garden! It will form, in a few years, beautiful spots which will not fail to attract all eyes.
- Flowering in: March
- Height: 10cm
- Soil: light, dry well drained
- Exposure: sun
Lady Jane Clusiana Botanical Tulip
Dressed in a dress in shades of pink, ‘Lady Jane’ has a slender silhouette… Suffice to say that this “Tulipe des Dames” embodies a certain form of momentum! Lovely, it carries quite high (30 cm) its slender flowers. She shows them early in the spring, in March-April. Bright pink and soft pink on the outside, they reveal, when opened in the sun, a pure white interior with a small yellow center which brings out its black stamens. In the garden, it succeeds and multiplies easily, but shows, all the same, a preference for climates with humid springs and dry summers.
- Flowering in: March – April
- Height: 30cm
- Soil: any, well drained
- Exposure: sun
