Species Tulips

Species Tulips are different from the hybridized garden tulips, seen in gardens world wide, in that they are less widely grown—and known—than the garden hybrids, and are unlikely to ever outsell or even approach their level of popularity. However, more and more species are becoming available each year.

Species tulips are frequently listed under the heading ‘botanical tulips’, which makes them sound dull or specialized, and probably difficult to grow. Tulip species are not difficult to grow and they are certainly not dull.

You do not have to buy species tulips new every year to guarantee flowers. Plant the bulbs in the right place and they will re-bloom year after year with colorful flowers, and, in time, may even increase by themselves to form sizeable colonies.

Tulip species are the starting point in the long story of the garden tulip and they are still out there, growing in the wild—in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. They are usually smaller and less bold than the garden hybrids, and extra care may be needed to grow some of them successfully, but they amaze with the intensity of their color and surprise with the size of their flowers. Growing in distant mountain ranges, hidden gorges, and remote meadows are plants that wouldn’t look out of place in the brightest, most flamboyant garden.

References

* Wilford, Richard. "Tulips: Species and Hybrids for the Gardener". Timber Press: Portland, 2006. ISBN 978-0-88192-763-4

ee also

*Tulips