Tulip Bulbs - All

Tips for Tulips: Dwarf/Lily Varieties

Upright cups in a wide range of colours and shapes, bringing joy to any garden in the middle of spring- today we’re talking about tulips!

As their name suggests, Dwarf tulips are bred for their short stems, usually growing no higher than 25cm, but bloom no less vibrantly than any other tulip. Meanwhile, Lily-Flowering tulips are the plant with the greatest visual difference from other tulips- again, their name best describes their elegant shape.

Did You Know…?

Both Dwarf tulips and Lily tulips make excellent cut flowers. Tulips make for excellent cut flowers in general, as they’re hardy enough to continue growing in a vase for a little while, even after they’re cut!

How Best to Grow

The best choice for tulips in most situations is to plant them (at least 10cm deep) in rows or clusters of 10-15, in a sunny spot with humus-rich, free-draining soil. Best planted in the late autumn months. Lily-flowering tulips, though tall, are not highly wind-resistance, so it’s important to plant them in a place protected by the wind.

Our Picks

Dwarf tulips’ short height makes them an ideal pick for patio pots and similar containers. Alternatively, they’re a good height to place at the front of a border, scatter through a rockery, or outline a shrub!

• ‘Red Riding Hood’ is one of my personal favourite varieties: with simple-yet-gorgeous, variegated crimson petals and burgundy-striped foliage, it’s all the better to decorate your garden with, my dear!

• ‘Little Beauty’ is unusual in its shape, being more of a wide-open flower than a traditional cup-shaped tulip. Its outer petals are a lovely magenta-rose colour, with a beautiful blue centre.

Lily-flowering tulips are somewhat later bloomers and have taller, slender stems (around 50cm-70cm tall), and their gorgeous shape and a wide variety of colours make them popular as cut flowers or as part of a bouquet. Alternatively, place them as the centrepiece of a tall container.

• The stunning ‘Marilyn’ bears white and red petals that almost look like they have been painted- combined with its name, it’s hard not to think of it as an elegant lady with an amazing new frock!
   
• And for an effective single colour, ‘Merlot’ produces waxy, wine-red goblets which make a strong statement on their own, or alongside another coloured tulip. Cheers!

Tips for Tulips: Darwin/Triumph Varieties

Upright cups in a wide range of colours and shapes, bringing joy to any garden in the middle of spring- today we’re talking about tulips!

Darwin tulips are perhaps best noted for their large flower size and vibrant colouration. When crossbred with Single Early cultivars, you get Triumph Tulips: as their name suggests, they’re one of the best tulip varieties in terms of having a perfect balance of beauty and practicality, with an enormous range of colourations, many of which boast a neat and sophisticated air that make a bold statement in the garden!

Did You Know…?

Tulips have always been a highly popular plant. In fact, the popularity of tulips may have been responsible for the first-ever asset bubble: ‘tulip mania’ occurred in the early 1600s in the Dutch Republic, where the prices of tulips skyrocketed based on their popularity (at its height, the price of a tulip was estimated to be ten times that of highly-performing workers’ annual income!) before it abruptly crashed down in 1637.

How Best to Grow

Both types of tulip are to be grown in autumn and in similar conditions: rich, well-drained soil in full sunlight. Triumph tulips are the best flowers for forcing, whereas Darwin tulips are better for naturalising for a relatively long lifespan in your garden. Either variety makes for a delightful display in beds, borders and containers, and has the best visual impact in large groups.

Our Picks

Darwin hybrid tulips, as mentioned before, are especially large-flowering and tall, sturdy and long-lasting.

• ‘Daydream’ is a sunshine-y variation, with its younger petals blooming in a lemon yellow, but ageing beautifully into a warm, glowing orange!

• ‘Pink Impression’ bares blushing pink petals with a soft feathering of different shades. Its foliage has its own appeal too, with variegated leaves lined with gold.

• ‘Apeldoorn Elite’ burns bright with gold flowers streaked with ruby red.

• ‘Beauty of Apeldoorn’ has a striking scarlet-orange colouration, but is just as noteworthy due to its taller-than-average size and bold, lance-shaped foliage.

There are enough gorgeous cultivars of Triumph tulips to fill a garden all of their own! However, if you had to hear some potential picks for your garden, we’d recommend:

• ‘Jan Reus’, a great deep crimson bloom, that sits proudly on darkly stained stems. A dramatic and deep tulip for creating drama and depth
   
• ‘Cairo’ tulips are a burnt orange in colour, but their waxy sheen provides an unusual accent; in some lights, this flower can appear to have an almost metallic, brassy appearance