Tulipa in the Cascadia Garden

Tulipa vvendenskyi 'Tangerine Beauty' March 2010

Tulipa turkestanica March 2009

Tulipa 'Golden Apeldoorn' April 2010

Tulipa 'Little Princess' April 2010

 Tulipa batalinii ‘Apricot Jewel’ May 2009

I think tulips are beautiful, almost all of them.  I have a particular fondness for species tulips.  Perhaps this is because they are small & cute.  But it is certainly because they have more staying power than hybrids.  While almost every hybrid tulip I have planted has dwindled & disappeared, many species tulips have increased in numbers.  The only hybrid tulip that has lasted for me is Tulipa 'Golden Apeldoorn' which has remained for more than 20 years.  Tulipa dasystemon & Tulipa turkestanica have increased dramatically, while most of the rest have expanded slowly.  I have lost a few species tulips after their position changed from sun to shade.  The fact that tulips require no irrigation is a big plus.  Tulipa turkestanica is a very early bloomer.  Most tulips are native to Turkey & central Asia, with few extending west into Europe in the Caucasus, Balkans & Crete.  I ordered my tulips from John Scheepers, Inc. & McClure & Zimmerman. The most beautiful book I own is Tulipa: A Photographer's Botanical.  The list below includes bloom times.

List of Tulipa in the Cascadia Garden (with bloom times)

Tulipa batalinii ‘Apricot Jewel’  4-22-10, 5-03-09
Tulipa clusiana var. chrysantha  3-26-09, 4-15-08
Tulipa dasystemon  3-26-10, 4-16-09 4-18-08
Tulipa eichleri  3-01-10, 3-26-09
Tulipa 'Golden Apeldoorn'  4-04-10, 4-17-09
Tulipa humilis ‘Persian Pearl’
Tulipa kaufmanniana
Tulipa kolpakowskiana  3-16-08
Tulipa linifolia  4-29-08
Tulipa ‘Little Princess’  4-03-10, 4-20-09, 4-21-08
Tulipa orphanidea ‘Flava’  4-20-09, 4-15-08
Tulipa praestans ‘Zwanenburg’  3-26-10, 4-09-09, 3-30-08
Tulipa saxatilis
Tulipa turkestanica  2-21-10, 3-17-09, 3-6-08
Tulipa vvedenskyi ‘Tangerine Beauty’  4-16-09, 4-15-08