FEBRUARY 3, 2024 ROWENA MCDERMOTT, Owner of Moonstruck Farms has been farming in Southern California for over 30 years.
How Many Types of Tulips are There?
Tulips comes in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors in 12 different categories with different bloom times throughout the season.
What are the Different Types of Tulips?
- Emperor/Fosteriana
- Greigii
- Double Early
- Single Early
- Darwin Hybrid
- Triumph
- Fringed
- Lily Flowered
- Viridiflora
- Parrot
- Double Late
- Single Late
What is a Emperor/Fosteriana Tulip?
Emperor/Fosteriana Tulips comes primarily in yellow, red and orange, and are goblet shaped with a pointy tip, and one of the first tulips to bloom in the fields. With its crisp ivory color and striking green the Exotic Emperor or Fosteriana is a perfect early bloom for your tulip garden.
What is a Greiggi Tulip?
One of the shorter tulips coming in around 12" with one main bloom and up to two additional side shoot blooms these a rare tulip seen in showcase gardens. One of the most striking tulips in the garden though on the short side the Red Riding Hood Greiggi Tulip with its brilliant red and variegated leaves and black heart is a must have for the gardens and will be available Fall 2024.
What is a Double Early Tulip?
Beautiful cupped tulips resembling a peony in a multitude of colors yielding a somewhat shorter stem, but absolutely brilliant breathtaking blooms. The Columbus Double Early is a perfect example of this with their brilliant pink multiple petals fringed with white.
What is a Single Early Tulip?
The Single Early tulip is a good choice for garden beds and forcing indoors. Similar to the Triumph tulip, but blooming weeks earlier. With its soft sherbet-like apricot color the single Apricot Single Early Tulip is a must for your cutting garden and forcing for indoor blooms.
What is a Darwin Hybrid Tulip?
A Darwin Hybrid tulip is one of the largest tulips in the garden with a relatively early bloom time in the Spring, and is a cross between single late tulips and early emperor tulips. An example would be the Akebono Tulip with its large stately yellow blooms fringed with green and red.
What is a Triumph Tulip?
A Triumph Tulip is used in the hydroponic industry, and provides many of the early tulips you see in the stores. Triumphs comes in a wide-variety of colors including strips and bi-colors. Sunrise Dynasty is one of my favorite Triumph Tulips with its blend of orange, red and yellow.
What is a Fringed Tulip?
A single tulip blooming later in the season with the top of its petals fringed, and sometimes blending colors. With its soft sherbert colors Brisbane is a picture-perfect fringed tulip.
What is a Lily-Flowered Tulip?
A Lily Flowered tulip often blooms alongside the Fringed tulips bringing a wide petal pattern with the petals flaring outward on a tall single bloom stem. Perfect for the mountains and sheltered areas from the wind the Claudia Tulip brings an almost fairytale aspect to your gardens.
What is a Virdiflora Tulip?
Another tulip whose petals flare out, and come in a variety of colors, but always maintain the green streaking that is characteristic of a Virdiflora tulip. With its vibrant pink and permanent green streaks on the petals the Virdiflora tulips are always one of my favorites, but the "Dolls Minuet" is one I am looking forward to planting in Fall 2024.
What is a Parrot Tulip?
Making one of the boldest statements in the garden the Parrot tulip comes in a number of bold colors with a wide base and twisting petals appearing almost fringed on each petal. The DeeJay Parrot is a prime example of the bold colors that they are available in.
What is a Double Late Tulip?
Slightly fragrant with large peony-style blooms these are often some of the most striking blooms grown by small farms, but not seen in stores. With its vivid orange large striking blooms the Queensday Double Late Tulip is a prime example.
What is a Single Late Tulip?
With its traditional single tall, but enormous blooms the Single Late tulip provides blooms much later in the season and is heat-tolerant providing long-lasting tulips perfect for cutting later in the season. Blushing Lady is a beautiful bicolor example of a Single Late Tulip and will stand tall and strong in your gardens.
Sources:
Floret Library - https://library.floretflowers.com/collections/tulips
Longfield Gardens - https://www.longfield-gardens.com/article/tulips-by-bloom-time#:~:text=12%20Types%20of%20Tulips%20and,many%20others%20bloom%20in%20between.
North Carolina Extension - https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/tulipa-greigii/