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One of the best ways to keep your spring garden blooming is by planting bulbs that bloom at different times.  The possibilities are endless.  In fact you can plant only tulips if you like and still have staged blooms.  Look for these in your favorite catalogs and at local retailers:

Early Bloomers

  • Single Early Tulips are among the earliest tulips to bloom.  The flowers, available in a wide range of colors, are produced on strong, 10 to 18-inch-long stems.  The flowers of several varieties have a sweet fragrance.  Single early tulips are excellent for rock gardens, beds, and forcing.
  • Double Early Tulips produce semi-double to double, peony-like flowers.  The flowers, measuring up to 4 inches in diameter, are borne on strong, short stems.  The color range of double early tulips is smaller than for most other tulip classes.
  • Greigii Tulips are noted for their brightly-colored flowers and purple striped or mottled foliage.  Plant height varies from 8 to 12 inches.  Because of their short stature, Greigii tulips are excellent choices for borders or rock gardens.
  • Kaufmanniana Tulips are long-lived perennial tulips.  In sunlight, the flowers open fully.  The open flowers resemble a star or water lily.  Flower colors include white, yellow, pink, and intermediary colors.  The foliage is bluish green or chocolate brown striped.  Kaufmanniana tulips are small plants with an average height of 4 to 8 inches.  Their compact size makes them good choices for border edges and rock gardens.
  • Fosteriana Tulips produce some of the largest flowers of the genus.  They also perennialize well.  'Red Emperor' is a widely grown variety in this class.  Fosteriana tulips are sometimes referred to as emperor tulips.
  • Species Tulips include wild species, horticultural varieties, and hybrids.  Most are early blooming, short-statured plants.  Species tulips are available in a wide array of colors.  They perennialize well and are excellent plants for rock and heirloom gardens.

Middle Bloomers

These tulips will bloom after the early bloomers but just before the late bloomers.  Careful planning will pay off next spring with a continuously blooming tulip garden.

  • Darwin Hybrid Tulips are highly prized for their large, brilliant flowers.  Flowers are available in shades of red, pink, orange, and yellow.  Blooms are borne on strong stems which are up to 30 inches tall.  Darwin hybrid tulips often bloom well for several years, making them one of the better perennial tulips.
  • Triumph Tulips produce cup-shaped flowers on strong, medium-length stems.  Average plant height is 10 to 16 inches.  This is the largest class of tulips and offers the widest range of flower colors.  Triumph tulips are excellent for forcing.
  • Parrot Tulips have deeply feathered, curled, or twisted petals.  Flowers may be single or multi-colored.  Many varieties have a green spot at the base of their petals.  Parrot tulips are sensitive to poor weather and should be planted in a protected spot.
Late Bloomers

  • Single Late Tulips incorporate the former Darwin, cottage, and breeder tulips.  Along with the Darwin hybrid tulips, they are some of the tallest tulips.  Flowers are borne on stems up to 30 inches tall and available in a wide range of colors.
  • Double Late Tulips are often referred to as peony-flowered tulips.  The many-petaled flowers are borne on 12 to 20 inch stems.  Plant double late tulips in protected locations as the large flowers can be damaged by rain and strong winds.
  • Viridiflora Tulips produce long-lasting flowers which have prominent green markings on their petals.  The unusual flower characteristics make it a novelty item in the garden.
  • Lily-flowering Tulips have long pointed petals which arch outward, the flowers somewhat resembling a lily.  Flower colors include white, pink, red, yellow, and purple. Several varieties have petals edged or feathered in contrasting colors.  Plants grow to a height of 20 to 30 inches.
  • Fringed Tulips have flowers with elegant fringed petals. Many varieties are mutants of single late tulips.  Also known as "crispa tulips."
  • Rembrandt Tulips produce striped or "broken" blooms. The white, yellow, or red petals are striped with red, bronze, or purple.  These types were bought for huge sums during the "tulip mania" in Holland in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.  The unusual markings were actually caused by a virus.  Due to the virus, the original Rembrandt tulips are no longer sold.  However, there are several modern, virus-free Rembrandt tulips available.
  • Multi-flowering Tulips produce 3 to 7 blooms per stem.  The main stem of multi-flowering tulips branches into secondary stems.  Each secondary stem produces a flower.  The flower on the main stem is slightly larger than those on the secondary stems.  Many of the multi-flowering cultivars belong to the single late tulip class.  These tulips are 14- to 20-inch-tall plants which bloom late in the season.  Several varieties are multi-flowering Greigii tulips which are 8 to 12 inches tall and early blooming.

Species Tulips

It's a sad and sometimes frustrating fact that hybridized tulips "burn-out" every few years or so.  You might be surprised to know that species tulips are not prone to burn-out and will return to the garden every spring for many years.  Now don't be mistaken, species tulips are different than hybrids.  They perform best in rock garden-like locations, require full sun, and well-drained, almost gravelly soils that drain quickly between rains.  

Species tulips are smaller in size than their hybrid relatives.  Most grow just 4 to 12 inches in height and do not like the competition of other plants around them.  Species tulips spread by self sown seeds or stolons.  Many have foliage which is mottled or gray to blue green in color.  They also offer more in the way of bloom.  Many have multiple blooms per stem, some have up to seven!

Interested?  Some species to try include:

  • Tulipa batalinii has soft yellow, fragrant flowers appearing in early spring.  It grows just 5 inches tall.
  • Tulipa clusiana grows 10 to 12 inches tall and blooms in early spring.  The flowers have a white interior with a crimson central star and a pink exterior.  It naturalizes very well.
  • Tulipa greigii comes in pink, yellow, orange, red, buff, cream, and apricot.  It grows 8 to 12 inches tall and blooms in mid-spring.  The blossoms are large - 4 to 5 inches when fully open.
  • Tulipa kaufmanniana grows 6 to 8 inches tall and is available in a wide variety of colors.  It blooms in early spring.
  • Tulipa linifolia grows 4 to 6 inches tall with brilliant red flowers.
  • Tulipa pulchella is a tiny plant growing 3 to 5 inches tall.  It has violet purple fragrant flowers in early spring.
  • Tulipa saxatillis naturalizes readily.  The flowers, lavender-pink with a yellow base, appear mid-spring.  Plants grow 6 to 8 inches tall.
  • Tulipa sylvestris grows 10 to 12 inches tall with fragrant yellow flowers.  Flowers occur 3 to 7 per stem.
  • Tulipa tarda flowers are yellow with white tips.  Plants grow 4 to 6 inches tall.  This tulip is easy to grow!
  • Tulipa turkestanica has cream colored flowers occurring 3 to 5 per stem.  Flowers appear in early spring.  Plants grow 5 to 8 inches tall.

All the species tulips listed above are hardy in zones 4 through 7 with the exception of Tulipa pulchella and Tulipa turkestanica which are hardy in zones 5 to 8.  All should do fine in the greater Kansas City area.

When preparing the site, amend the area several inches wider and deeper than the bulbs will occupy with sand or gravel.  Planting on a gentle slope or in a raised bed assures good drainage.  Plant the bulbs 5 to 8 inches deep.  Species tulips are also suitable for planting in containers.

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