Class 15: Other Botanical Tulips

This class includes species, variants, and hybrids derived from these wild tulips which are cultivated and sold commercially. To illustrate: a wild species of tulip might be called something like Tulipa batalini or Tulipa humilis. If someone has developed a cultivated variant, it might be named, for example, Tulipa batalinii Bright Gem or Tulipa humilis Persian Pearl.

Since the tulips in this class are wild, or close to wild, they typically naturalize extremely well (i.e. come back year after year and gradually multiply). As most tulips in this class are fairly short, they are absolutely ideal for rock gardens and containers. They also look wonderful when planted in large, one-colour flower beds ("drifts").

The following chart shows 10 of the several dozen wild species which are commercially available. Unless otherwise noted, all of the following species are hardy in zones 3 - 8, and should be planted at a depth of approximately 4 - 5" (10 - 12 cm) . A few species have a fragrance; I have indicated which ones by putting an asterisk (*) after the name.

Latin name	Flowering time	Height	Shape/colour	Notes	Cultivated varieties
Tulipa bakeri	late spring	5 - 8" (12 - 2 cm)	large blossoms in shades of purple	prefers zones 5 - 8	Lilac Wonder (lilac pink with yellow centre)
Tulipa batalini	mid to late spring	2 - 5" (5 - 12 cm)	wide pointed petals, narrow foliage	none	Bright Gem (butter yellow and orange), Red Gem (red)

Tulipa bakeri Lilac Wonder	Tulipa batalini Bright Gem	Tulipa batalini Bright Gem

Tulipa clusiana Cynthia	Tulipa clusiana Peppermint	Tulipa chyrsantha

Tulipa dasystemon	Tulipa hageri Splendens

Latin name	Flowering time	Height	Shape/colour	Notes	Cultivated varieties
Tulipa humilis	early spring	4 - 6" (10 - 15 cm)	shades of red and purple; narrow leaves often have red edges; has several cultivated varieties	synonym: Tulipa pulchella; one of lowest-growing tulips, hence name "humilis"	Eastern Star (rose with yellow centre), Persian Pearl (magenta with central gold star), Violacea (purple mauve with yellow centre), Violacea Black Base (reddish purple with black centre)

Tulipa humilis Eastern Star	Tulipa humilis Persian Pearl	Tulipa humilis Violacea Black Base

Latin name	Flowering time	Height	Shape/colour	Notes	Cultivated varieties
Tulipa linifolia	late spring	4 - 6" (10 - 15 cm)	low, almost fluorescent red flower, red-margined leaves	none	Red Gem (red), Yellow Jewel (yellow)
Tulipa sylvestris*	mid spring	4 - 8" (10 - 20 cm)	solid yellow flower	synonym: Tulipa florentine odorata; prefers zones 5b - 8a	none
Tulipa turkestanica	very early spring	8 - 10" (20 - 25 cm)	each stem has 12 creamy white flowers, with with yellow centres, blue-grey leaves	none	none

Tulipa sylvestris	Tulipa linifolia	Tulipa turkestanica