Among my favorite of the dwarf tulip species, is the old
standby,
Tulipa tarda. The foliage is neat and a healthy green, a handsome
backdrop to the sunny "butter and
egg" colored flowers that
sit just clear of the foliage. The
bulbs produce 1-8 flowers per
bulb, accounting for it's floriferous habit. The flowers only
open in strong sun-light, and show olive-backed petals under
low light conditions. A Central Asian species.
This fine clump has been with me for about 10 years, and
always puts on a good show. The clump is interplanted
with Tulipa bakeri 'Lilac Wonder', which
blooms just after
Tulipa tarda flowers have gone by, thus extending the
utility of this planting by several weeks.
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From
Central Asia, in places like Kazakhstan. One of the few
members of the Biflores section of Tulipa. Sometimes two other
species; T. bifora and T. turkestanica, are put in synonymy
under T. tarda, but the latest taxonomic treatment I've read
maintains each as a distinct and valid species. One other
member of the Biflores section is the delightful Tulipa
polychroma.
Photos by Mark
McDonough
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