Tulips , members of theTulipagenus , come in in many different sort . Not certain how to tell which is which , or where to begin ?

If you ’re a tulip - buff who ’s quick to exposit your knowledge about the specific of the many different species and cultivars out there , or you ’re plainly looking for a few newfangled case to add to your springtime flower bed this nightfall , this is the pathfinder for you !

To begin , tulips are class in15 different groups , or divisions .

A horizontal image of different types of tulips growing in a field in a variety of colors.

‘Aafke’

Each of these segmentation has a number , and a name . These are n’t like college sport segmentation , so the numerical order here is irrelevant – we ’re not talk about compare the most militant and award - win to the miserable quality and least decorated flowers or anything like that .

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Their order , Division 1 versus Division 3 , for exemplar , might be an demented mashup in the world of college rugby , but this is n’t an indicator of character or deserving when we ’re talking about tulips .

A close up vertical image of different colored varieties of tulips. To the top and bottom of the frame is green and white printed text.

‘Aafke’

Instead , the name of each class is what ’s important here . Tulips are categorized in these sectionalization found on common characteristics that they deal , include similarities in flower configuration and origin .

More like college clubs , you ’ve got the Gallic club over there , with their frou - frou feathered petals , and the nontextual matter story geek gathered in the court with their striped bloom .

Or something like that .

A close up vertical image of different colored varieties of tulips. To the top and bottom of the frame is green and white printed text.

There are over 150 different species in theTulipagenus , withover 3,000 different varieties registered to appointment , and more to come as flora breeders continue make new hybrids .

That ’s a tidy sum of tulip to sort through ! How will you ever make your selections ?

Well , though there are occasionally some outlier , most divisions have an average height range that ’s common among all the appendage .

A close up horizontal image of red and yellow tulips growing in the garden pictured on a soft focus background.

Some also have an average look salad days time – in early or late spring . But there are character that bloom in mid - spring as well , of course of study , and divisions that have plenty of other things in commonexceptfor when they deign to show their true color .

Petal colour , that is .

You ’ll find miniature types that are perfect for careen garden or moulding , as well as towering tall ones , many with uncompromising stems that are excellent for use of goods and services in cut arrangements .

A close up horizontal image of red and yellow tulips growing in the garden, surrounded by foliage.

Some are well suitable to naturalise than others , for a more uncivilized , scattered look that spreads throughout your landscape with repeat bursts of blooms year after year . Some feature a sweet and alluring odour , while others are n’t known for their scent .

And how about bloom shape and appearance ? That ’s fundamental to partition membership ! Most of the meter .

Some type have petals that open wide in the sunshine while others have fringe eyelash edge , or gnarled petals that twist and turn .

A close up horizontal image of a garden bed planted with light purple Single Early tulips, pictured in light sunshine.

Cups , bowls , stars , or elongated single blossoms , full doubled efflorescence with an abundance of petal , ones that resemble tulips , lilies , peonies , or pee lily , and even variety that look just like the single from the 17th century in the Netherlands , when Tulip Mania reigned , are usable today .

As it turns out , this visually appealing deformity was also the result of a computer virus , but I ’ll go into that in a fiddling more detail in the Division 9 subdivision below .

Many type of tulips produce a single stem and flower per medulla , while those in some division are multi - blossom , with multiple bud developing on branching stem .

A close up vertical image of light pink and purple ‘Aafke’ tulips growing in the garden, fading to soft focus in the background.

you’re able to receive just about every shade that you could desire – except dark – across these divisions , in single , bicolor , and even tricolor varieties .

I ’ll accept that before I wrote this clause , I was nowhere near being able-bodied to make the claim that I was an expert on tulip . I remember fondly the red and chickenhearted bicolor tulip of one of the gardens where I played as a child , and a few lipstick carmine ace with mysteriously alluring sinister interiors .

I do n’t know which cultivars these were , but I ’m sure my center will beat a little faster when I find them .

A close up square image of Single Early tulips in a variety of colors growing in the garden with foliage in soft focus in the background.

memorise about the 15 ( or 16 , depending on who you ask – more on that later ) different division that these beautiful prime are grouped into , I gained a greater perceptiveness for the incredible amount of multifariousness that plant stock breeder have managed to coax out of the awesome members of this genus over the years . There ’s really something for everyone .

Well , unless blue flower are more your affair . If that ’s the grammatical case , let me point you in the direction ofbachelor ’s buttons , azure monkshood , and ourfavorite naughty wildflowersinstead . Sorry to disappoint !

rather of sport blue tint in their own petals , I think they look lovely contrasted against the beautiful blueness of the sky on a effervescent springtime solar day , no matter the color .

A close up horizontal image of a bright red flower, pictured in sunshine on a soft focus background.

Though I have n’t figured out a way to rise tulip successfully outdoors since I moved to the hot and dry climate of southerly California , a potted plant would be a welcome summation to lighten up up my livelihood room in the springtime .

I promote othersgrowing in zone not suited to bulbsto give this a try as well if you ’re really in love with these flower , instead of missing out .

Sure , you probably wo n’t be able-bodied to rise them as perennials , but take heart – I did n’t realize myself until I dig into the research that many type of tulips are not particularly long - lived , and you ’re favorable if you get blooms in consecutive days for a good stretchiness of clip . I think that makes them all the more special .

A close up horizontal image of delicate pink and white Double Early tulips growing in the garden, pictured in light sunshine.

Let ’s dig into the divisions , shall we ? Here ’s what ’s in front :

15 Delightful Tulip Divisions

Let the games start out !

Division 1 – Single Early

Medium - sized exclusive blooms are the cardinal feature of speech of tulips in this group , and as their name suggests , these are also some of the early to bloom , in recent March to early April .

If you ’re look for that classic tulip chassis like we all hear ( roughly ) how to describe in elementary shoal , this is your guy .

Heights range from six to 16 inches ( 25 to 60 centimeters ) so this is debate a myopic salmagundi , and blooms are often pleasantly fragrant .

A close up horizontal image of a scarlet ‘Margarita’ tulip flower, growing in the garden, pictured in bright sunshine with foliage in soft focus in the background.

summate these to rock garden or the fronts of flower seam where they wo n’t be overshadowed by improbable springtime plant , or choose Single Earlies forwintertime hale indoors .

With intimately 150 varieties presently register in this division , you ’ll find a extensive selection of color options , including pinkish , white , red , apricot , orange , short pink , yellow , lilac , and purple , as well as bicolor cultivars like the attractive pinko and white ( but perhaps difficult to pronounce ) ‘ Aafke . ’

Single Early Mix

A close up square image of delicate pink and white ‘Foxtrot’ tulips growing in the garden, surrounded by foliage pictured on a soft focus background.

Single other Mix blooms in a variety show of colors to surprise you in bound .

you could find pocketbook of 10 to 100 bulbsavailable at Eden Brothers .

Division 2 – Double Early

Semi- to amply double flower with an abundance of petals for richness are the primal feature of tulips in this section , and these salad days ( say it with me … ) betimes !

Typically , you ’ll see buds start out to open in early to mid - April .

With heights ranging from 12 to 16 inch ( 25 to 40 centimetre ) , most are close-fitting to the foot - gamy end of the musical scale , qualifying as scant form .

A close up horizontal image of deep purple, almost black Triumph tulips growing in the garden, pictured on a soft focus background.

flower can measure out up to four inches in diameter and their stems are inviolable , so you wo n’t have to worry about lead protection .

Over 200 different type are currently available from this chemical group , though it ’s important to note that the available color selection is more modified than what you ’ll find in other air division .

Yellow , red , orangish , white , lite pink ( helloooo , ‘ Foxtrot ’ ! ) , dark pink , do n’t draw a blank regular pinkish , dark red , over-embellished , lilac , abstemious yellow , yellow , cream , and bicolor change are useable .

A close up horizontal image of deep maroon and white Triumph tulips growing in the garden, pictured on a soft focus background.

There are a few outliers , including the tardily - bloom 40 to 60 - centimeter - tall ‘ Margarita , ’ a dark pink and red bicolor variety , as well as the white ‘ Mondial , ’ a midseason bloomer that also make stature of 40 to 60 centimeters .

‘ Foxtrot ’

Find ‘ fox-trot ’ bulbsavailable at Burpee .

A close up horizontal image of orange-pink colored Triumph tulips growing in the garden, surrounded by foliage.

Division 3 – Triumph

I hesitate to dwell on the whole college athletics doctrine of analogy – and have I mentioned that I did n’t even play any team sports when I was in college ?

( Ha , who , me ? Not any officially sanction ones , at least , though I would have loved to begin a Beer Die league ! )

Nonetheless , I ca n’t aid but fetch it back around .

A close up horizontal image of red and white Triumph tulips growing in the garden, pictured in light filtered sunshine on a soft focus background.

Triumph is the finish , and this feeling epitomise the invincible spirit of any good D-3 squad , one that strives for idol and struggles in regional competition against better fund teams , often at ( ahem ) less academic schoolhouse .

I did offer my service briefly as manager of Swarthmore ’s D-3 men ’s rugby squad ( Go Evil Buzzards ! ) and though I basically had no thought what the rules of the game were to set out , I always have it away watch the friction match , running up and down the out of bounds at tournament to throw the iris down to cross off where the orb cash in one’s chips out , and make full up blood-red Solo cups from the kegful afterwards .

How does this relate back to tulips ?

A close up horizontal image of delicate purple and white Triumph tulips growing in the garden, surrounded by foliage.

Other than the fact that I attended schoolhouse in an botanical garden ( no tulips in sight that I can remember , but there were slew of roses , hydrangeas , stunningJapanese maples , a little triangle - shaped island of tuftedornamental grassesup near the Science Center that I called “ my major planet , ” and one of my favorite plants of all clip – a gorgeous purple roll of tobacco bush that lived outside the westerly end of the independent building on campus – among countless other cautiously - tend and unique specimens ) , mayhap … it does n’t ?

I jolly , I kid ! Triumph is Division 3 . And if you require me , this particular pigeonholing just might be the right of the bunch , in price of unmixed numbers as well as height and the uncommitted color choice to choose from .

That ’s a winner . It ’s strive . It ’s gon na keep thriving .

A close up horizontal image of the brown and orange bicolored ‘Cairo’ tulip, pictured on a soft focus background.

Sure , numerical ranking “ do n’t matter ” here … but possibly we should set about a petition to get Triumph break up the listing to routine one ?

Let ’s return to the topic at hand – Triumphs are hybrids of single - blossomed early and later - flower cultivars , midseason varieties that bloom in April , with average heights ranging from 15 to 20 in ( 40 to 60 centimeters is the norm , sometimes stretch along up to 70 cm tall ) , meaning they ’re in the medium range .

There are a mates shorties in the bunch , like the 30 to 40 - centimeter ‘ Madurodam , ’ but hey – it ’s a big grouping and it ’s not like we ’re picking favorites for a pickup basketball game here .

A horizontal image of pink tulips growing in the garden with trees and shrubs in soft focus in the background.

( Thank good , because I am 5’3 ” and do not make up for this height deficiency in skill – though I have advocated for many years for “ unretentive league hoops , ” something that issue forth up far too often for someone who ca n’t think of the last meter she hold a hoops , unless cling to that controller until my quarter round develop blisters while playing NBA 2 K counts . )

Triumph flower are cup shaped , stems are strong , and there are intimately 1,400 register varieties in this mathematical group for you to choose from , with cultivar gens ranging from A to Z !

If Triumph is your shining glory in terms of tulip divisions , maybe it will be less disappointing than it might be otherwise for you to find out that most of these varieties are consider “ short - term perennial ” that only bloom for a few eld – after all , you could unclutter out the aged bulbs and supercede them with a newfangled cultivar , say , three or four times each ten !

A horizontal image of delicate white and pink Darwin tulips growing in the garden, pictured in bright sunshine with lawn in soft focus in the background.

If you have enough place , maybe you would bring through all of these in a lifetime … you’re able to try , at least . Please permit me know if you do .

Colors include purple , red , cream , chickenhearted , Salmon River , pinkish , white , violet , lilac , orange , dark-brown ( look for ‘ Zeelandia ’ if drinking chocolate - hue flowers are your jam ) , maroon , dour purple , obscure red , and even fatal , with single - hue and bicolor option .

And oh , those bicolor alternative . There are of path too many to name here , I ’m afraid , but rent ’s hit a few of the highlight :

A close up square image of multicolored Darwin Hybrid tulips growing in the spring garden with foliage in soft focus in the background.

The red and violet ‘ Attila ’s Elita ’ is sure to make a imperial add-on to the garden , maroon and cream ‘ Nashville ’ is sweetly advanced , and do n’t miss ‘ Alex Torres , ’ a blood-red and orange combo .

If you ’ve always dreamed of getting married in the fall but your female parent - in - law insists on springtime , peradventure you’re able to reach a stylistic compromise with a bouquet of dark-brown and orangish bicolor ‘ Cairo ’ tulip .

I ’m more fond to the red and violet mashup myself – or perhaps the spectacularly unexpected ‘ Blackout ’ – bet you could guess what color that one is . It remind me of a few nights ago here in Los Angeles , during the recent heatwave when we lost power for a few hours .

A close up horizontal image of red and yellow bicolored Single Late tulips growing in the garden.

deliver a vase full of ‘ Blackout ’ Triumphs to admire might have taken my mind off the heat . But of grade , I probably would have fight to see them in the dark …

Division 4 – Darwin Hybrid

Named for the noted naturalist himself , these are for the most part loan-blend of single late and species tulips , though some are multi - headed .

Typically graze in height from 45 to 70 cm improbable ( 17 to 30 inch ) , flowers in this division are midseason bloomer that make an appearance in May .

Large flowers grow on potent stems . These are some of the best picks if you ’re looking for perennials , and Charles Darwin will often return for at least a few years in a run-in .

A close up horizontal image of delicate yellow and creamy-white bicolored Single Late tulips pictured on a dark soft focus background.

There are nearly 200 different varieties available in this chemical group to date , and flower colors let in cherry , dark red , orange , dark orange , pinkish , dismal pink , jaundiced , apricot , white-hot , cream , Salmon River , bicolor two - pure tone combinations of these , and even tricolor – do n’t miss the crimson , orangish , and yellowed ‘ Carlos V ’ if the idea of a tricolor tulip makes your unripe thumbs tingle .

Darwin Hybrid Mix

you could get hold a delightful intermixture of Darwin Hybrid bulbsavailable at Eden Brothers .

A close up horizontal image of bright pink Single Late tulips growing in the garden with red flowers in soft focus in the background.

Division 5 – Single Late

Reaching median heights of 24 to 30 in ( 40 to 80 centimeters ) , this is most definitely a potentially basketball - make for marvelous group , featuring some of the tall cultivars .

Well , okay , there are a few outlier who might not make the team . But we ’re notreallytalking about basketball game here , and there ’s nothing wrong with a 30 to 40 - centimeter - tall tulip , now is there ?

I did n’t believe so .

A close up square image of colorful Single Late tulips blooming in a variety of colors growing in the garden with a house in soft focus in the background.

With over 450 unlike varieties of large , egg - shaped bloom to take from , these might be a lilliputian late for Easter but they ’re certain to make a gorgeous addition to your garden .

Sometimes call “ Cottage ” tulips , Single Late blooms look in May , just in time for that Senioritis to kick in .

Long - lasting and heat tolerant ( as they would have to be in May ! ) , a wide-eyed range of coloring options is available , including violet , white , pink , yellow , blank , purple , ruby , orange , lilac , mordant , emollient , and bicolor combinations of these .

A close up horizontal image of yellow Lily-Flowered tulips growing in the garden in light sunshine.

Oh , and where my tricolour lovers at again ? Raise your work force please .

I pray you – do not miss the reddish blue , white , and chickenhearted ‘ Atlantis . ’

This tulip may not literally be able to enthral you to a mythological island dreamland , but brusque of someday being able to plop a true - blue tulip in the soil , this cultivar is ( * does that fingertips to lipsmwahkiss affair * ) so choice .

A close up horizontal image of a red and yellow bicolored Lily-Flowered tulip growing in the garden, with shrubs in soft focus in the background.

Single Late Mix

you could find a Single Late Mix , render a multifariousness of bold colors , available at Eden Brothers .

Division 6 – Lily-Flowered

Okay , soimagine what a lily attend like . You got it ? Now imagine that in tulip form , and you ’ve got the Lily - Flowered sectionalization .

Single long and narrow flower are cinched in squiffy at the waist , with petty pointy petals that flare up out around the rim . Ooh la la , these are great .

No , they ’re not some kind of intercrossed cross with day lily , they just see a piece like them .

A close up square image of a ‘Moonblush’ tulip in orange with red accents, growing in the garden, pictured on a soft focus background.

Averaging about 18 to 24 inch improbable ( 50 to 65 centimeters ) with some shorter varieties that may blockade lengthen in the vertical direction around 12 in , and a few marvelous guy wire that may stretch out Armstrong it up and go for 30 inches , these late bloomers bust open their buds in May and they ’re fantabulous for thinned arrangements .

With about 130 different option to choose from , white , cream , pink , red , orange , yellow , lilac , reddish blue , and purple varieties are usable , and some bicolor cultivar even have petal that are edged or feathered in contrast colors .

By the way , when some flowers are describe as violet and others are described as purple and I ’m asked to put in my two cents ( yes , this has happened before ) I tend to be of the opinion that violet is a moment reddish or pinkier , and purple has more of an rudimentary dismal feel . But do n’t hold me to this .

A close up horizontal picture of deep red Fringed tulips growing in the garden with foliage in soft focus in the background.

For something in more of a sunset range , ‘ Moonblush ’ glows in orange with red accents , and exchange cast as it flower . This bicolored cultivar is sometimes called a “ chameleon ” tulip as it changes from bright yellowed to a deep stemma - bolshie over time .

‘ Moonblush ’

you may line up a clique of 10 bulbsavailable at Nature Hills Nursery .

A close up horizontal image of bright pink Fringed tulips growing in the garden pictured in bright sunshine on a soft focus background.

Division 7 – Fringed

If you ’re one of those masses who has always yearn to throw on a leather jacket crown with all the fringe or a pair of flit falsie before lead out to the garden , this one ’s for you .

You ’ll oppose your flowers dead .

I ’m in person more of thecelebratory - gardening - white - nudepersuasion ( perhaps once a year , and in my dreaming – college is over after all , and I mostly masquerade as an upstanding citizen during the daylight hr these days ) .

A close up horizontal image of a dark purple, almost black Fringed tulip growing in the garden pictured on a green soft focus background.

But oh , that fringe !

The whiskered top bound of these beautiful petals often demonstrate a contrasting color or paler shade than the remainder of the tepals , and the individual efflorescence grow on shank that can range from 20 inches ( 40 to 80 centimeters ) in elevation , look on the cultivar .

Of naturally , then there ’s ‘ Pincode , ’ a much forgetful specimen than most in this division , at 25 to 35 centimeter improbable .

A close up horizontal image of red and white bicolored Fringed tulips growing in the garden with foliage in soft focus in the background.

With over 150 different variety available in this part of mid- to belated bloomers , peak coloring let in red , white-livered , pick , pinkish , red , purple , white , grim pink , violet , orange , and lilac .

And yeah , I ’m at it again . I just ca n’t resist these tricolour tulips !

If you call for another one to add to your garden ambition journal , do n’t blank out ‘ Agape , ’ a purple , blood-red , and white beaut that will for certain have you letting the fly in while you dribble with pleasance , or perhaps lead to your eventual conversion to join the worshiper at the Agape church , er , “ International Spiritual Center . ”

A close up square image of ‘Crispion Love’ a variety of fringed tulip, growing in the garden surrounded by foliage on a soft focus background.

( But do n’t do that – then you ’d credibly have to move to LA with me , and it ’s much harder to grow tulips here ) .

I ’ve read that many of the cultivars in this category are mutants of Single Lates . How interesting . They are also sometimes referred to as Crispas .

‘ Crispion Love ’ has ticklish mystifying pink pass to soft pinkish fringed petals , adding a romanticistic tactile sensation to your garden .

A close up horizontal image of red and black Viridiflora tulips growing in the garden, surrounded by foliage.

‘ Crispion sexual love ’

you’re able to find packets of 10 bulbsavailable at Nature Hills Nursery .

Division 8 – Viridiflora

I know the blue heyday lover are still weep in the recess , butgreenflower buff , listen me now ! Viridiflora is the division that will make all your dreams fall unfeigned !

guess with me a excerpt of at least 50 dissimilar registered varieties , all exhibit vary quantity of gullible in their blossoms , in beautiful streaks and blotch .

So gorgeous , so alone .

A close up horizontal image of a bright red tulip growing in the garden, surrounded by foliage and pictured in bright sunshine.

These generally attain somewhere around 18 in tall ( 23 to 60 centimeters ) , and most flower in mid- to late springiness .

Long - lasting as cut prime , they ’ll expect stunning in posy and arrangements , and in your flower bed as well .

Combinations of green plus pinkish , salmon , snowy , red , yellow , lilac ( check out ‘ Doll ’s Minuet ’ ) , and orange are available , as well as tricolors .

A close up square image of ‘Artist’ flower growing in the garden pictured on a soft focus background.

I advocate the fleeceable , pinkish - red , and clean ‘ Green Village ’ if the hamlet you ’re repping is somewhere in oh , say , Italy , or maybe Mexico .

How I would love to gaze at the glory of these while sip on a michelada artfully prepared by my upright bud , occasional competitor , and former roomie Rafa ( after I squeezed the lime for him , of course ) and chowing down on a big bowling ball of homemade unfermented pea risotto that I made – the perfect Mexican - Italian fusion of activities to bask on a springtime afternoon , if you postulate me , though perhaps an improper pairing .

I get wind Rafa ’s started his own garden this year , so possibly I can convince him to add some of these to the pots on the patio .

A close up horizontal image of red and white Rembrandt tulips growing in the garden, pictured in bright sunshine on a soft focus background.

More of the painterly type ? ‘ Artist ’ glows with pallid pinko surround fragile green idiom , with a watercolor appear so naturalistic , visitors to your garden will depose they can really see the brushstrokes .

‘ Artist ’

you could line up packets of 10 ‘ Artist ’ bulbsavailable at Burpee .

A close up horizontal image of pink, red, and white Rembrandt tulips growing in the garden, pictured in bright sunshine on a soft focus background.

Division 9 – Rembrandt

advert for the far-famed Dutch painter , these resemble the iconic tulips that were often featured in seventeenth century paintings from that part of the world , at the peak of Tulip Mania .

Have n’t see of this particular full point in account , when some bulb betray for more than houses ? study our fullguide to growing tulipsto get the exclusive .

With excitingly strange striped patterns , these “ disordered ” blooms were once made more beautiful in the eye of many a beholder as the result of a virus .

A vertical image of a single ‘Insulinde’ tulip, a member of the Rembrandt division with deep pink and white petals, pictured on a green soft focus background.

deplorably , today you wo n’t be able to determine an exact lucifer for those tulip of erstwhile that you ’ve seen featured in museums ( sorry ! ) but some modern - day cultivar are available .

And these are computer virus - free , so you wo n’t have to interest about the other tulips in the neighbourhood if you embed these .

‘ American Flag , ’ ‘ Carnaval de Rio , ’ ‘ Insulinde , ’ ‘ Jack Laan , ’ and other cultivars in this radical may have white , icteric , or red flower petal , depend on which cultivar you pick , strip with ruddy , bronze , or purpleness .

A close up square image of the bright red and white ‘Carnavale de Rio’ tulip growing in the garden pictured on a soft focus background.

With shiny cherry-red swirls through creamy - clean petal , ‘ Carnavale de Rio ’ is a beautiful example of a Rembrandt .

‘ Carnavale de Rio ’

you could discover electric light for ‘ Carnavale de Rio’available at Burpee .

A close up horizontal image of a pink, white, and green Parrot tulip growing in the garden, pictured in bright sunshine on a soft focus background.

wander in height from 18 to 24 inches ( 45 to 60 centimeters ) , bloom times vary .

Read more about caring for Rembrandt cultivar here .

Division 10 – Parrot

Bird lovers , rejoice ! Your favorite talkative and colorful avian friend has a flowered counterpart known as the Parrot tulip .

I ’ve seen the petals on these describe as ruffled , square , curled , twisted , puckered , and fringe .

However you want to key them , these tulip are vibrantly hued and downright birdlike if you squinch just right , but you do n’t have to worry about them wing away if you want to give them a pat when no one is looking .

A close up horizontal image of deep purple ‘Black Parrot’ tulips growing in the garden pictured on a soft focus background.

Will you be able to instruct them to talk ? I do n’t know that anyone has attempted this yet , but attempting to engage your tulip in conversation is most definitely bucked up .

And , just like a pet , they ’ll necessitate a fiddling spare trade protection . implant these in a location where they wo n’t be exposed to abrasive weather conditions .

These previous bloomer make splendid cutting flowers , and they range in height from 14 to 22 inch ( 40 to 65 cm ) .

A close up horizontal picture of an unusual green and white ‘Super Parrot’ tulip, pictured on a black background.

Nearly 120 dissimilar single - blossom varieties are available in this division , and you canread more about them here .

Single or multihued selection are available , in a range of colour include orange , pink , clean , apricot , purplish , pick , violet , yellow , carmine , lilac , and Salmon River , as well as bicolors like the blank and violet ‘ gentle wind , ’ red and yellow ‘ Bariton , ’ green and pink ‘ Pink waving , ’ and immature and white ‘ Super Parrot . ’

Ca n’t adjudicate ? Why not try a mix of a variety of colour , all with the classic Parrot shape .

A close up square image of a vase filled with a variety of different colored Parrot tulips, set on a table outdoors, pictured on a soft focus background.

Parrot Mix

you could find oneself Parrot Mix in bags of 10 to 100 bulbsavailable at Eden Brothers .

Division 11 – Double Late

Also cite to as Peony or Double Hybrid tulip , these exhibit peony - like twofold blossoms that are loaded with flower petal .

Particularly long - lasting in the garden or as cut flowers , many assortment are fragrant , adding to their collection .

Plus , since ants do n’t “ help ” to open these , hopefully you wo n’t have to worry about de - bugging your wanted cutting before you arrange them in a vase .

A horizontal image of pink and white Double Late tulips growing in the garden, with red flowers in soft focus in the background.

Most of the well-nigh 200 registered varieties grow 15 to 22 inches in height ( 30 to 60 centimeters ) and flower deep in the season , with large flowers on long stems . Be certain to plant these in a protected emplacement , since they can suffer harm in labored rainfall or firm wind .

Colors include regal , glowering over-embellished , ruby-red , dark red , orange , scandalmongering , white , pinkish , dour pinko , maroon , lilac , violet , and cream , as well as bicolors .

I ’m particularly fond to the pinkish and green ‘ Christo ’ cultivar , the orange and empurpled ‘ Orange Princess , ’ and the red and white ‘ Double Punky . ’

A close up horizontal image of a delicate orange and purple ‘Orange Princess’ tulip, pictured in bright sunshine on a white background.

Do I often accrue for cultivar names ? If they ’re paired with resistless gloss combos like these , I accrue deep .

doubled Late Mix

If you desire a pick of different colors , you may find a mix of a mixed bag of Double Latesavailable at Eden Brothers .

A close up square image of a clump of different colored Double Late tulips growing in the garden pictured on a soft focus background.

Andlearn more about these smasher here .

Division 12 – Kaufmanniana

Some say these resemble stars or weewee lily , so you will sometimes hear these names for tulip in this sectionalization as well .

Early botch , the flowers have a tall , minute cup and pointed petals . But the stems are brusque , and most plants max out at just six to 10 inches in height ( 10 to 25 centimeter ) .

Like I ’ve said before , variety with a unforesightful stature are perfect for rock gardens or the fronts of mete .

A close up horizontal image of delicate Kaufmanniana tulips growing in the garden with small blue flowers interspersed around them, pictured in bright sunshine.

A unique feature film of the Kaufmannianas is that the blossom open widely in the sun , stretching their petal until they are just about flat .

The bloom last for a long fourth dimension , and the foliage offers ornamental sake as well , in shades of stripy chocolate brown or blue super acid ( there you go – a touch of almost - blue ! ) .

colour include lily-white , yellow , orangish , salmon , pink , red , and bicolor combinations of these . Almost 70 different varieties are available .

A horizontal image of a garden planted with Kaufmanniana tulips interspersed with small blue flowers, pictured in bright sunshine.

Division 13 – Fosteriana

Also acknowledge as Emperor tulip , these kings ( and queens ! ) of the springtime flowerbeds bring forth bloom that are four to five inch in length , some of the largest blossoms found in theTulipagenus .

They also open wide in full Dominicus , like our Division 12 friends .

Early bloomers , these have a medium stature and will in general reach about 18 column inch in summit ( 20 to 50 centimetre ) . They ’ll often amount back to bloom and blossom again as perennials .

A close up horizontal image of pink Fosteriana tulips growing in the garden, with foliage in the background.

Flowers are available in a range of colours include pinkish , crimson , yellow , scant yellow pick , white , and orange .

The foliage also offers decorative pursuit , with broad greenish or gray - green dapple or stripy leave . Almost 100 card - carrying tulips belong to this division .

‘ Red Emperor ’ makes a bluff assertion . brilliant lipstick - red with a ripe height of 14 to 16 inches , this cultivar rules the springtime garden !

A close up horizontal image of bright pink Fosteriana tulips fully opened out, with foliage and flowers in soft focus in the background.

‘ Red Emperor ’

you may find bulbsavailable at Nature Hills Nursery .

Division 14 – Greigii

Like those of divisions 12 and 13 , with more colorful leafage than most type of tulips have adding to their attraction , the decorative leafage boosts their appeal .

Greigiis have mottle or purple - clean leaf that will unremarkably open out on the priming . But their multiflowered habit may be the key feature of these hybrids .

Some produce four or five peak per base , and flower shape alter depend on the cultivar .

A close up of a ‘Red Emperor’ tulip growing in the garden with foliage in soft focus in the background.

brilliantly colored flower may be white , vermilion , purple , salmon , red , cream , pink , orangish , yellow-bellied , or bicolored .

And these perennialize well , so you will hopefully see them bloom and then reemerge to bloom again for at least a few springiness to come .

Tulips in this division are shortsighted to intermediate variety , typically reaching heights of eight to 12 in ( 15 to 50 centimeters ) , and you know what that entail ! Stick ‘ em in your rock ‘n’ roll garden , or give them a special spot to beam at the front of borders .

A close up horizontal image of a white and pink Greigii tulip growing in the garden with flowers in soft focus in the background.

These heyday early , but a sense of touch later than what you ’ll ordinarily see for those in Division 12 , so you might want to plant cultivars selected from each of these chemical group together to keep your other season home flower show going .

And you ’ll have stack to beak from , with over 250 register Greigii tulips uncommitted .

‘ Kiev ’ boasts huge blooms in bright Marxist with yellow accents . With dappled purple and green foliage , this cultivar reaches a mature tallness of 12 inches .

Red and white Greigii tulips growing in the garden pictured on a soft focus background.

‘ Kiev ’

you’re able to find packets of 10 bulbsavailable at Burpee .

Division 15 – Species and Miscellaneous

This group includesTulipaspecies commonly ascertain in the wilderness , includingT. bakeri , T. batalinii , T. humilis , T. mauritiana , T. orphanidea , T. praestans , T. sylvestris , andT. urumiensis , as well as some cultivars and hybrids of these .

Most of these plants are short , about four to 10 inches tall ( 10 to 20 centimeters ) , with minor flowers on tenuous , treat stems .

They ’re great fornaturalized plantings , they arise reliably as perennial , and there are over 200 different types to choose from that fit into this radical .

A close up square image of bright red and yellow ‘Kiev’ tulips growing in the garden pictured on a soft focus background.

Bloom times vary , and you ’ll see some taller outlier . One notable variety that catch my eye isT. praestans‘Bloemenlust , ’ which grows to be90 to 100 centimeters grandiloquent !

You ’ll find a wide variety of colors in this division , admit maroon , lilac , yellow , red , brown , white , dark-green , regal , crimson , pink , orangish , and pick .

Why not get startle with a admixture of dissimilar specie and choose your favorites ?

A close up horizontal image of bright red Tulipa praestans flowers pictured in light sunshine on a soft focus background.

Species Mix

you’re able to get Species Mixavailable at Nature Hills Nursery .

Bonus Division 16 – Multiflowering

Also known as Bouquet tulip , the flowers in this category typically produce three to five flower per stem turn , with some overachiever ( they did n’t have time for sports ! ) producing up to seven buds per bulb .

With that many bloom all doing their thing to examine to get your ( and the pollinators ’ ) aid at the same time , imagine the visual encroachment !

Well , if you implant enough of them together , at least . As I empathise it , just because a individual industrial plant can bring out multiple bud does n’t mean they ’ll all necessarily flower at the same time . But as a effect , this alsoextends their heyday time – a win in either example .

A close up horizontal image of bright yellow Tulipa sylvestris flowers growing in the garden with rocks in soft focus in the background.

Instead of uprise straight and solo , the primary fore of these varieties arm into multiple subaltern stems , and each of these create a bud . You ’ll find that the central flower is typically slightly large than those that bloom on the junior-grade subdivision .

These broadly reach 14 to 20 inches ( 35 to 50 centimeter ) in height , and whether they ’re other , mid - season , or late - bloom depends on the type you choose , so be sure to scan those plant labels cautiously .

The catch here , and what makes this a “ fillip ” air division that is n’t officially realise in all cases , is the fact that all of the flowers included in this grouping are also extremity of one of the other 15 divisions .

A close up square image of a clump of species tulips growing in the garden pictured on a soft focus background.

You will see , however , that many glasshouse and other bulb purveyor heel multiflowering varieties in their own class .

Whether or not this actually warrants the prescribed creation of a new division is for the botanists and plant geneticists to decide – but as we ’ve seen over the twelvemonth and across the globe , these experts in their fields quite often discord , and public debate result surrounding the appropriate category to put a certain works species in , sometimes for years .

Something I find interesting is that I did n’t get along across this sort of disputation in my seeking to learn more about tulips , but who live – perhaps I just did n’t await hard enough .

A horizontal image of a garden planted with pink and yellow bicolored tulips in a naturalized planting, pictured in bright sunshine on a soft focus background.

I ’ll keep you posted .

Multiflowering Tulip Options

For cultivar selections , see our guide:17 of the Best Multiheaded Tulip Varieties .

A horizontal image of bright pink and white multiflowered tulips growing in the garden in bright sunshine.

Tiptoe Through the Tulips with Me

Now that you ’re a bit more familiar with the clever category that plant scientist have developed to classify these gorgeous addition to the spring garden , you ’ve undoubtedly lead off to consider the size ranges and bloom phase of certain types of tulip and how they might play out in your own garden .

Comparing the colors that you see online against the key swatches that you ’re agonizing over , maybe aiming to select the perfect flowered contrast to put in the beds out back the next clock time you paint the fencing is at the top of your nous , one that will bloom at the perfect time and do up tojustthe right peak .

I think it ’s important to keep this in mind :

A close up horizontal image of purple and yellow tulips growing in the garden, pictured in bright sunshine on a soft focus background.

We ’re talking about live flora here .

Will the specimen that mature in your garden always be a perfect mate compared to what you sawin that shiny catalogue , or on the glossy label pasted to the front of the package of electric-light bulb that you picked up at the store ?

Not inevitably .

A close up of red, yellow, and pink tulips growing in the garden pictured in bright sunshine.

Here ’s the affair with plants – results may depart .

First , you have the plant description to compete with . Some nurseries describe stem turn height alone while others include the flowers to give a total height range , and these averages may not be reflected in your own garden , depending on the conditions , age of the bulbs , and other divisor .

It ’s unbelievable that a typically little cultivar will fool up to be out of the blue marvelous , and you should n’t have too many surprisal in the color department unless you somehow purchase a packet of bulbs that is mislabeled .

But photos can also sometimes be a touching misleading , not by design in most pillowcase , but because perhaps one photo was taken in full sunshine while another was dissipate on a nebulose day .

And then you also have the local precondition to regard . A well - watered plant growing in dead suitable and nutritious soil may give rise taller plants and vivacious , more colourful blooms than bulbs that meet through a particularly hot and wet summertime or a fond wintertime , or those that are planted in less than stellar dirt .

I ’m all about create do in the garden , and then delighting in whatever I ’m able to bring away from the earth .

peradventure I did n’t get the pH just correctly , I was out of townsfolk for a few Clarence Shepard Day Jr. andfailed to waterduring a heatwave , or I planted in a location that I swore had full Dominicus last year ( I checked the notes in mygardening daybook ! ) , only to get my plant plunge into partial refinement the next . And that ’s o.k. .

Well , sometimes plants pass away as a event , but it ’s mostly fine , and it ’s a acquisition experience either way .

Whatever beautiful blossom your own collection of bulb produces , simply due to the fact that you produce them yourself in your own garden , they ’re unambiguously yours . And they ’re going to be gorgeous .

as luck would have it , the plant part outline abovedohelp to at least give a strong meter reading of what you ’re getting yourself into , if there are certain colors or heights or other qualities that you prefer .

But more significantly , it ’s the bloom shape and phone number of flowers that a single bulb may produce that you want to focus on here .

Longevity as perennial , power to naturalise , and usefulness as cut flowers are also detail to household in on , as well as whether or not your chosen incandescent lamp will create fragrant blooms , if that ’s something that you ’re count for .

coif bulbs that bloom at different times in your beds to keep the colourful show going throughout the season , or prime type that are more compact and particularly well - suited to containers if you garden on a patio or are otherwise short on blank space – container growing also makes former bloom forcing a theory in the dead of winter .

Did I mention that I received puritanic ribbons in both badminton and volleyball game in high school gym class ? And MVP in college bowling course ? Which division does that count as ?

irrespective , I ’m sure there ’s a arresting tulip among the lots of selection available that would serve as a suitable honor if bestowed upon myself , one that ’s gorgeous to stare upon , to record these long - preceding ventures into strenuosity even if I ca n’t enter out the college team sport equivalency for my meager gymnastic achievements .

( segmentation 0.333 ? Once I threw a perfect spiral in gamey school gym too ! But , of course of study , there was a stand-in during the rag football game biz that solar day … my real teacher was there the day when I got hit correctly in the grimace with a rebounded hoops . )

Honestly , I ’m a fan , but all the lawful athletes out there can keep their sportsman ball . I ’d rather be doing yoga anyway , or spending as much time as possible out in the garden .

Next up , are you ready to get even moregorgeous springtime bulbsin the ground ? Give these guidebook a read :

© inquire the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . earlier published on September 16th , 2020 . Last update April 29th , 2023 . merchandise photos via Burpee , Eden Brothers , and Nature Hills Nursery . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .

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Allison Sidhu