The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Gardeners have a bewildering choice among more than 3,000 tulip varieties and cultivars.
Tulips originated in Central Asia, where they made their way to Holland through Turkey around 1560.
Here are 23 popular tulip groups and varieties.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
These Mediterranean and Asian natives tend to be petite, sporting flowers that open wide on sunny days.
When opened, many of the blossoms reveal a contrasting color star on the petals.
Many species tulips have attractive mottled or striped foliage.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
They are a favorite forcut-flower arrangements, flowering about the same time as most daffodils.
They thrive nicely for several years before losing their vigor.
Plant Darwin hybrid tulips beside your house, fence, or shed to provide shelter from stem-snapping winds.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Darwin tulips are also excellent candidates forforcing.
Triumph Tulips
When you buy economy bags of mixed-color bulbs, they are most often Triumph tulips.
These medium-sized tulips have single-petal flowers in the classic cup shape.
They bloom earlier than Darwin hybrids and have shorter, heavier stems.
Plant them deeply, at least 8 inches beneath the soil surface, to encourage several years of performance.
The eye-catching flowers start as soft yellowish adorned with crimson-red flames.
MinttuFin / Getty Images
As they mature, the flowers turn ivory-white with ruby-red flames.
Because of their short stems, they lend themselves to forcing.
‘Apricot Beauty’ is fragrant and a popular tulip for forcing.
Janelle Lugge / Getty Images
Colors include red, white, purple, pink, orange, yellow, and bicolors.
One subcategory is peony tulips, so-called for their resemblance to peonies.
Some varieties bloom in early spring and late spring, and there are both short and tall varieties.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
The bloom is fairly long-lasting.
Some varieties are good for forcing.
The double white petals emerge from a base of deep pink petals.
Sandris Veveris / Getty Images
With its large, long- lasting blooms, Double Ice Cream tulips also make stunningcut flowers.
The flowers start out copper-gold, then mature to salmon-apricot, followed by amber-rose and finally butter-caramel.
And with each color change, it becomes more beautiful.
Aleksandr Zhurilo / Getty Images
The lush flowers of this tulip truly resemble a peony.
Because they originate in many different groups, the sizes and bloom times vary considerably within the group.
Flower colors include red, pink, white, purple, yellow, and bicolors.
Vladimir Gnedin / Getty Images
The variety Cummins stands out with its deep lavender petals with a white fringe.
They have huge flowers reaching up to 8 inches across.
They are also perfect forfloral arrangements.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Try Orange Emperor, which imparts a sweet fragrance in addition to its vivid petals.
Greigii Tulips
This category includes cultivars derived from theTulipa greigiispecies native to Turkestan in Central Asia.
Their maroon-spotted and striped leaves stand out in the garden.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
The flowers are quite large, up to 4 inches.
Colors include red, orange, yellow, pink, and white.
These tulips enjoy warm, dry soil in the summer, a good choice for rock gardens.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Kaufmanniana Tulips
Modern Kaufmanniana tulips originated from a species native to the region now known as Turkestan.
These are long-lived tulips that require very little care.
These tulips perennialize nicely in sunny areas where they dont have to compete with other plants.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Colors include rose, golden yellow, pink, purple, orange, red, and bicolors.
Lily-Flowered Tulips
The lily-flowered tulip class includes varieties bred to have pointed petals reminiscent of lily flowers.
The flowers are tall, bold, and long-blooming.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Colors include reds, orange, yellow, white, pink, purple, and bicolors.
Parrot Tulips
This unusualclass of tulipsincludes mutations from certain Late-Flowering and Triumph group tulips.
These showy tulips are the flamenco dancers of the garden.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Plant a combination of ‘Blue Parrot ‘and ‘Texas Gold’ for a head-turning installation in yourmailbox garden.
Colors include red, yellow, white, pink, purple, and many bicolors.
They bloom while the weather is still cool and are known for holding their blooms for a long time.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Single Early tulips are also ideal for forcing in containers.
Colors include red, orange, yellow, white, pink, purple, apricot, and bicolors.
‘Yokohama’ is a mid-sized tulip with deep yellow, pointy petals that exude a beautiful fragrance.
I Love Photo and Apple / Getty Images
The large, lilac-purple flowers have a beet-colored purple interior.
The flowers of these single early tulips are egg-shaped and long-lasting.
Growing nearly 3 feet tall, these are among the tallest tulips.
ValerijaP / Getty Images
Their sturdy stems stand up well to windy conditions, plus they’re more heat tolerant than other varieties.
Colors include red, yellow, white, pink, purple, apricot, and bicolors.
“French” single late tulips have a distinctive oblong-shaped flower.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Another subcategory, the multi-flowering tulips, includes varieties with four or more flower stalks per plant.
First cultivated in 1910, the award-winning tulip is a classic.
It has lush, deep lilac to lavender blue blooms blushed with magenta.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
The blooms on Viridiflora tulips generally have streaks of green falling over a complementary color.
These are mid- to late-blooming tulips of moderate size.
The blooms can be very large, as much as 3 inches across.
lingkongc / Getty Images
These tulips can be especially attractive in vases.
Colors include green streaks on pink, orange, yellow, or red.
Originally due to a virus, today’s varieties are bred specifically for their unique look.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Colors include yellow, white, or red streaked with other colors.
These are short-lived tulips that will need to be replaced after a year or two.
Species tulips are typically the most long-lived tulips and are a primary choice if you want a trulyperennial tulip.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
There are more than 3,000 registered tulip varieties and new ones are added on an ongoing basis.
Tulips with strong stems are generally the easiest to grow.
Regardless of the jot down,choosing large bulbs when planting tulipsis important for successfully growing tulips.
