Description
The natural range of the tulip covers southern Europe, North Africa and Asia from Turkey through Iran, the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains and the steppes of Kazakhstan to north-eastern China and Japan.
A perennial bulbous plant with a short, early-spring growing season. The bulbs need renewing every year. The flower stalk is upright, up to 80 cm tall. It flowers in April–May for 10–15 days. Tulip species and hybrids can be divided into several main groups comprising a great many varieties. The list of varieties changes every year: new ones are added and some old ones disappear.
Tulips are widely used in ornamental planting – in flower beds, borders, edgings and large drifts – and are also grown as cut flowers. Cut flowers do not last very long; when cutting, leave at least two leaves, which are needed for the bulb to ripen. Beds featuring this plant are as sure a success today as they were centuries ago, bringing bright colours to the garden exactly when they are needed. There is an unwritten tradition of planting tulips or other bulbs singly or 3–5 bulbs in one spot, as this makes it easy to fill the gaps left after flowering. Tulips look most striking in large groups, however, provided that annuals are planted among the fading flowers to quickly cover the empty spaces.