I can’t remember how long ago — at least 10 years — I planted a clutch of Tulipa tarda bulbs at the corner of my house. It’s a narrow and shallow strip of ground knotted with Boston ivy roots. Each spring, lovely, short yellow tulips with star-shaped centers appear and bloom for several weeks.
T. tarda is the reason I’m such a fan of wild tulips. It’s one tough cookie, surviving and thriving this many years later in what really is an inhospitable location, but one that is sunny and drains well. Both are important for T. tarda to survive and naturalize. It is native to the Tien Shan Mountains bordering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China.
The tulip may be as Dutch as a windmill, but the flower is not native to Holland. Most tulips originated in the rugged mountains and steppes of Central Asia, the Mideast and China. Designed by nature to endure poor soil, hot dry summers and frigid winters, wild or species tulips are a special combination of toughness and charm.
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These short, tough tulips introduce a wild element in the spring garden in sunny spots where other plants might not thrive, including rocky areas, along sidewalks and drives, at woodland edges and even in gravel — as long as the site has good drainage.
Here are some wild or near-wild tulips to plant this fall suggested by Christian Curless, horticulturist at Colorblends:
- T. linfolia opens wide, nearly flat, in the sun, creating a starburst of reddest-red centered on a jet black heart. Details: 8 inches tall, blooms late spring, USDA zones 3-7.
- T.praestans “Shogun” is a multi-flowering tulip with red-flecked pumpkin-colored flowers that open wide in the sun to display blue-black stamens at the heart. Details: 12 inches tall, blooms early mid-spring, USDA Zones 3-7, the species is native to the Gissar Mountains of Tajikistan.
- T. bakeri “Lilac Wonder” offers lilac-pink flowers with deep yellow centers that bob daintily in soft spring breezes and weather hard rains and wind with equal aplomb. Details: 8 inches tall, blooms mid-spring, USDA Zones 3-7, native to
- Crete.
- T. clusiana “Tubergen’s Gem” are pure yellow, stroked with crimson on the outside. When warmed by the sun, the flowers open wide in bright golden star-shapes. Details: 8 inches tall, blooms mid-spring, USDA zones 3-7, native to Afghanistan and Tibet.