I find that species tulips keep coming back in my garden. My garden has well drained sandy soil (60 percent sand, 40% silt), dry in summer, slightly acidic, and I sometimes add compost and fertilizer. I'm a bit erratic about fertilizers, and add compost every 3-4 years. These bulbs are in the no water bed, which dries out for 2-3 months every year. If Roger's tulips don't persist, it's probably due to soils not drying out in summer. Make a raised bed with very good drainage in full sun, and don't water it. Let nature deliver the water. Or use pots, ditto, once flowering is done. Species tulips do not appear to be as palatable to deer as hybrid tulips are, so I gravitated to them years ago, and have enjoyed watching several species persist and multiply. Kathleen Kathleen Sayce PNW Coast, WHZ 8, dryish cool summers & mild wet winters; right at the end of the dry season right now.