Perennial tulips - T. batalinii
Diane Whitehead (Mon, 05 May 2003 10:59:46 PDT)

I have two Tulipa batalinii Bronze Charm in bloom. They are
survivors from ones that bloomed for several decades until their area
was completely shaded by an expanding hedge of Pieris. Last year I
pruned the Pieris severely to reclaim the flower bed, and planted
lots of new woodland plants in the ground that used to grow T.
batalinii in the 1970s, 1980s and part of the 1990s. The two tulips
blooming today have survived all that.

Apeldoorn, one of the Darwin Hybrid tulips, often sold in giant bags
in supermarkets along with an orange one, a yellow one, and sometimes
ones with a mixture of colours, not only persists forever but
increases. My father's property now has thousands, and the intense
colour on his hillside can knock your eyes a block away - maybe even
from a low-flying plane. This year he has fire (a botrytis), and is
appalled at the prospect of digging them all out, so I will gather
some muscle among his grandchildren and help out.

--
Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
maritime zone 8
cool mediterranean climate (dry summer, rainy winter - 68 cm annually)
sandy soil