Tulipa saxatilis (originating from Crete)
Jane McGary (Mon, 16 Aug 2004 10:36:53 PDT)

Colleen Hubbard in Australia wrote:

Species tulip seed can be purchased from Jim and Jenny Archibald
<http://www.jjaseeds.com/> and from some of the Czech collectors' lists. I got T.
cretica from the Archibalds. Many of the Central Asian tulips come from
areas with blazing hot summers (see Janis Ruksans's article in the spring
2004 issue of the Rock Garden Quarterly). T. cretica seed will be very
expensive, since it's a rare species, but T. humilis should be inexpensive
and also available through free exchanges such as that of the North
American Rock Garden Society <http://www.nargs.org/>.

Growing some species tulips from seed requires patience, since they will
rarely flower in fewer than four growing seasons (the easier species, such
as T. tarda) and sometimes not for six or seven. However, this is a good
way to get disease-free stock, as long as you keep them away from your
commercial tulips. The seeds should be planted in fall for germination and
growth over the cool season. (You can store them at room temperature until
the Southern Hemisphere fall without harming the seeds.) The seedling bulbs
are very small and should be kept in the seed pots for two years,
fertilized while in growth. The third year they can be moved to larger
pots, and by the fourth year they should be able to go into the garden
provided it isn't rodent-infested. Have European bulb pests such as
squirrels and voles invaded Australia?

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA