Dwarf Tulipa-PBS and Alpine Topic of the Week

Mark McDonough: The well known super-hero, "The Onion Man" (aka
Mark McDonough), has had a lingering interest in smaller tulip species.
Allium and an astounding "Allium Central" are featured on his
well-worth-the-visit-website (http://www.plantbuzz.com/). The site shows
much more and suggests his wide knowledge. This introduction should
intensify the bulb wishes of February topics.

Dwarf Tulipa by Mark McDonough

I've never been a fan of tulips, finding them too tall and fancy, the
foliage corpulent and unrefined. The flowers are sumptuous to be sure, but
that's beside the point. I plant 'Red Emperor' and 'Yellow Emperor' for my
mom; she adores them. In 3-4 years hence, I must dig them out, the waning
bulbs sputtering feeble distorted foliage and few diminished blooms, to be
replaced with freshly planted Holland-grown bulbs. And the cycle continues.

Rock gardeners tend to shun tulips, the allure of growing them spoiled by
centuries of selection and over hybridization. We think of tulips as
bedding plants suitable for seasonal floral display in parks, corporate
landscapes, and botanical gardens; definitely not for the rock garden in
the true sense. Even the lovely Tulipa greigii-kaufmanniana hybrids, dwarf
enough for rock garden consideration, are still too portly and ostentatious
for inclusion.

Instead, we rock gardeners prefer to grow "species crocus" (not the
inflated Dutch crocus, absolutely not), dwarf narcissus (but with
Narcissus, even full sized daffodils are admissible), dwarf reticulata
iris, galanthus, scilla, muscari, any fritillary that will grow, no matter
the size, and various other "minor bulbs". The enlightened also grow
Allium <grin>. Tulipa species are poorly represented in rock gardens,
perhaps not because they are deliberately shunned, but because we fail to
consider them.

It wasn't until recent years that I discovered the charm of dwarf Tulipa
species. Reluctantly I tried a couple species with the conviction bulbs
would fizzle out in a few years, as their fancy brethren do. But they
didn't fizzle out, and instead continued to grow, increase, and flower
reliably for many years without signs of decline. Dwarf species Tulips are
now among my favorite bulbs, and my journey in search of dwarf Tulipa is
just beginning. I still hold the line at Tulipa species with coarse fat
foliage, preferring instead those that are less "tulip-like", with smaller
concise herbage, fascinatingly undulate basal leaves, or fine linear
strands of gray or green vegetation.

Tulipa photo gallery:
==============
To see photographs of dwarf Tulipa, you can click on the link below to view
a photo gallery assembled in support of this topic of the week. There are
also links to nurseries that sell most or all of the species I've showcased
here.

<http://plantbuzz.com/RockGard/Bulbs/…>http://ww.com/
http://w.plantbuzz.com/RockGard/Bulbs/…
...or go to <http://www.plantbuzz.com/>http://www.plantbuzz.com/ and click
on the Dwarf Tulipa link.

At the end of this message are more links to Tulipa images, as well a few
bibliographic citations and bulb sources.

Tulipa Taxonomy
============
Tulipa taxonomy exists in a rather confused state; not surprising given the
large number of species, possibly numbering as high as 150. The species are
mostly found in central Asia, but are also found in Europe to China. The
most significant treatment, "The Genus Tulipa" by A. D. Hall in 1940, is
considered outdated and in need of a revision. There are smaller regional
works and other scientific studies that piecemeal the genus together.
Researching a variety of web sites, botanical publications, and taxonomic
references, the Tulipa names I've used in this message represent a
consensus of recent taxonomic opinion as best I can determine. Of course,
there's lots of room for dissenting opinion :-)

I gravitate towards web sites like
<http://www.hoogdix.com/>http://www.hoogdix.com/<http://www.hoogdix.com/>.<http://www.ho.com/
ogdix.com/>com because their descriptive listing of Tulipa species and
cultivars is among the most thorough around; a reference in itself. Since
this company, along with Van Tubergen, were directly responsible for the
introduction of many Tulipa species and cultivars, the brief historical
anecdotes on each variety offers more insight than what can be found elsewhere.

Some Tulipa species & cultivars I grow:
============================
1. Tulipa polychroma
Thinking about Tulipa, one conjures up visions of blazing red and yellow
tones, possibly too brash for those who like more subdued hues. So I start
at the opposite end of the spectrum with my favorite; T. polychroma, a
refined miniature just 2 - 3" (5 - 7.5 cm) tall in bloom, with white
star-cups, clean as snow inside but with yolk-yellow centers, the exterior
of the blooms serenely touched with pale gray-olive and a hint of rose. The
foliage is light gray, narrow and channeled. The early blooms (in March)
are deliciously scented, luring me to lie on the muddy ground to take in
the perfume. This species, in the Biflores section of Tulipa, has two to
several flowers per stem.

2. Tulipa 'Little Princess'
This is a hybrid between T. hageri and T. aucheriana. Both of those
species has been in question, but remain as valid species in the most
recent taxonomic positions I found references for. A stunning miniature
tulip that has universal appeal. The flowers are full and open, greeting
the sun, a fascinating coppery orange color with an abrupt ring of yellow
encircling a brooding center of dark black-green. The anthers are very
large, black, and conspicuously ornamental. The outside of the blooms show
lighter melon colors. The lightly fragrant flowers age to Chinese red in
about two weeks after first opening. Only 3 - 5" tall (7.5 - 12.5 cm) in
flower, later elongating a couple more inches.

3. Tulipa tarda
A bright species that'll increase and come back year after year to produce
quantities of cheerful little yellow, white-tipped flowers. The photos in
my Tulipa gallery show a planting now well over 10 years old, but still
making a grand show each spring. The egg-hued blooms only open in full
sun, have a light fragrance, and are olive-backed when the flowers are
closed tight under low-light conditions. Up to 8 flowers per 5" stem and
are olive-backed when the flowers are closed tight under low-light
conditions. Up to 8 flowers per 5" stem are produced, accounting for it's
floriferous habit. Tulipa biflora, turkestanica, and the aforementioned T.
polychroma, are all in the same Biflores Section, each species recognized
as valid.

4. Tulipa batalinii
This species seems an enigma, but I'm not sure why. It's the opinion of
some, this is really a yellow color form of red-flowered T.
linifolia. They say, it's in the "linifolia - Batalinii group", whatever
that means taxonomically. There are indeed similarities, but lumping these
together as a single entity doesn't seem an obvious conclusion. Checking
recent taxonomic opinion to ascertain consensus, it appears that T.
batalinii and T. linifolia are two distinct species, both members of the
closely allied Clusianae Section of Tulipa.

T. batalinii has been in cultivation for a long time, as has T.
linifolia. The beautiful cultivar known as T. batalinii 'Bronze Charm' is
said to be a hybrid between the two species, first introduced by the
Holland bulb firm of Van Tubergen, responsible for introducing a number of
Tulipa species and cultivars. Photographs of batalinii 'Bronze Charm' and
linifolia are found on my photo gallery prepared for this ATOW.

Some observations between the two species (from plants I've grown)
- batalinii has linear, acuminate, undulate foliage.
- linifolia has linear, nearly lorate, foliage, that can be undulate

- batalinii has urceolate (lily shaped) flowers
- linifolia has flowers that open flat

- batalinii has full flowers, but not rotate
- linifolia has full flowers that are rotate

- batalinii has pale yellow to medium yellow flowers
- linifolia has shining, intense red flowers

- batalinii has 3 distinct inner petals, and 3 differently shaped outer
petals.
- linifolia has all 6 petals ~ uniformly shaped and sized

- batalinii does not have a distinct central eye
- linifolia has a distinct jet-black central eye

Personally I find the two species instantly recognizable and distinct, yet
some schools of thought put these two entities together as synonyms.

5. Tulipa bakeri 'Lilac Wonder'
Pretty lilac-pink flowers and yolk-yellow centers, in small but substantial
classic cup-shaped blooms. The foliage is too chubby for my taste,
visually detracting from this medium-sized "dwarf" tulip. When buying
Holland-grown bulbs in nursery center bulb bins each autumn, it seems this
Tulipa is a frequent usurper of other species, the bulbs oftentimes mixed
in with other varieties.

6. Tulipa humilis
The name can represent a whole cluster of species, depending on one's
viewpoint, in the Saxatiles Section of the genus. It has the same coloring
as T. bakeri, typically a nice bright pink with a prominent yellow
center. This species is dwarfer than bakeri, growing 4 - 6" (10 - 15 cm)
tall, with upright starry flowers. The leaves are more refined, being
small, linear, and grayish. According to some authors, T. humilis subsumes
such species as aucheriana, pulchella, and violacea, but recent botanical
works have recognized each as valid species. Bulbs of T. humilis and many
of it's varieties are often available inexpensively.

6a. Tulipa humilis 'Albo Coerulea Oculata' (correctly T. violacea var.
pallida)
It is here among the variable humilis group of allied species, that we have
the famous T. humilis 'Albo Coerulea Oculata', a gorgeous thing with open,
starry white flowers sporting steel blue centers. It's "to die for". About
3 - 4" in bloom (7.5 - 10 cm). This plant is found under a bewildering
array of synonyms and variant names. To the best of my knowledge, it is
correctly identified as Tulipa violacea var. pallida. But also look for it
as T. pulchella albocoerulea oculata, T. pulchella caerulea, T. humilis
alba caerulea, and many other name permutations! The bulbs, when
obtainable, cost about $5 - $8 U.S. each! Check the links posted on my
Dwarf Tulipa gallery for a couple bulb sources for this beauty. Splurge
and get 5-6 bulbs; it's worth the investment. Some photo links are listed
below.

7. Tulipa stellata ssp. chrysantha
Inexpensively available where better selections of Holland bulbs are sold,
this brilliant species is usually labeled simply as T. chrysantha. It's
also been considered a variety of T. clusiana, and listed as T. clusiana
var. chrysantha, sometimes offered for sale under that name. It's a
charming dwarf species with neat basal foliage that is small, narrow and
trim, with tightly held buds which in low light show the cinnabar red backs
of the petals, metamorphosing into surprisingly large, flat, starry blooms
of pure yellow after a couple hours of strong sunshine. It pairs nicely
with the electric red T. linifolia. Both this species and T. linifolia are
in the Clusianae section of Tulipa.

8. Tulipa linifolia
I particularly like the fullness of the blooms on this species, rendering a
nearly circular or rotate flower profile when fully opened on warm sunny
days. The broad petals reflex backwards, abruptly contracted into a fine
point, giving a most distinctive appearance. The flowers, on 4 - 5" (10 -
12.5 cm) stems, have a satiny, light-reflective sheen, and a jet black
center to each flower. Flowers in April the same time as T. stellata ssp.
chrysantha.

Tulipa species & cultivars I want to grow:
=============================
There are a large number of desirable dwarf tulipa for the rock garden. It
would be tedious to list them all, but here are some that are on my mind:

a. T. celsiana - low or prostrate glossy green leaves, and lots of starry
yellow flowers, stained red on the outside. The Van Tubergen link below
has a good color photo. 10 - 15 cm.

b. T. clusiana cultivars - this species is the namesake for the Clusianae
section of Tulipa, famous as the 'Lady Tulip'. All varieties are charming,
the basic theme being white, cream, yellow, or pinkish flowers, strongly
banded with crimson on the exterior. Most varieties grow 8 - 12" (20 - 30 cm).

c. T. dasystemon - the true plant is hard to come by. This species,
allied to T. tarda, is usually misidentified in cultivation and usurped by
T. tarda itself. The true species has blue-green leaves and bright yellow
flowers, without the white tips as in T. tarda. About 4" tall (10 cm).

d. T. kurdica - here you have an extremely dwarf species, with very narrow
straps of foliage and nearly stemless cranberry red flowers sitting nearly
stemless.

e. T. 'Little Beauty' - a great looking miniature with small, moody,
red-purplish-tinted cups. Only 4" (10 cm) tall. There is a very good photo
of on the Van Tubegen web site... see link below.

f. T. montana (syn. T. wilsoniana) - a small refined species with
show-stopping chalice-shaped red-orange flowers on mere 4" - 6" stems (10 -
15 cm).

g. T. schrenkii - growing 3" - 4" tall (7.5 - 10 cm), with scarlet
flowers and an orange margin.

h. T. sylvestris - stoloniferously increasing species with semi-nodding
starry flowers of golden yellow, tinged greenish on the exterior. Said to
be strongly fragrant. Looks to be a delightful species; see the Van
Tubergen link below.

i. T. turkestanica - (syn. bifloriformis Vved.) - The photo on the Van
Tubergen web site (see link below) shows a most graceful and desirable
species, with cream-white flowers with yellow-orange centers. The reflexed
and nodding flowers have a strong resemblance to an Erythronium
species. Grows 8 - 12" (20 - 30 cm).

j. T. vvedenskyi - There are several named forms of this species. Has the
appearance of a "classic tulip" in form, but smaller, and growing 8" - 12"
tall (20 - 30 cm) with bright orange and yellow flowers.

***************
I'm only just getting started with Tulipa species. Please share with us
your favorites. Are Tulipa species short-lived in your experience, as the
books say, or are they more permanent than generally credited? Know of any
good taxonomic references for the genus?

***************

Selected Dwarf Tulipa - Internet links.
(in no particular order)
==========================

Van Tubergen Bulb company
<http://vantubergen.co.uk/vtub/dept.asp/…>http://www.vantuberge.com/
http://n.co.uk/vtub/dept.asp?dept_id=55
(Good images of such species as T. celsiana, turkestanica, 'Little Beauty',
"clusiana chrysantha", sylvestris, and others)

<http://www.hoogdix.com/>http://www.hoogdix.com/
Click on: descriptive catalog > click on Tulipa
(large and informative listing of Tulipa species and cultivars)

Paul Christian
<http://rareplants.co.uk/tulipa/>http://rareplants.co.uk/tulipa/<http://rarep.com/
http://lants.co.uk/tulipa/>/

BulbMeister.com
<http://bulbmeister.com/flowershop/fpl2003/…>http://www.bulbme.com/
http://ister.com/flowershop/fpl2003/page10.html

The National Tulip Collection at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden
<http://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/Tulipa.html>http://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/Tulip/
a.html

Tulipa "bifloriformis" ( = turkestanica)
<http://gartendatenbank.de/pflanzen/tulipa/…>http://www.gartendat.com/
http://enbank.de/pflanzen/tulipa/a009.htm

Pacific Rim native Plant Nursery
<http://www.hillkeep.ca/bulbs%20tulipa.htm>http://www.hillkeep.ca/bulbs%20tu/
lipa.htm

Odyssey Bulbs
<http://odysseybulbs.com/scillatoveltheimia.html/>http://www.odysseybulbs.com/
.com/scillatoveltheimia.html

John Lonsdale's Edgewood Gardens
John Lonsdale has some very good images of selected Tulipa species.
<http://edgewoodgardens.net/Plant%20Galleries/…
lipa>http://edgewoodgardens.net/Plant%20Galleries/…
e\Tulipa

Tulipa kurdica - a very dwarf red-flowered species
<http://alpinegardensociety.org/shows/results/…
s/Trevor_Jones/sizedMVC-007S.JPG.html>http://www.alpinegardensociety.org/sho/
ws/results/shows2003/shows/KENT/images/Trevor_Jones/sizedMVC-007S.JPG.html

Tulipa humilis alba caerulea (= T. violacea var. pallida)
Good close-up photograph by: Cliff Booker Posted: 26.04.03, 23:46:52
<http://home.no.net/alpenpix/board/…
52>http://home.no.net/alpenpix/board/board.php<http://home.no.net/alpenpix/b/
oard/board.php?action=read&id_board=030426234652>?action=read&id_board=03042
6234652

Beautiful view of Tulipa humilis 'Alba Caerulea Oculata' ( = T. violacea
var. pallida)
Pacific Rim Native Plant Nursery
<http://www.hillkeep.ca/bulbs%20tulipa.htm>http://www.hillkeep.ca/bulbs%20tu/
lipa.htm
http://hillkeep.ca/images/…
oemer.jpg

Small thumbnail sized images of Tulipa species and other bulbs available at:
<http://www.botanicus.nu/index.php?menu=007>http://www.botanicus.nu/index.ph
p?menu=007

The Reticulata Iris guy, Alan McMurtrie, Ontario CA, has some nice Tulipa
photos:
<http://www.reticulatas.com/HardyBulbs/index.html>http://www.reticulatas.com/
/HardyBulbs/index.html
http://www.reticulatas.com/HardyBulbs/Tulip-1.html
<http://www.reticulatas.com/HardyBulbs/Tulip-2.html>http://www.reticulatas.c/
om/HardyBulbs/Tulip-2.html
http://www.reticulatas.com/HardyBulbs/Tulip-3.html
<http://www.reticulatas.com/HardyBulbs/Tulip-4.html>http://www.reticulatas.c/
om/HardyBulbs/Tulip-4.html

article on tulipa species
<http://canoe.ca/HGGardening_PlantGardenPlants/…>http:/
/http://canoe.ca/HGGardening_PlantGardenPlants/…

tulipa gallery (in German, but some nice photos)
<http://gartendatenbank.de/pflanzen/tulipa/…>http://www.gartenda.com/
http://tenbank.de/pflanzen/tulipa/index.htm

Nursery source:
Fraser's Thimble Farms, BC Canada
<http://www.thimblefarms.com/sbulb6.html>http://www.thimblefarms.com/sbulb6/.
html

Dwarf Bulbs, by Brian Mathew, 1973 - contains a brief but most useful
enumeration of species. There are several other excellent books by Brian
Mathew covering Tulipa.

The Random House of Bulbs, by Roger Phillips & Martyn Rix, 1989 - an
indispensable photographic guide to bulbs of all sorts, but of course, a
good selection of Tulipa.

Czechoslovakian Tulipa species study
- includes a few pages in English and botanical latin names; representing a
recent partial taxonomic summary of species, synonyms, and Sections of
related species.
<http://genbank.vurv.cz/genetic/resources/…>http://genban.com/
http://k.vurv.cz/genetic/resources/….<http://genbank.vurv.cz/genetic/
/resources/documents/Tulipa.pdf>pdf

Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States
antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5
==============================================

web site under construction - http://www.plantbuzz.com/ <<

alliums, bulbs, penstemons, hardy hibiscus, western
american alpines, iris, plants of all types!
+ dwarf Tulipa!

Note from Mary Sue: Our wiki wasn't mentioned, but it has some nice
pictures too:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

Dr. James W. Waddick
8871 NW Brostrom Rd.
Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711
USA
Ph. 816-746-1949
E-fax 419-781-8594

Zone 5 Record low -23F
Summer 100F +