The bulbs which perennialize
Jane McGary (Sat, 02 Oct 2010 08:53:09 PDT)

Max wrote

T. doerfleri is the "outlier" of the Cretan tulips -- the other
three, T. cretica, T. bakeri, and T. saxatilis, are regarded as
conspecific by some botanists. They do look quite different from one
another both in the wild and in cultivation, and they seem to prefer
different habitats. T. cretica grows right down to the coast, but the
others are plants of the stony middle elevation parts. T. bakeri is
the largest-flowered of the three, and T. doerfleri is about as
large. T. bakeri and T. saxatilis are widely available, and T.
cretica is remarkably easy from seed, flowering sometimes in the
third year from sowing. I usually have seed of it for an exchange,
though this year the rabbits got it all. T. saxatilis perennialized
in my Oregon garden in the Cascade foothills, secreted among rocks to
foil the voles; I haven't tried any of the others outdoors. In nature
T. saxatilis and T. cretica tend to grow in rock formations, avoiding
rodents that way no doubt, while T. bakeri flourishes in cultivated
fields if the grazing animals are kept off them at the right season.
I saw T. doerfleri growing in the meadow below the rocky outcrops
where T. saxatilis grows; perhaps it likes richer soil and/or more
moisture. In any case, all of them get some winter chill.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA