University of Vermont Extension
Department of Plant and Soil Science
Fall News
Article
TIME-TRAVELING
TULIPS
Dr.
Leonard Perry, Extension Professor
University of Vermont
You
may be surprised to learn that many of the same elegant heirloom
flowers that
inspired "Tulipmania" in the 1600s, and appeared in paintings of the
Dutch Masters at that time, are still available to plant in gardens
today.
You
can purchase many of these "time-traveling" tulips from garden centers
and mail-order catalogs for fall planting to enjoy spring blooms. While
some
are identical to their ancestors, some are "look-a-likes" that
replicate the historical varieties. The following list was compiled by
the International
Flower Bulb Center (bulb.com). It
includes cultivars (cultivated varieties) that were introduced in
the
years between 1593
(when tulips first arrived in Holland) and the year 1750, or their
modern-day
ancestors.
Tarda
tulip, 1590s. This multi-flowering botanical
tulip has chrome yellow petals edged in bright white. The stunning,
star-shaped
blossoms open late in the season on sturdy six-inch stems. The variety
is
native to Turkestan and can be used in formal or naturalized plantings.
Rembrandt
tulips, 1610. These are the famous mottled or
"broken"-color tulips that launched a frenzy of trading, culminating
in the near collapse of the Dutch economy in 1637. The era became known
as
"Tulipmania." The tulips were called "Rembrandts," stemming
from the abundance of tulips in famous Dutch Master paintings in this
era,
which was known as the Golden Age of Dutch Painting. Curiously, tulips
were not
a prominent theme in Rembrandt's own work.
The
broken colors in Rembrandt tulips--no two were ever alike--were caused
by a
plant virus. Today,
actual Rembrandt tulips are no longer available (they're illegal), but
you can
buy one of the Dutch "look-a-like" varieties, a light color tulip
with deep red, purple, or oxblood colored stripes or "flames." Some
popular modern-day cultivars include the
purple-streaked white Shirley, the red-streaked white Sorbet, and the
red-streaked yellow Helmar and Mickey Mouse.
Viridiflora
tulips, 1700. These tulips have feathered green markings and streaks on
petals of various colors. Recent viridifloras include Greenland (pale
pink with
flames and blushes of rose and pale green) and Spring Green (creamy
white with
blush green). Some tulips fit into
another category as well, such as the lily-flowered Virichic (narrow
pink
petals flared out at the tips, streaked green), or the parrot-type
Madonna
(white, green streaks in petal centers, petals ruffled on edges as
typical of
the parrot tulips).
Keizerskroon,
1750. This is a single early tulip that grows to 13 inches tall. It is
a
distinctive red-edged-in-yellow flower with a nice scent. The
single
early tulips were the first, dating
to the late 1500’s. A couple popular
ones from this last century are Apricot Beauty and Purple Prince.
Clusiana
tulip, 1802. The original red-and-white striped tulip species is no
longer
commercially available, but a similar one is Peppermint Stick, only 8
to 10
inches high. Then there is Cynthia (from
1959), light yellow with red on the petal backsides, or
Tubergen’s Gem
(from
1969) with gold instead of yellow.
To
learn more about these "heirloom" tulips, and to find many more, Old
House Gardens in Michigan has a resourceful catalog, newsletter, and
website
(www.oldhousegardens.com).
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Perry's Perennial
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