Description
Growing from 5-15 cm tall this is a delightful, very early and very hardy miniature with clustered, yellow-centred, white flowers. The reverse is shaded with grey-green, marked with green and infused with pale pink. The pink increases in intensity with flower maturity and they finish quite blushed. The flower has a light but pervasive violet scent in sunshine.
Narrow strappy blue leaves are present with the flowers and become longer with age, before they die back in late spring. This is a species that not only survives the cold well outside, but it can be left in the ground all year, lifting only once every few years to separate the bulbs if they become crowded, at which time the old tunics can also be cleaned up.
Fertile sunny spot in well drained soil with some humus.
Superficially similar to Tulipa biflora but Tulipa polychroma is larger and bunch-flowered. Spread from the E. Caucasus, across N.Iran and NW.Afghanistan in steppes, semi-deserts and mountains to 3000 m.
Picture copyright © Gideon Pisanty, with thanks. Under GNU Free Documentation License.
