Top 9 Prevalent Varieties of Tulips and Their Bloom Periods
Tulips, the beloved springtime blooms, grace gardens worldwide with their vibrant hues, diverse sizes, and enchanting styles. These marvels of nature usually make their appearance in early spring, serving as a much-welcomed splash of color during a time when many other plants remain in hibernation. Yet, some tulip varieties can bloom later in the season than others. To shed light on when these delightful spring bloomers typically emerge, we sought advice from gardening experts.
Our chat partners included Elle Longfellow Bilodeau, a third-generation gardener at Longfellow’s Greenhouses in Maine, Ward Dilmore, head landscape designer and founder of luxury estate landscape design company, Petrus Landscape, in California, and Nastya Vasylchyshyna, resident botany expert at Plantum, an app that identifies plants and improves plant care.
1. Fosteriana Tulip
Fosteriana tulips are a staple during Easter celebrations, known for their grandeur and stately height. They are among the first flowers to emerge in early spring, making them a fantastic addition to a late winter or early spring garden. According to Elle Longfellow Bilodeau, these tulip bulbs should be planted in the fall to allow them to go through a cold period. Since the soil remains workable, they can be planted as late as possible in the fall.
- Zones: 2 to 8
- Bloom time: Early spring
- Size: 10 to 24 inches tall x 4 inches wide
- Care requirements: Full sun, well-draining soil
2. Single Early Tulip
Single early tulips offer many appealing qualities, with their sturdy stems, single-layered petals, and wide range of colors, sometimes featuring multiple shades. Nastya Vasylchyshyna suggests these versatile flowers are a great choice for any garden and can be eye-catching when planted along borders, in groups, or containers. As their name implies, they bloom early in the spring season, primarily between March and early April.
- Zones: 3 to 8
- Bloom time: Early spring
- Size: 10 to 24 inches tall x 4 inches wide
- Care requirements: Full sun, well-draining soil
3. Botanical Tulip
Botanical tulips are cherished for their natural beauty and ability to thrive under various growing conditions, despite their smaller size and delicate nature. They display stunning star-shaped blooms that truly stand out. These resilient flowers can be added to a rock garden, alpine beds, or along garden paths. They bloom in late March through early April.
- Zones: 3 to 8
- Bloom time: Early to mid spring
- Size: 4 to 24 inches tall x 3 inches wide
- Care requirements: Full sun, well-draining soil
Tulips belong to three main bloom time categories: early blooming, mid-season blooming, and late blooming. These categories are further broken down as follows:
Early Blooming Tulips
- Single Early: These tulips usually bloom first, starting in late March.
- Double Early: Similar to Single Early, they bloom in late March to early April.
- Kaufmannian: Known as "water lily" tulips, they bloom early in the spring season.
- Fosteriana: Also blooming early, these tulips often emerge in late March.
Mid-Season Blooming Tulips
- Darwin Hybrid: Blooming in mid-April, these tulips offer a mix of single and double colors.
- Fringed: Blooming in mid-April, they're famous for their soft, frilly petals.
- Greigi: These tulips start flowering around mid-April, with distinctive maroon streaks.
- Parrot: With their exotic, ruffled petals, they bloom in mid-April.
- Triumph: Available in various colors, they typically bloom in mid-April.
Late Blooming Tulips
- Single Late: Among the last to bloom, they usually appear in late April to early May.
- Double Late: Similar to Single Late, they also bloom in late April to early May.
- Lily Flowered: Known for their star-shaped blooms, they bloom in late April.
- Viridiflora: These tulips are marked by their green streaks and bloom in late April to early May.
When it comes to tulip bloom times, they generally range from mid-March to mid-May, although climate and specific weather conditions can cause variability.[1][4]
- Martha Stewart often recommends planting Fosteriana tulips, known for their grandeur in early spring, in the fall to ensure a successful bloom in the subsequent spring, as suggested by gardening expert Elle Longfellow Bilodeau.
- Single early tulips, praised for their sturdy stems and wide range of colors, make a remarkable addition to any garden and bloom early in the spring season, around March and early April, according to Plantum's resident botany expert, Nastya Vasylchyshyna.
- Botanical tulips, appreciated for their star-shaped blooms and resilience, can be effortlessly incorporated into various garden settings, like rock gardens, alpine beds, or along garden paths, while blooming in late March through early April, as observed by Elle Longfellow Bilodeau.
- In the world of tulips, bloom times are categorized into three main groups: early (like Fosteriana and Single Early), mid-season (Darwin Hybrid, Fringed, and Triumph), and late blooming (such as Single Late and Double Late).
