Specialty Tulips
Back in our cutting flower field this year are specialty tulips! Our tulipa bulbs were planted last fall and we are patiently awaiting their blooms, which should make their appearance here in the next few weeks (late April-May). Some of these varieties we grew last year, but many are new to us this year and we’re very excited to offer special, hard-to-find shapes and colors in the tulip family!
Here on our farm, tulips are grown as an annual. Because we harvest blooms, leaves, bulbs and all, there isn’t anything left for the bulb to set flowers for next season. Even if we re-planted the bulbs after harvest, only foliage would produce in the coming years.
The tulips we grow aren’t the common landscape tulips you see - these are specialty tulips. What makes them “special” is the array of the dazzling rainbow of colors, tall stems, fringed or uniquely-shaped petals, soft scents and large blooms. We’ve selected these varieties for stem length and vase life - we hope you enjoy them this spring! I think you’ll fall in love with tulips in a new way, just like we did with these specialty varieties.
VARIETIES
Below are the tulips we have growing in 2022:
Photos are not our own but sourced from a well-known flower farm, supplier, and education resource - Floret (because she takes gorgeous photos!)
Aveyron
Super-double, peony-like flowers are a glowing, berry-toned rose pink. Dark gray anthers rise among ruffled central petals with lighter veining.
PEONY DOUBLE • LATE-BLOOMER (MAY)
Black Hero
Velvety lustrous midnight-black blooms with a marron sheen atop long, strong stems.
PEONY DOUBLE • LATE-BLOOMER (MAY)
Black Parrot
Striking maroon-eggplant shade. Narrow petals with fantastic scallops and fringed edges have a refined quality.
PARROT • LATE-BLOOMER (MAY)
Blue parrot
Huge flowers have ruffled petals that are an intense bright violet with hints of blue. As flowers open, they reveal purple interiors.
PARROT • LATE-BLOOMER (MAY)
Creme Upstar
Buttery-yellow flowers are brushed with light rose and apricot, giving blooms an iridescent quality. Color deepens as the flowers age.
DOUBLE • LATE-BLOOMER (MAY)
exotic emperor
Frilly, creamy-white petals with green on the outside. Blooms open to reveal lemon-yellow centers on tall stems.
DOUBLE • EARLY-BLOOMER (APRIL)
Green Star
Two layers of alternating Granny Smith apple-colored petals with white outer edges. Petals point and bend sharply, mistaken sometimes for lilies.
LILY-FLOWERED • LATE-BLOOMER (MAY)
Menton
Flowers are a glowing, soft salmon-pink. Once unfurled, petals reveal a white vein against coral shading.
SINGLE • LATE-BLOOMER (MAY)
Paul Scherer
Classic, perfect tulip shape in the darkest black-eggplant shade. Moody!
TRIUMPH • MID-BLOOMER (EARLY MAY)
Rococo
Very rare color combination of cardinal red with deep purple and apple-green ruffled petals.
PARROT • LATE-BLOOMER (MAY)
Silver Parrot
Highly ruffled petals in the softest pink, brushed with darker pink and ivory. Leaves are slightly variegated.
PARROT • LATE-BLOOMER (MAY)
Violet Beauty
Shimmering lavender-blue, chalice-shaped flowers with interior ivory-white bases atop strong stems. Colors deepen as the flower ages.
SINGLE • LATE-BLOOMER (MAY)
VASE LIFE TRICKS
Most of these tulip varieties have a vase life 7-10 days. We try to harvest once the buds start to color before they’ve really bloomed. If kept chilled at this stage, buds can be kept for 4-6 weeks. Once in a vase with floral food, kept at room temperature, blooms will start to open. Keep in mind stems will elongate during the first few days, so if you’re adding them to an arrangement, nestle the flowers down deeper than you ultimately want them to be. Please remember to clip the stems with a change to the vase water every couple of days and add more flower food to prolong the vase life of tulips and keep the petals vibrant and richly colored.