Tulip
Tulipa spp.
📖 About this plant
The quintessential spring flower, tulips have captivated gardeners for centuries with their perfect cup-shaped blooms in nearly every color imaginable. From the classic red and yellow to dramatic near-black, fringed, parrot, and double-petaled varieties, there are over 3,000 registered cultivars. Planted in autumn, the bulbs endure winter dormancy and burst forth in spring, heralding the return of warm weather with their cheerful, colorful display.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
Full sun (6+ hrs)
Every 1-2 weeks
Low to moderate (30-50%)
5-15°C
Well-draining, fertile, sandy loam soil with good organic content; pH 6.0-7.0; bulbs will rot in waterlogged conditions
Bone meal or bulb food mixed into soil at planting time; top-dress with balanced fertilizer (10-10-10) in early spring as shoots emerge
🌐 Common Names
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Central Asia — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey; wild species from mountainous regions of the Tien Shan and Pamir Alai
- 📏 Max height
- 20-70 cm (depending on variety — dwarf types 10-20 cm, standard 30-45 cm, tall Darwin hybrids 50-70 cm)
- 📐 Spread
- 15-20 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Spring
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Red, Pink, Yellow, Purple
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial
- 📈 Growth rate
- Moderate
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Toxic to cats, dogs, and humans — tulipalin A and B (lactones) in bulbs cause vomiting, diarrhea, depression, and hypersalivation; bulb ingestion is most dangerous; daffodil/tulip bulbs are commonly mistaken for onions
- 🌱 Propagation
- Offset bulb separation (dig and divide every 3-5 years when clumps become crowded), or seed (hybrid varieties may not breed true)
🛡️ Health & Safety
Toxic to cats, dogs, and humans — tulipalin A and B (lactones) in bulbs cause vomiting, diarrhea, depression, and hypersalivation; bulb ingestion is most dangerous; daffodil/tulip bulbs are commonly mistaken for onions
Common issues
- Tulip fire disease
- Aphid infestations
- Bulb rot from waterlogged soil
- Viral diseases causing color breaking
💡 Care tips
- Plant bulbs in fall at least 6 weeks before ground freezes
- Requires a cold dormancy period to bloom properly
- Deadhead after flowering but leave foliage until it yellows
- Plant in large drifts for the most dramatic spring display
