Tulipa clusiana 'Peppermintstick'

The 'Perppermintstick' Tulip is a selection very close to the legendary clusiana botanical tulip, to which it bears a strong resemblance. However, it proves to be easier to cultivate and acclimate in our gardens, where it naturalizes with enthusiasm. Of similar stature, it has the same delicate and elegant flowering, white with cherry red reverses, absolutely radiant under the April sun. Carried at the top of a slender stem, its pointed petal flower opens in a sparkling white star around a violet heart. A fantastic garden bulbous plant that possesses all the charm of wild tulips!

The 'Peppermintstick' botanical tulip belongs to the lily family. The wild species Tulipa clusiana, also known as the Lady Tulip or the Tulip of L'Écluse, is native to southeastern Iran and the western Himalayas, as well as Spain, Portugal, and Italy. In France, it can be found in cultivated fields in the Midi, as far as the Rhône, Tarn, and Gironde. It is a plant that thrives in sunny, clay-limestone soil that is dry in summer. Its base colour is white. It is one of the only species of tulips that naturalizes and blooms in mild winter climates not affected by frost. Rare in the wild, it has given rise to numerous cultivars and hybrids, including 'Peppermintstick'.

This delicate tulip, with its small bulb covered in a woolly tunic, will not exceed 25cm (10in) in height when in bloom. Its foliage is a slightly greyish, bluish green, composed of narrow, linear leaves. It emerges from the ground in late winter and disappears after flowering, in late spring, before the arrival of heat. The flowers appear in April, sometimes as early as March, depending on the climate. They emerge as dark pink, very slender flower buds that blend into the surrounding vegetation. Then they open more widely, revealing a very white interior, with a base that is speckled with black-violet. Coloured pink-red on the outside, they are very elegant even when closed. They open wide in the sun and close in the evening and when the sun is hidden.

Botanical tulips do not deteriorate over time like large-flowered tulips. They naturalize and can remain in place for several years without special maintenance, and they thrive in borders and rock gardens. To create colourful scenes, they can be combined with various small bulbous plants: Crocus, Allium moly, Ipheion uniflorum, Anemone blanda, small-flowered Narcissus... These tulips are unrivaled in bringing the colours of spring to pots or sunny gardens. Clusiana tulips are highly recommended in Mediterranean gardens, where they appreciate the long, dry summers. In a dry garden, they can be accompanied by Santolinias, low lavenders, Saponaria ocymioides, thymes...