Tulipa greigii Friendly Fire

The Tulip Greigii 'Friendly Fire' is a low-growing variety with early flowering, and its large flowers display a vibrant colouration of red finely streaked with creamy white. From March onwards, they bloom amidst a nest of delicately marbled dark purple leaves. With excellent performance in flower beds, this bulbous plant awakens the garden after winter. Robust and reliable, resistant to summer drought and undemanding, it returns each year. Also, consider creating beautiful pots with its bulbs to enjoy them on a windowsill!

The Tulip Greigii 'Friendly Fire' belongs to the Liliaceae family. The botanical species Tulipa greigii was the first to be cultivated from wild bulbs brought back from Uzbekistan to Germany in 1871. It is actually native to Central Asia and northeastern Iran. This plant has given rise to many cultivars, including 'Friendly Fire'. It will not exceed 15-20 cm (6-8in) in height when in bloom. Its foliage is broad, marked with purple to brown spots on a glaucous green background. The flowers appear in March, earlier or later depending on the climate. They are initially globular, then open widely under the sun. The petals are a deep carmine red to rose, irregularly streaked with white. They bloom in the sun and close when it hides. The foliage dries up after flowering, while the bulb goes into dormancy.

The botanical tulips and their closest hybrids do not degenerate over time like large-flowered tulips. They naturalise, can remain in place for several years without special maintenance, and thrive in borders and rockeries. To create colourful scenes, they can be combined with various small bulbous plants: Crocus, Allium moly, Ipheion uniflorum, Anemone blanda, small-flowered Daffodils, Muscari, Puschkinia. These tulips are unparalleled in bringing the colours of spring to pots or sunny gardens.

Tulip species are found from Western Europe to China and Japan, through Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and Central Asia. They are also found in North Africa and India. The centre of diversity for the Tulipa genus is in the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains and the steppes of Kazakhstan. In France, there are various native species, many of which are endangered. These are either large adventive tulips from cultivated fields, the most well-known being the Agen tulip (Tulipa agenensis), or small tulips found in wooded areas or among rocks in the mountains. In cultivation, they are called "botanical tulips," and one of the most common is the wild tulip (Tulipa sylvestris), which used to often grow sheltered by vines. Its subspecies australis is known as the southern tulip.