Tulipa humilis

The botanical Tulipa humilis is a wild species of very small size, as its species name suggests, and one of the first to bloom in the garden. Its flowers, which grow close to the ground, are of variable colour, but always charmingly star-shaped. They emit a particular fragrance. The leaves, linear and shiny green, sometimes appear after flowering. Originally from Turkey and Iran, it is a small, resilient wild bulb adapted to poor soils and arid conditions that easily naturalizes in the garden.

Tulipa humilis belongs to the family Liliaceae. Its origins are found between the Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and up to northern Russia. This species has an extremely variable appearance depending on its origin. Commonly encountered are pink to purplish forms with beautiful blue markings in the throat. Flowering occurs in March-April, sometimes earlier in very mild regions. At the end of a short flowering stem, not exceeding 10cm (4in), one to three globular flowers are borne. Each has three pointed sepals that are identical to the three petals, which are therefore called tepals. The corolla opens widely in the sun, in a star shape, exhaling a subtle, somewhat indefinable fragrance, both sweet and spicy. The bulbs are small, measuring 3 to 4cm (1 to 2in) in diameter. This plant develops leaves of a dark bluish green, relatively narrow, sometimes almost curled, measuring 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) in length. The foliage dries up some time after flowering, while the bulb goes into dormancy. During this time of year, the soil can be very dry without causing any harm to the tulip.

Tulipa humilis, while being a true little gem, is also a reliable and faithful plant, which will naturally find its place in rock gardens, along pathways, or on slightly wild slopes, even if they are rather dry in summer. Far from the large calyxes of its Dutch relatives, its low-growing stars bring life to flower beds, early in spring, in the company of crocuses with which they are sometimes confused. It adapts well to pot or container cultivation, allowing for maximum enjoyment of its radiant flowering.

Botanical tulips and very similar tulips like this selection do not degenerate over time; they naturalize and can remain in place for several years without any special maintenance, thriving in borders and rock gardens. To create colourful scenes, they can be combined with various small bulbous plants: Ipheion uniflorum, Anemone blanda, Cyclamen coum, Erythronium pagoda, Leucojum vernum, and more.