Tulipa neustruevae - Botanical Tulip

Tulipa Neustruevae is a dwarf botanical Tulip with bright star-shaped, yellow flowers,. A closer observation reveals dark lines in olive green and purple-brown at the centre of their outer face, surrounding inner petals with green lines. The flowers bloom in a wide corolla, in March-April, on vibrant, healthy, fresh and glossy green foliage. This botanical tulip requires good sunlight, well-drained soil, and prefers cold, dry winters and dry summers, so it is ideal in an alpine rockery or a raised bed where it will easily naturalise.

The Neustruevae botanical Tulip belongs to the lily family, to the category of biflorous tulips. This species is native to Central Asia, more precisely Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan (north of Pamir Alai). It is found at low altitudes, growing on slopes and in rocky scree. It is very similar to Tulipa dasystemon, which resembles it, but grows at much higher altitudes.

This small tulip will not exceed 15 to 18 cm (6 to 7in) high when flowering. Its foliage is deciduous in summer and consists of two pairs of bright and glossy green linear leaves, 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6in) long and 2.4 cm (1in) wide. It flowers in March-April, earlier or later depending on the climate. Each bulb produces 2 to 3 fragrant bright yellow flowers, with 6 lanceolate petals, at least 1.5 cm (1in) long, without basal spots. They bloom while the stem is still growing, nestled in the foliage. The stamens and anthers located at the heart of the flower are also bright yellow. The flowers open fully under the sun.

Botanical tulips do not degenerate over time like large-flowered tulips. They naturalize and can remain in place for several years without maintenance, thriving in borders and rockeries. To create colourful scenes, they can be associated with various small bulb plants: Crocus, Allium moly, Muscari, Erythronium pagoda, Scilla sibirica... These tulips are unmatched for bringing spring colour to pots or sunny gardens.

Tulip species are found in most of the Old World, from Western Europe to China and Japan, through Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and Central Asia. Their distribution area also includes North Africa and the Indian subcontinent. The centre of diversity for the genus is found in the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains and the steppes of Kazakhstan.