Foxtrot Paris Double Early Tulip: A Peony-Flowered Beauty for the Spring Garden

There are tulips that announce spring with brilliant primary colors, and then there are those that seem to have been painted with a softer brush.

‘Foxtrot’, sometimes marketed as ‘Foxtrot Paris’, belongs decidedly to the latter group.

Its large, densely petaled flowers open in shades of ivory, blush pink and soft rose, sometimes showing touches of green when young. As the blossoms mature, their colors deepen, so that a planting can contain several shades at once. Add a sweet fragrance and compact, sturdy growth, and ‘Foxtrot’ becomes much more than another pretty pink tulip.

It is one of those flowers best appreciated close enough to notice the details.

Is It ‘Foxtrot’ or ‘Foxtrot Paris’?

This deserves clarification at the outset.

The accepted cultivar name is Tulipa ‘Foxtrot’. The Royal Horticultural Society lists ‘Foxtrot’ as the accepted name and classifies it in the Double Early Group. Major professional bulb suppliers likewise list the cultivar simply as ‘Foxtrot’.

The name ‘Foxtrot Paris’ is used commercially by some bulb retailers for what appears to be this same pink Double Early tulip.

So, if you purchase bulbs labeled “Foxtrot Paris,” you are essentially dealing with the tulip horticulturally known as ‘Foxtrot’.

And that matters when trying to trace its history.

When Was ‘Foxtrot’ Introduced—and By Whom?

Here the historical trail becomes frustratingly thin.

Information suggesting an introduction around 1981 by G. de Boer & Zn. should not be repeated as established fact. On checking better horticultural sources, I cannot substantiate that attribution sufficiently to recommend publishing it.

The Royal Horticultural Society recognizes ‘Foxtrot’ as an accepted cultivar but does not provide an introduction year or breeder on its plant record. Current Dutch and American professional bulb sources likewise describe the cultivar extensively without supplying a reliable breeder and introduction date.

Therefore, until an authoritative Dutch cultivar-registration record or contemporary breeder's catalogue turns up, the most responsible thing to say is:

The exact breeder and original introduction date of ‘Foxtrot’ are not well documented in readily accessible horticultural references.

There is no virtue in giving a precise date merely because somebody on the Internet gave one first.

Why Is It Called ‘Foxtrot’?

The original breeder's explanation for the name is similarly elusive.

It is tempting to associate the flower with the foxtrot, the smooth ballroom dance that became enormously popular during the early twentieth century. The name certainly gives the cultivar an air of movement and elegance appropriate to its soft, changing colors.

But there is no reliable evidence I have found showing that the breeder deliberately named the tulip for the dance.

One bulb retailer rather playfully associates the name with a fox, describing its pink-and-white flowers as playful.

Neither explanation should be presented as documented history.

What we can say is that Foxtrot is a wonderfully memorable name for an elegant flower, and the association with the dance is irresistible.

A breeze moving through a bed of pink ‘Foxtrot’ tulips might even justify the name after the fact.

What Type of Tulip Is ‘Foxtrot’?

‘Foxtrot’ is a Double Early tulip.

The RHS describes Double Early tulips as producing double, bowl-shaped flowers in mid-spring. ‘Foxtrot’ itself bears densely layered blossoms on relatively compact stems.

The flowers are so full that they are often described as peony-flowered tulips.

That doesn't mean they are related to peonies, of course. It simply describes their appearance. An ordinary tulip has six tepals, while a double tulip carries many additional petals, producing a much fuller blossom.

‘Foxtrot’ generally reaches only about 12 to 16 inches tall, depending upon growing conditions.

That compact stature is one of its great virtues.

A Flower That Changes Color

Perhaps the most interesting feature of ‘Foxtrot’ is that its flowers don't remain quite the same color from beginning to end.

Young flowers can open ivory or creamy white with soft pink and touches of green. As they mature, pink gradually becomes more prominent, eventually deepening toward richer rose shades.

Consequently, a bed of ‘Foxtrot’ doesn't necessarily appear as a uniform block of pink.

Some blossoms may be pale.

Others may be blush.

Still others may have matured to a deeper rose.

The effect is almost like a watercolor painting in which the colors have been allowed to flow into one another.

And It Is Fragrant

Here is another reason to grow it near a path or patio: ‘Foxtrot’ is fragrant.

Both the RHS-associated plant listing and Johnny's Selected Seeds describe the flowers as sweetly or lightly fragrant.

Tulips aren't generally the first bulbs we think of for fragrance. Hyacinths and narcissus usually take that honor.

So fragrance in a handsome double tulip is a welcome bonus.

How to Use ‘Foxtrot’ in the Landscape

Because it is relatively short, ‘Foxtrot’ belongs primarily toward the front of flower beds and borders.

A 12-inch tulip planted behind two-foot perennials is a tulip nobody is going to see.

Instead, bring it forward.

The RHS recommends ‘Foxtrot’ for flower beds and borders, cottage and informal gardens, containers, underplanting roses and shrubs, and cut-flower gardens.

Its compact stature also makes it especially useful where spring winds can batter taller tulips.

The flowers themselves are quite heavy, however. Double tulips carry a considerable load of petals, particularly after rain, so some protection from violent spring weather is advantageous.

Plant It in Generous Groups

‘Foxtrot’ is far more effective planted in groups or drifts than scattered singly around the garden.

Ten bulbs will make a pleasant clump.

Twenty-five will create a proper display.

Fifty planted in a broad drift can create a remarkable pool of shifting ivory, blush and rose.

Because the flowers themselves vary slightly in color as they mature, mass planting doesn't produce the monotonous effect that sometimes occurs with a large block of a single-color tulip.

The individual flowers provide the variation.

Pink and Blue

One of the finest combinations is ‘Foxtrot’ with blue grape hyacinths (Muscari).

Specialist bulb sellers specifically recommend the pairing, and it isn't difficult to see why.

The grape hyacinths form a low blue carpet beneath the larger pink tulips.

Other small blue spring flowers can perform the same service. Siberian squill, forget-me-nots and blue violas all provide cool contrast against Foxtrot's warm pink.

The combination has an old-fashioned spring-garden quality that is difficult to improve upon.

Try It With White

White brings out the softer side of ‘Foxtrot’.

Plant it among white tulips or white narcissus, and the ivory portions of the young Foxtrot flowers connect the two colors.

As the blossoms mature and become pinker, the contrast gradually strengthens.

That changing relationship makes the planting more interesting from week to week.

Cream flowers work particularly well if you want something gentler than pure white.

Pair It With Deep Purple

For greater drama, add deep purple, plum or nearly black tulips.

Now the soft pink becomes luminous.

The trick is not to use too much of the dark color. Let ‘Foxtrot’ dominate, with smaller groups of dark tulips providing punctuation.

A little darkness makes pastel colors more interesting.

Too much and spring begins looking suspiciously like November.

Excellent Beneath Roses

The RHS specifically suggests ‘Foxtrot’ for underplanting roses and shrubs.

That is a particularly sensible use.

When ‘Foxtrot’ is flowering, deciduous roses are usually producing foliage but haven't yet reached their great summer display. The tulips occupy the stage while the roses are preparing backstage.

As the tulips finish and their foliage begins to decline, the roses take over.

This is one of the secrets of good garden design: use the same ground for different performances at different times of year.

Made for Containers

If there were a tulip designed for pots, ‘Foxtrot’ would make a strong candidate.

Its compact growth, sturdy stems and large flowers make it particularly well suited to containers, and both the RHS and professional growers recommend it for this purpose.

Plant the bulbs fairly densely in a broad terracotta pot.

They need very little else.

For a more elaborate display, tuck low blue violas, forget-me-nots or grape hyacinths around the tulips.

Place the container near an entrance, patio or sitting area where the flowers can be seen—and smelled—at close range.

A Fine Cut Flower

‘Foxtrot’ is also an excellent cut tulip.

Its stems are unusually sturdy for such a compact plant, and professional growers value it for cut-flower production. Johnny's notes that stems can be harvested longer by pulling the entire plant rather than merely cutting above ground level, while Rotteveel Bulb Company describes ‘Foxtrot’ as having an exceptionally long vase life and being widely used in arrangements.

A vase filled entirely with these peony-like pink flowers needs very little embellishment.

The fragrance doesn't hurt, either.

Growing ‘Foxtrot’

Plant the bulbs in autumn in fertile, well-drained soil.

The RHS recommends a sunny position, protection from strong winds and excessive winter wet, and a planting depth of approximately 4 to 6 inches.

American bulb growers sometimes recommend planting tulips somewhat deeper, around 6 to 8 inches.

Good drainage is more important than quibbling over an inch.

Tulips tolerate winter remarkably well when dormant underground. What they don't appreciate is sitting in stagnant water.

After flowering, remove the spent blossoms if you intend to keep the bulbs, but allow the foliage to yellow naturally.

Don't Expect It to Behave Like a Daffodil

Double Early tulips are not among the most dependable perennial tulips.

Johnny's specifically notes that ‘Foxtrot’ does not naturalize or perennialize readily, while White Flower Farm likewise cautions that Double Early tulips are generally less reliable for repeat performance than groups such as Darwin Hybrids and species tulips.

That doesn't mean the bulbs cannot return.

In good conditions they may.

But if you want a lavish display every spring, it is safer to regard ‘Foxtrot’ primarily as a high-impact bedding and container tulip, supplementing the planting with fresh bulbs when necessary.

An Award-Winning Tulip

‘Foxtrot’ has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, an indication that its appeal isn't based on appearance alone.

It combines several unusually desirable qualities: double peony-like flowers, changing coloration, fragrance, compact growth and sturdy stems.

Those attributes make it equally at home in a cottage border, a formal spring bed, a large terracotta pot or a vase on the dining-room table.

A Tulip That Knows a Few Steps

The historical origin of the name ‘Foxtrot’ remains uncertain, and “Foxtrot Paris” appears to be a commercial variation of the accepted cultivar name rather than a separate old Dutch cultivar. But the association with the dance is too fitting to ignore.

The foxtrot is supposed to be smooth, graceful and flowing.

So is this tulip.

Its flowers begin in ivory and blush, gradually deepen through pink and rose, and sit on short sturdy stems above fresh spring foliage.

Plant it beside blue grape hyacinths. Put it beneath roses. Fill a terracotta pot with it. Or plant fifty bulbs in a sweeping drift and allow those shifting shades of pink to do the work.

‘Foxtrot’ may not actually have been named for the dance—but in the spring garden, it certainly knows the steps.

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Paul Scherer Triumph Tulip: The Quest for a Black Tulip

 

For centuries, tulip breeders chased an almost impossible dream: a truly black tulip.

They came remarkably close. Cultivars such as ‘Queen of Night’ produced flowers so dark that, under certain conditions, they appeared black. But look closely in good light and the truth emerged: they were actually very deep shades of purple or maroon.

Then came ‘Paul Scherer’.

Its flowers are an extraordinarily deep purple-black—velvety, brooding and sometimes convincingly black from even a modest distance. The Royal Horticultural Society describes the color simply as “very dark purple-black throughout.”

It is one of the darkest tulips available, and its story is tied directly to the long-running effort to produce the elusive black tulip.

When Was ‘Paul Scherer’ Developed?

‘Paul Scherer’ was bred by Dutch tulip breeder Geert Hageman, whose work on black tulips began during the late 1970s.

An account of Hageman's breeding work reports that in 1979 he crossed some of the darkest tulips then available, eventually raising thousands of seedlings from the resulting seed.

It was painstaking work.

Tulips grown from seed don't flower immediately. Bulbs must develop for several years before a breeder can finally see what sort of flower a particular seedling will produce.

According to the same historical account, Hageman was leaving his greenhouse shortly after midnight on February 18, 1986, when he noticed an exceptionally dark flower among his seedlings. It was the culmination of years of breeding toward the blackest possible tulip.

The cultivar is therefore commonly dated to 1986 as its breeding or selection date. Another horticultural history likewise identifies it as a cultivar bred by Hageman in 1986.

But that wasn't when gardeners could buy it.

Eleven More Years of Waiting

Finding an exceptional tulip is only the beginning.

A new tulip exists initially as a single bulb or a very small number of bulbs. Unlike an annual plant, it cannot simply be multiplied rapidly from thousands of seeds while remaining genetically identical.

The bulb has to produce offsets, those offsets must grow, and those in turn must produce more offsets.

Consequently, Hageman reportedly spent another eleven years building sufficient stock for commercial introduction.

That places its commercial introduction around 1997.

So there are really two useful dates associated with ‘Paul Scherer’:

1986 — Hageman selected the remarkable dark seedling.

About 1997 — sufficient stock had been produced for commercial introduction.

That distinction explains why different sources sometimes give different dates for tulip cultivars. “Introduced,” “registered,” “selected” and “released commercially” do not necessarily mean the same thing.

Who Was Paul Scherer?

Here the story becomes particularly interesting.

According to the historical account of Hageman's breeding program, the tulip was named for Paul Scherer, the mayor of a German city. Hageman reportedly considered several names during the long years required to build up commercial stock before finally settling upon ‘Paul Scherer’.

Unfortunately, readily available horticultural sources provide frustratingly little additional information about the man himself or the precise circumstances connecting him with Hageman.

So it would be unwise to embroider the story.

What we can reasonably say is that the cultivar commemorates a German mayor named Paul Scherer, rather than describing the flower's color or appearance.

It is a rather understated name for such a dramatic flower.

Is It Really a Black Tulip?

Well...

Almost.

And that qualification matters.

There is no truly jet-black pigment in tulips comparable to black ink or coal. What we perceive as black in the darkest tulips is actually an extremely concentrated dark purple.

‘Paul Scherer’ pushes that coloration remarkably far.

The RHS describes it as dark purple-black, while specialist bulb supplier John Scheepers describes the flowers as purple-black with an ivory interior base covered by a lilac veil.

In bright sunlight, the purple becomes more apparent.

On an overcast day, at dusk or when contrasted against pale flowers, ‘Paul Scherer’ can look remarkably close to black.

Perhaps that is actually more interesting than genuine black would be. The petals possess subtle changes of color as the light moves across their velvety surfaces.

Black would merely be black.

‘Paul Scherer’ has shadows.

What Type of Tulip Is ‘Paul Scherer’?

‘Paul Scherer’ is a Triumph tulip.

The RHS places it firmly within the Triumph Group, whose members produce single, cup-shaped flowers during the middle and later portions of the tulip season.

Triumph tulips are among the most useful tulips for ordinary gardens.

The class developed from crosses involving Single Early and later-flowering tulips, producing plants that combine the traditional tulip shape with strong stems, useful height and dependable midseason flowering. Modern bulb specialists continue to value Triumphs both for landscape planting and forcing.

‘Paul Scherer’ generally grows around 17 to 20 inches tall. The RHS gives a maximum height of approximately 50 cm, while commercial growers commonly list it around 18 inches.

The flowers are beautifully proportioned—broad-based, egg-shaped cups carried on strong upright stems.

The form is thoroughly traditional.

The color most certainly isn't.

Darker Than ‘Queen of Night’?

‘Queen of Night’ has long been the standard against which dark tulips are judged.

But ‘Paul Scherer’ may actually be darker.

John Scheepers notes that some consider it darker than ‘Queen of Night’, and there is another important distinction between them: ‘Paul Scherer’ flowers earlier. It can bloom roughly two weeks before ‘Queen of Night’.

That gives the gardener an interesting opportunity.

Plant both.

‘Paul Scherer’ can begin the dark-tulip display during the Triumph season, while ‘Queen of Night’ continues it later.

Add a dark Double Late such as ‘Black Hero’, and the succession can be extended still further.

A black-tulip garden needn't be confined to a single week.

How to Use ‘Paul Scherer’ in the Landscape

Dark flowers require a little thought.

Plant ‘Paul Scherer’ against dark soil or in front of dense evergreen foliage, and from a distance the flowers can simply disappear.

Give them contrast.

The RHS recommends the cultivar for beds and borders, edging, cottage gardens, containers and cutting gardens.

Its moderate height makes it particularly useful through the front and middle portions of borders, where the flowers can be seen closely enough to appreciate their unusual coloring.

And, as with most tulips, plant more than one or two.

A solitary black tulip looks curious.

Twenty-five look intentional.

Black and White

Perhaps the most dramatic combination is also the simplest:

‘Paul Scherer’ and white tulips.

A planting of ivory or pure white flowers interspersed with these nearly black cups creates tremendous contrast. Horticultural sources specifically recommend white as a companion for ‘Paul Scherer’.

The white makes the dark tulips appear darker.

The dark tulips make the white appear brighter.

Neither color has to do much work.

For a formal garden, plant the two in broad blocks or ribbons. In a more informal border, allow groups of dark flowers to emerge irregularly through a larger planting of white.

Black and Pink

Pink produces an entirely different effect.

Soft blush, shell pink or rose-colored tulips beside ‘Paul Scherer’ create a surprisingly elegant combination. Growers also specifically recommend pink flowers as companions.

Pale pink is particularly effective because it softens what might otherwise become a rather severe color scheme.

Deep rose makes the planting richer and more dramatic.

You could even combine ‘Paul Scherer’ with a large pink Darwin Hybrid, provided the bloom periods overlap sufficiently in your climate.

Try Apricot and Peach

One of my favorite ways to use almost-black flowers is beside apricot, peach or salmon.

The warm colors seem to glow against the dark purple.

A combination with an apricot-colored early or midseason tulip can be exceptionally sophisticated, though flowering times should be checked carefully when mixing classes.

The object isn't necessarily to alternate bulbs one-for-one.

Plant generous irregular groups of each color and allow them to mingle at their edges.

Nature seldom plants checkerboards.

Neither should we.

Silver Foliage

There is another possibility that doesn't involve another tulip at all.

‘Paul Scherer’ looks excellent against silver or gray foliage. Horticultural recommendations specifically mention silver foliage as an effective companion for its dark flowers.

The contrast can be remarkable.

Low silver-leaved plants beneath the dark tulips provide a cool background without competing for attention.

Green foliage says spring.

Silver foliage says something rather more mysterious.

Plant It in Containers

‘Paul Scherer’ is particularly effective in containers, where the flowers can be examined at close range. Both the RHS and specialty growers recommend it for container culture.

A large terracotta pot filled entirely with ‘Paul Scherer’ can be magnificent.

For something more elaborate, combine the bulbs with low white or pale pink spring flowers.

A light-colored container can also provide useful contrast. Against pale stone or weathered terracotta, the flowers become much easier to see than they would against a black pot.

An Excellent Cut Flower

Those strong Triumph stems also make ‘Paul Scherer’ an excellent cut tulip.

Floret describes it as weather-resistant, long-lasting and especially effective arranged en masse, with a vase life of roughly seven to ten days under suitable conditions.

The color is particularly useful to flower arrangers because it provides something ordinary red and purple tulips cannot: visual depth.

Combine it with cream, white, blush pink or apricot.

Or put a dozen ‘Paul Scherer’ stems in a vase by themselves.

They need very little assistance.

Growing ‘Paul Scherer’

Plant bulbs in autumn in full sun and fertile, well-drained soil.

The RHS recommends planting approximately 4 to 6 inches deep, with protection from excessive wet and severe wind. Some American bulb specialists recommend somewhat deeper planting—around 6 to 8 inches—for Triumph tulips.

As always with tulips, drainage is important.

After flowering, remove the spent flowers if you intend to retain the bulbs, but allow the foliage to yellow naturally.

Those leaves are feeding next year's bulb.

If you cut flowers for arrangements and hope for future flowering, leave plenty of foliage behind. Floret recommends retaining at least two sets of leaves when harvesting tulips intended to perennialize.

An Award-Winning Tulip

‘Paul Scherer’ eventually received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, recognition that the plant possesses genuine garden value beyond the novelty of its color.

That is worth emphasizing.

A nearly black tulip might easily have been nothing more than a breeder's curiosity.

Instead, ‘Paul Scherer’ combines its extraordinary color with the practical virtues of the Triumph class: strong stems, classic flower form, useful height and good landscape performance.

The Nearly Black Tulip

The fascination with black tulips is centuries old.

Breeders pursued them. Gardeners coveted them. Writers imagined them. Alexandre Dumas even built his 1850 novel The Black Tulip around the obsessive quest to produce one.

Geert Hageman took up that same horticultural challenge in the twentieth century.

Beginning with crosses made in 1979, he eventually discovered his exceptional dark seedling in 1986. After another eleven years of multiplication, gardeners could finally grow it themselves.

The result was ‘Paul Scherer’.

Technically, it isn't black.

Stand in bright sunshine and look closely and you will find the purple.

But plant fifty of them among white tulips and view them across the spring garden on a cloudy afternoon.

You may decide that “almost black” is quite black enough.

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Apricot Beauty Single Early Tulip: A Soft-Spoken Classic

 

Some tulips command attention with scarlet, gold or purple. ‘Apricot Beauty’ takes another course altogether.

Its flowers open in a delicate mixture of apricot, salmon, peach and soft pink, with the colors changing subtly as the blossoms mature. In some light they appear predominantly salmon-pink; in others, warm apricot and orange emerge from the petals. There is even a gentle fragrance—something we don't often expect from tulips.

Introduced more than seventy years ago, ‘Apricot Beauty’ has survived generations of newer introductions and remains widely grown. That alone says something about it. Tulip varieties disappear from commerce with surprising speed. The good ones endure.

When Was ‘Apricot Beauty’ Introduced?

‘Apricot Beauty’ was introduced in the Netherlands in 1953. Dutch bulb specialist Peter C. Nijssen confirms the 1953 introduction date, as do historic-bulb specialists.

The originator is recorded as the Dutch breeder C. van der Vlugt van Kimmenade. A botanical-garden cultivar inventory lists Tulipa ‘Apricot Beauty’, Division 1, as C. v.d. Vlugt v. Kimmenade, 1953, and Dutch bulb sources likewise credit him with bringing the cultivar to market that year.

That places ‘Apricot Beauty’ firmly among the mid-20th-century Dutch cultivars that have now become classics in their own right.

Why Is It Called ‘Apricot Beauty’?

This is one tulip name that doesn't require much historical speculation.

It is an apricot beauty.

The Royal Horticultural Society describes the flowers more precisely as light, creamy salmon-pink tinged with orange. Other descriptions emphasize the unusual mixture of apricot-orange and salmon-pink.

The color is difficult to capture with a single word because it changes with the flower.

The unopened bud may appear quite pink. As the flower develops, peach and salmon become more apparent. When fully opened in sunlight, warmer apricot and orange tones can emerge, while older flowers may soften toward pale pink.

That variability is part of its charm.

A mass planting doesn't look like a flat block of manufactured color. Individual flowers catch the light differently, creating a gentle mixture of related shades.

What Type of Tulip Is It?

‘Apricot Beauty’ is a Single Early tulip, classified in Division 1.

Single Early tulips are among the first of the familiar large-flowered garden tulips to bloom. They generally grow no more than about 18 inches tall and produce classic, cup-shaped flowers on relatively stout stems. The RHS describes the group as reaching about 45 cm and flowering in early to mid-spring.

‘Apricot Beauty’ typically grows about 14 to 18 inches tall, depending upon conditions. Its moderate stature and sturdy stems help the flowers withstand the uncertain weather of early spring better than some taller, later tulips.

It usually flowers in early spring, often during April in colder climates.

And that early flowering is important.

An Apricot Beginning to Tulip Season

One of the best reasons to plant ‘Apricot Beauty’ is its position in the tulip calendar.

Many of the great Darwin Hybrids, Triumphs and Single Late tulips are still waiting in the wings when Single Early tulips begin flowering.

By combining ‘Apricot Beauty’ with midseason and late cultivars, you can extend the tulip display for weeks rather than enjoying one enormous burst of flowers followed by nothing.

Think of ‘Apricot Beauty’ as one of the opening acts.

It is good enough, however, that the audience may not be particularly anxious for the main performance.

There's Something Else—It's Fragrant

One of the delightful surprises of ‘Apricot Beauty’ is its fragrance.

Tulips are seldom regarded as fragrant flowers. Roses, gardenias and hyacinths get that glory. Tulips are generally appreciated with the eyes rather than the nose.

But ‘Apricot Beauty’ possesses a noticeable sweet fragrance. Fine Gardening's Susanne Mandigo described discovering the cultivar by following an unexpected fruity scent in her garden until she realized that it was coming from the tulip.

The RHS plant shop also recommends placing ‘Apricot Beauty’ where its subtle sweet scent can be enjoyed.

That suggests an obvious landscape use.

Plant some close to where people walk.

How to Use ‘Apricot Beauty’ in the Landscape

Its moderate height makes ‘Apricot Beauty’ particularly useful near the front and middle of flower borders.

The RHS recommends it for flower beds and borders, edging, cottage gardens, courtyards, containers and cutting gardens.

I would particularly favor it beside a walkway or near an entrance.

There you can appreciate both the subtle coloring and fragrance—two qualities likely to be lost if the bulbs are planted fifty feet away at the back of the property.

Its relatively soft color also makes ‘Apricot Beauty’ useful in places where brilliant primary-colored tulips might be too aggressive.

Plant It Generously

As with most tulips, ‘Apricot Beauty’ improves dramatically when planted in groups.

Five bulbs will show you what the cultivar looks like.

Twenty-five begin to create a landscape effect.

Fifty planted in a broad irregular drift can produce a wonderful wash of salmon, peach and apricot.

Historic-bulb specialist Old House Gardens quotes garden writer Ann Lovejoy as saying that ‘Apricot Beauty’ should be planted “by the bagful.”

That seems sensible advice.

Soft colors tolerate mass planting especially well. A hundred scarlet tulips can shout across the landscape. A hundred ‘Apricot Beauty’ tulips produce something more like a warm glow.

Apricot and Purple

One of the finest companions for ‘Apricot Beauty’ is deep purple.

The RHS-associated descriptions specifically note how well its salmon-apricot coloring works with purple.

Deep violet, plum and near-black tulips provide weight and contrast, making the lighter flowers appear more luminous.

This is particularly effective if the purple tulips are planted behind or among the apricot ones rather than arranged in alternating rows.

Gardens generally look better when they don't resemble checkerboards.

Apricot and White

For something quieter, pair ‘Apricot Beauty’ with white or ivory.

White emphasizes the warm coloring without competing with it.

White narcissus can be particularly effective if you select cultivars whose flowering period overlaps. Cream-colored flowers soften the combination still further.

Against a white house, pale stone wall or gray weathered fence, the effect can be exceptionally handsome.

Pink, Peach and Salmon

Another possibility is to abandon contrast altogether and create a tonal planting.

Combine ‘Apricot Beauty’ with tulips in blush pink, salmon, peach and pale orange.

The individual colors flow into one another, producing a planting that looks almost painterly.

This works especially well in cottage gardens and traditional mixed borders, where rigid blocks of color can sometimes look too formal.

Add blue forget-me-nots beneath them and the whole scheme comes alive.

Blue at Their Feet

Low blue flowers are particularly useful beneath apricot tulips.

Forget-me-nots, grape hyacinths (Muscari) and other small blue spring flowers provide complementary contrast without competing with the tulips for height.

The cool blue makes the warm apricot appear warmer.

It is one of those garden combinations based on elementary color theory that doesn't look theoretical at all when it is flowering.

It simply looks right.

Excellent for Containers

‘Apricot Beauty’ is also particularly good in pots and containers.

Its relatively short, sturdy stems are well suited to container culture, and placing the flowers closer to eye level makes their delicate coloration easier to appreciate.

It is also a traditional forcing tulip, valued for bringing into early bloom under controlled conditions. Old House Gardens specifically lists it as suitable for forcing.

For an outdoor spring container, plant the bulbs densely.

A large aged terracotta pot filled entirely with ‘Apricot Beauty’ would need very little embellishment.

If you want companions, tuck blue violas or forget-me-nots around the edge.

Plant It Near Outdoor Living Areas

Because it is fragrant, consider ‘Apricot Beauty’ for places where people actually spend time:

near the front steps, beside a terrace, along a garden walk or around a bench.

The fragrance isn't going to roll across the garden like an old Southern gardenia. It is subtler than that.

You need to get reasonably close.

That makes the scent feel almost like a reward for stopping to examine the flower.

A Fine Cut Flower

‘Apricot Beauty’ also makes an excellent cut tulip, and specialist growers continue to recommend it for cutting.

Its unusual color is especially useful in arrangements.

Combine it with cream, white, lavender or deep purple, or simply fill a vase with ‘Apricot Beauty’ alone.

Because the flowers continue to develop after cutting, their changing coloration becomes especially noticeable indoors.

And unlike many beautiful tulips, this one contributes a little fragrance to the room as well.

Growing ‘Apricot Beauty’

Plant bulbs in fall in fertile, well-drained soil, preferably in full sun.

The RHS recommends planting tulips approximately 4 to 6 inches deep, with protection from excessive wet and very strong winds.

Good drainage is essential.

After flowering, remove the spent flowers if you hope to retain the bulbs, but allow the foliage to remain until it yellows naturally. The leaves are rebuilding the bulb's reserves for the following year.

Like many highly bred tulips, ‘Apricot Beauty’ may not perform indefinitely in every garden. Yet it has acquired something of a reputation for persistence under favorable conditions; Dutch bulb sources note that it can return when grown in a sunny, nutritious site.

For dependable display, however, gardeners in difficult tulip climates may prefer to supplement older bulbs with fresh ones periodically.

An Award-Winning Old Favorite

‘Apricot Beauty’ has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, and specialist growers note that it has won multiple awards over its long history.

But perhaps its greatest distinction is simply that gardeners still want it.

Since C. van der Vlugt van Kimmenade introduced it in 1953, thousands of new tulips have entered the market. Many have disappeared again.

‘Apricot Beauty’ remains.

Its success isn't difficult to understand. It combines early flowering, sturdy stems, fragrance and an exceptionally subtle mixture of apricot, salmon, peach and pink.

Plant it beside purple for drama. Surround it with white for elegance. Let blue forget-me-nots wander beneath it. Or plant a great drift of ‘Apricot Beauty’ by itself.

Some tulips are fashionable for a season.

‘Apricot Beauty’ has had more than seventy springs to prove that beauty lasts.

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Yokohama Triumph Tulip: A Golden Name From Japan

 

Yellow tulips have a particular talent for looking like spring itself.

After months of brown earth, gray skies and bare branches, ‘Yokohama’ arrives with clear, saffron-yellow flowers held above fresh green foliage. It is neither wildly fringed nor elaborately double. Instead, it possesses the clean cup-shaped flower, strong stems and dependable garden performance for which Triumph tulips are valued.

And then there is the name.

Why should a Dutch-bred yellow tulip carry the name of one of Japan's great port cities?

That question leads us into a surprisingly interesting bit of tulip history.

What Type of Tulip Is ‘Yokohama’?

‘Yokohama’ is classified today as a Triumph tulip.

The Royal Horticultural Society describes it as a Triumph Group cultivar with saffron-yellow, pointed flowers produced in mid-spring on plants approximately 35 cm—or about 14 inches—tall.

Triumph tulips are among the great practical tulips of the garden.

They produce the classic single, cup-shaped flowers most people immediately recognize as tulips, but they generally have sturdier stems than many older garden types. Their moderate height and midseason flowering make them particularly useful for bedding, containers and mass landscape plantings.

‘Yokohama’ is comparatively compact for a Triumph, which opens up some interesting possibilities in the garden.

When Was ‘Yokohama’ Introduced?

There is some confusion about the date in modern horticultural sources.

Several retail references give 1973 as its introduction date, and that date has been repeated widely.

However, stronger evidence points to an earlier date.

A peer-reviewed study of tulip cultivars published in Scientia Horticulturae, drawing upon established cultivar records, lists ‘Yokohama’ as a Triumph tulip dating from 1961.

More importantly, a European cultivar reference identifies the originator as J. F. Van den Berg & Sons and gives 1961 as the registration date.

For that reason, 1961 is the date I would use rather than the frequently repeated 1973 date.

The discrepancy may result from confusion between registration, introduction and later commercial distribution. Such muddles are surprisingly common in old bulb catalogues.

So our best available evidence is:

‘Yokohama’ was registered in 1961 and originated with the Dutch firm J. F. Van den Berg & Sons.

Why Is It Called ‘Yokohama’?

This part of the story is more mysterious.

The name plainly refers to Yokohama, Japan, the great port city on Tokyo Bay. What I have not found is reliable documentation from Van den Berg explaining why the name was chosen.

So once again, it is worth separating history from horticultural folklore.

We can confidently say that the cultivar bears the name of Yokohama.

We cannot confidently say that it commemorated a particular event, person or Japanese connection without documentary evidence.

There is, however, some historical context that makes the choice less peculiar than it might initially seem.

By the middle of the twentieth century, Japanese place-names had become familiar throughout Europe and North America, and Dutch bulb breeders frequently gave tulips international geographical names. A memorable foreign city made an excellent cultivar name.

And Yokohama certainly qualified.

The City Behind the Name

Yokohama grew from a relatively modest settlement into one of Japan's most important international ports after Japan opened more fully to foreign trade during the nineteenth century.

The port opened to foreign commerce in 1859, and Yokohama became one of the principal points of contact between Japan and the Western world.

That gives the name a certain appropriateness for a Dutch tulip.

The Netherlands, after all, had a particularly long relationship with Japan. During Japan's centuries of restricted foreign contact under the Tokugawa shogunate, the Dutch were the principal Europeans permitted to maintain regular commercial relations with the country through their trading post at Dejima.

I have found no evidence that the breeder chose ‘Yokohama’ specifically because of that Dutch-Japanese history, so we shouldn't turn coincidence into fact.

Still, for a Dutch flower to carry the name of a Japanese port long associated with contact between Japan and the West seems rather fitting.

A Pure, Clear Yellow

The chief attraction of ‘Yokohama’ is its color.

The RHS describes the flowers as saffron yellow, with pointed tips. Other horticultural descriptions emphasize the cultivar's bright, clear yellow coloration.

There is little muddiness or complicated striping.

It is simply yellow—and sometimes simplicity is precisely what a garden needs.

The flowers rise above broadly lance-shaped green foliage on relatively sturdy stems.

Because ‘Yokohama’ grows only around 14 inches tall, it remains compact enough to resist some of the battering that taller tulips can receive during windy spring weather.

How to Use ‘Yokohama’ in the Landscape

‘Yokohama’ is particularly useful near the front of a flower border.

Its modest height means it won't tower awkwardly above neighboring plants, yet its strong yellow color gives it considerable visibility.

The RHS recommends it for flower beds and borders, cottage gardens, courtyard gardens, containers, cutting gardens and underplanting roses and shrubs.

That last use is particularly interesting.

A group of yellow tulips flowering beneath still-bare roses can provide color at precisely the time when the rose garden needs it most.

By the time the roses begin their real performance, the tulips are finishing theirs.

Good gardens make use of time as well as space.

Plant ‘Yokohama’ in Masses

Yellow is a powerful landscape color.

That makes ‘Yokohama’ particularly effective when planted in broad groups or drifts.

Five bulbs provide an accent.

Twenty-five provide a display.

Fifty or a hundred can produce a great pool of yellow that is visible from across the garden.

For a formal landscape, plant them in disciplined blocks or ribbons.

For a cottage or informal garden, loosen the arrangement into irregular groups.

Either approach works because the flowers themselves are so clean and uniform.

Yellow and Blue: A Classic Combination

Perhaps the finest companions for ‘Yokohama’ are blue spring flowers.

The combination is almost impossible to spoil.

Blue grape hyacinths (Muscari) planted beneath yellow tulips create one of the classic spring bulb combinations.

Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) works beautifully for the same reason, and horticultural references specifically recommend combining ‘Yokohama’ with forget-me-nots and Siberian squill.

Forget-me-nots provide a softer blue carpet.

The tall yellow cups rise above the blue flowers, and each color intensifies the other.

It is an old-fashioned combination because it works.

Pair It With White

For a calmer effect, combine ‘Yokohama’ with white tulips, white narcissus or other white spring flowers.

Yellow and white produce a fresh, clean display particularly suited to entrances, paths and formal beds.

Cream can soften the combination further.

A planting of pale cream daffodils, white tulips and yellow ‘Yokohama’ has enough variation to remain interesting without becoming noisy.

Or Give It Some Drama

If cheerful yellow isn't quite enough, place ‘Yokohama’ beside deep purple or nearly black tulips.

Now the character changes completely.

The dark flowers provide weight and shadow; the yellow appears almost luminous beside them.

Deep burgundy can achieve much the same result.

Yellow is one of those colors that becomes more interesting when something dark is placed beside it.

Excellent in Containers

Its compact height makes ‘Yokohama’ an excellent container tulip.

Large terracotta pots filled generously with the bulbs can produce an impressive spring display without the flowers becoming top-heavy.

For a simple container, plant ‘Yokohama’ alone.

For a layered display, underplant it with blue violas, pansies, forget-me-nots or grape hyacinths.

Yellow flowers in an aged terracotta pot have a timeless quality about them.

There is no need to improve upon everything.

A Good Cut Flower

Like other Triumph tulips, ‘Yokohama’ also makes a useful cut flower. The RHS specifically recommends it for cutting.

Yellow tulips are particularly useful in spring arrangements because they combine easily with white, blue, purple and other yellow flowers.

A simple vase of ‘Yokohama’ alone can be equally effective.

And since the plants are relatively compact, you can grow a dedicated row in the cutting garden without sacrificing much space.

Growing ‘Yokohama’

Plant the bulbs in late autumn in fertile, well-drained soil, preferably in full sun.

The RHS recommends planting ‘Yokohama’ approximately 4 to 6 inches deep and protecting it from excessive winter wet and strong winds.

Drainage matters.

Tulips can tolerate remarkable winter cold while dormant underground, but a bulb sitting in soggy soil is conducting an experiment unlikely to end happily.

After flowering, deadhead the spent blossoms but allow the foliage to remain until it has yellowed naturally.

Those leaves are replenishing the bulb.

A Tulip With an International Name

‘Yokohama’ combines several virtues that explain its longevity: clear yellow flowers, compact growth, sturdy Triumph stems and considerable versatility in the landscape.

The best evidence places its registration in 1961, from the Dutch firm J. F. Van den Berg & Sons.

Why they chose the name of Yokohama remains uncertain.

Perhaps the city simply had the cosmopolitan ring the breeder wanted. Perhaps there was a particular connection now buried in an old Dutch bulb catalogue. Until documentary evidence turns up, we should leave the question open rather than inventing a story.

But the name has certainly traveled well.

A Dutch tulip carrying the name of a Japanese port, planted more than sixty years later in gardens around the world—that seems somehow appropriate.

And when those clear yellow flowers appear in spring, ‘Yokohama’ needs very little explanation anyway.

 

 

Tarda Species Tulip: A Little Star From Central Asia

 

The great hybrid tulips command attention by standing tall. Tulipa tarda takes almost the opposite approach.

Growing only a few inches above the ground, this little species tulip produces clusters of star-shaped flowers that are bright golden yellow in the center and broadly tipped with white. When sunshine opens a colony of them, the effect is rather like scattering dozens of little yellow-and-white stars across the spring garden.

It is small, tough, cheerful and remarkably willing to remain in the garden year after year.

For gardeners who would rather plant a tulip once than conduct an annual bulb-replacement campaign, Tulipa tarda deserves attention.

A True Species Tulip

Unlike ‘Oxford’, ‘Pink Impression’ and the thousands of other named garden hybrids, Tulipa tarda is a botanical species.

That distinction matters.

Species tulips are wild tulips—or selections very close to them—rather than the products of generations of breeding for enormous flowers, unusual colors and exhibition form.

Consequently, they often look quite different from the familiar Dutch tulip.

Tulipa tarda is low-growing, usually reaching only about 4 to 6 inches tall. Instead of producing one enormous goblet on a tall stem, a bulb can produce several flowers, creating a small bouquet just above the foliage.

The flowers themselves are pointed and star-like when fully open.

Where Does Tulipa tarda Come From?

Tulipa tarda comes from Central Asia, the ancestral heartland of many tulips.

Kew's Plants of the World Online currently recognizes it as native to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and northwestern Iran and describes it as a bulbous plant of the temperate biome.

Its association with Central Asia is important because this is the great natural homeland of tulips.

Long before Holland became synonymous with them, wild tulips were flowering across the mountains, steppes and rocky slopes of Central and western Asia.

The ancestors of the enormous tulips in our modern gardens ultimately came from this much harsher world.

A Plant Made for Mountains and Dry Summers

The natural conditions of species tulips also explain how they should be treated in gardens.

Tulips generally appreciate cool conditions and moisture during their active spring growth followed by warmer, drier conditions during summer dormancy. Free drainage is particularly important.

That is why species tulips are so often successful in rock gardens, gravel gardens and raised beds.

A dormant tulip bulb doesn't mind being dry.

Sitting in warm, waterlogged soil all summer is another matter.

The RHS recommends fertile, humus-rich but well-drained soil for T. tarda and warns against excessive wet.

When Was Tulipa tarda Introduced?

Here we need to distinguish between introduction to horticulture and formal botanical description.

The name Tulipa tarda Stapf was formally published in 1933 in the Botanical Magazine, volume 156, plate 9321. The botanist responsible was Otto Stapf, an Austrian-born botanist who spent much of his distinguished career at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

There is a little taxonomic wrinkle, however.

Stapf had described a closely related plant as Tulipa urumiensis in 1932. Modern taxonomic authorities now treat that name as a synonym of Tulipa tarda. Kew accepts T. tarda as the correct name and lists T. urumiensis among its synonyms.

So the safest historical statement is that Otto Stapf formally described Tulipa tarda in 1933.

That is more precise than saying that he "introduced" it in 1933, since the plant may have been present in European collections before its formal botanical publication.

Why Is It Called Tarda?

The specific epithet tarda comes from Latin and means “late,” “slow” or “tardy.”

In botanical names, tardus and its feminine form tarda generally refer to something occurring comparatively late.

The name is therefore usually understood as a reference to the plant's comparatively late flowering in relation to certain other small species tulips.

There is a certain irony here for gardeners, because Tulipa tarda still flowers during spring and is often described horticulturally as an early- to mid-spring bloomer.

Apparently even a tardy tulip keeps better time than some people.

Flowers Like Little Stars

The flower is what makes Tulipa tarda instantly recognizable.

When closed, the blossoms are fairly modest. Their outer surfaces may show green and reddish coloring, giving little indication of what will happen when the sun appears.

Then they open.

The six pointed tepals spread almost flat, forming a star with a brilliant yellow center surrounded by broad white tips. RHS Plants describes the flowers as white-tipped yellow, often with red and green flushing on the reverse.

A mature clump can carry numerous flowers simultaneously.

Because the plants are so low, the effect is not one of towering color but of a carpet of stars lying close to the earth.

Sunshine Makes All the Difference

Like many species tulips, Tulipa tarda responds dramatically to sunlight.

The flowers open widely in bright conditions and may close considerably when the weather is cool or cloudy.

That makes placement important.

Give this tulip plenty of sunshine if you want to see it at its best. The RHS notes that specialist tulips generally prefer sunny positions and that their flowers may fail to open fully in shade.

This is not a plant for a gloomy corner beneath an evergreen hedge.

One of the Best Tulips for a Rock Garden

If you have a rock garden, Tulipa tarda is almost tailor-made for it.

Its diminutive proportions look natural among stones, and the sharply drained soil commonly provided for rock-garden plants suits the bulb.

Plant bulbs in irregular groups rather than rows.

A dozen emerging from pockets between stones can look as though they simply appeared there on their own.

Twenty-five or fifty can eventually create a substantial colony.

The object should be to suggest nature rather than a municipal flower bed.

Excellent Along Walkways

Because Tulipa tarda is so short, plant it where you can actually see it.

The front edge of a border or alongside a walkway is ideal.

The RHS specifically recommends it for rock gardens, edging, beds, borders, containers and cottage gardens.

Along a path, the little flowers can be appreciated at close range, including the reddish and green markings on the backs of the petals that are easily missed from a distance.

It is a plant that rewards bending down for a closer look.

Let It Naturalize

This may be the greatest advantage of Tulipa tarda.

It is one of the tulips capable of naturalizing and increasing in favorable garden conditions.

RHS Plants specifically notes that T. tarda does not need to be lifted annually and can naturalize when planted in open ground. More generally, the RHS notes that specialist or species tulips are much more likely than ordinary border tulips to reflower and multiply.

That makes T. tarda fundamentally different from many modern hybrid tulips.

With a highly bred bedding tulip, the first year's display may be magnificent and subsequent years disappointing.

With Tulipa tarda, a modest initial planting can become better with age.

Now there's a refreshing concept.

Use It in Gravel Gardens

A sunny gravel garden provides another excellent home.

The drainage suits the bulbs, while the low-growing flowers appear naturally at home among gravel and stones.

Plant them among restrained, drought-tolerant perennials that won't smother the tulips during spring.

Low sedums, creeping thyme and other compact plants can make good neighbors, provided there remains enough open ground for the tulips to emerge.

As summer approaches, the tulip foliage disappears and the summer plants take over.

Try It in Containers

Small species tulips are also excellent for pots, troughs and containers.

T. tarda is particularly useful because its flowers can be brought closer to eye level, where their markings become much easier to appreciate.

Use a free-draining potting mixture and plant enough bulbs to create a generous display.

With bulbs this small, excessive restraint accomplishes very little.

A pot containing three bulbs looks economical.

A pot containing twenty looks like spring.

What Should You Plant With It?

Because Tulipa tarda combines yellow and white, it mixes easily with other early spring flowers.

Blue is perhaps the most obvious companion.

Grape hyacinths (Muscari) provide a low carpet of blue beneath the yellow-and-white stars. Small blue violas can accomplish something similar.

Dwarf daffodils also work beautifully, especially cultivars whose flowers are proportionate to the little tulips.

Small species crocuses can provide an earlier layer of bloom, while low-growing spring perennials can continue the display after the tulips finish.

The important consideration is scale.

Don't surround a six-inch species tulip with enormous plants and then wonder where it went.

Naturalistic Planting Suits It Best

Although T. tarda can certainly be used in formal beds, its character lends itself especially well to naturalistic planting.

Rather than spacing every bulb exactly six inches from its neighbor, plant little groups.

Five here.

Nine there.

Perhaps fifteen around a stone.

Allow spaces between the groups, and let them gradually expand.

The result eventually looks less like something installed on Saturday afternoon and more like a colony that has occupied the place for generations.

That illusion is one of the finest tricks available to a gardener.

Growing Tulipa tarda

Plant the bulbs in autumn in a sunny location with fertile, well-drained soil.

The RHS recommends planting T. tarda approximately 4 to 6 inches deep.

Good drainage is particularly important if you hope to keep the plants for many years.

After flowering, resist the temptation to tidy everything immediately. Allow the foliage to remain until it yellows naturally. Those leaves are replenishing the bulb.

If the plants are happy, offsets can be separated and replanted, although there is often little reason to interfere with an established colony.

Sometimes the best gardening technique is simply knowing when to leave something alone.

A Small Tulip With a Long Future

Tulipa tarda will never produce the enormous flowers of ‘Pink Impression’ or the towering red goblets of ‘Oxford’.

Nor should it.

Its virtues belong to another tradition entirely.

It gives us small star-shaped yellow-and-white flowers, compact growth, Central Asian ancestry and the ability to settle into suitable gardens and increase over time.

It belongs among stones, beside paths, at the front of borders and in sunny places where its flowers can open fully to the spring sky.

And there is something rather satisfying about planting a genuine species tulip.

Modern hybrids show us what generations of skilled breeders can persuade a tulip to become.

Tulipa tarda reminds us what a tulip was in the first place.

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