Double flowered Tulips.—Scarlet and Crimson combined.—Imperator Rubrorum, Rex Rubrorum, Rubra maxima. Pink and Rose.—Couronne des Roses, Murillo, Raphael, Rose d'Amour, Salvator Rosa. White.—Alba maxima, Grand Vainqueur, La Candeur, Rose blanche. Red and Yellow combined.—Duc Van Thol, Gloria Solis, Tournesol, Princess Alexandra. Orange or Yellow.—Tournesol, Yellow Rose, Miroir.
[Parrot] or Dragon Tulips.—These remarkable looking flowers are supposed to be descended from the curious green and yellow-striped T. viridiflora. The petals are cut and jagged into all kinds of peculiar shapes, while the colours are chiefly a mixture of reds, crimsons, greens, and yellows.
BELLADONNA LILY (111) DIERAMA PULCHERRIMA (112)
Darwin Tulips.—These are a very popular class of self-coloured Tulips derived from T. Gesneriana. They are infact "breeder" Tulips referred to on [a]p. 134]. The individual blossoms are large and cup-shaped, and are borne on stalks 1-1/2 to 2 feet high. There are numerous named varieties (for which a catalogue should be consulted), but a mixed collection will give a grand display, the colours being shades of apricot, yellow, carmine, rose, pink, crimson, maroon, and white.
With the [Darwin Tulips] may be associated what are known as the "Cottage" or "May Flowering" Tulips—vigorous kinds with tall stems and fine large flowers, that are admirably adapted for the decoration of the garden. For vases, bowls, &c., they are also excellent.
Natural Species or Wild Tulips.—Apart from the almost innumerable florists' varieties of Tulips, keen interest has been taken of late years in the cultivation of the natural species of Tulip which are found growing wild in various parts of South Europe, Asia Minor, Turkestan, &c. There are quite a large number of these natural species now to be had, but the cream of them may be said to be Gesneriana, Greigi, macropsila, and Oculus Solis, all with scarlet or crimson blossoms and black blotches at the base. Other useful kinds for bedding out or for naturalising with Daffodils, Bluebells, &c., are Eichleri, fulgens, Hageri, macrostyla, maculata, Didieri, Ostrowskyana, planifolia, lurida, undulatifolia, suaveolens, all with bright red or deep crimson blossoms except suaveolens which is bordered with yellow. Yellow flowered kinds are australis ([Plate 10], fig. 40), Batalini, flava, Billietiana, galatica, neglecta, retroflexa, sylvestris, strangulata (speckled and streaked with red), viridiflora (with broad green band down the centre), Sprengeri (petals tipped with red), and Kolpakowskyana.
Apart from their value in the garden, Tulips are also popular as cut flowers. As most of them produce their blossoms on sturdy stems 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 feet high, they are easily picked, and when bunched in vases with foliage, or grasses, or even by themselves, they add a luxurious appearance to any apartment.
The great mistake many make in picking Tulip flowers is that they gather them often in the middle of the day when the petals are wide open, especially if there is strong sunshine. In the expanded state the blossoms do not last very long. They should therefore be picked either early in the morning or late in the evening, when the petals are closed in over the stamens and ovary in the centre. There is no need to actually cut the stems. By holding them close to the ground and giving a staccato pull upwards, they come away easily from the bulb, and possess the advantage of being a few inches longer than those cut with a knife or scissors.