Top 10 Tulip Favorites
Updated: Apr. 24, 2020Our top tulips were chosen for their wide variety of color, size, and bloom time.
There’s nothing quite as welcoming in a winter-weary backyard as a bright sea of tulips ruffling in a spring breeze. Perhaps the most beloved bulbs of all time, tulips come in endless combinations of color, shape and size. And they bloom at so many different times that you can plan to have tulips all season long.
Becky Heath of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs knows just about every new and old variety on the market. We asked her to help us narrow down our search for the best of the best tulip bulbs. We organized them by category and included bloom time as well. Use this list to help choose your favorites for planting next fall.
Best Lily-flowered: Ballerina
Zones 4 to 8
Like long-legged dancers practicing pirouettes, these elegant tulips gracefully sway in the breeze on tall, strong 16- to 20-inch stems. Their sweetly scented petals, with blood-red exteriors and orange-and-yellow edges, may put you in mind of flickering flames.
Why we love it: It’s incredibly hardy, with a lengthy bloom time and striking colors.
Bloom time: Late spring.
Best Bicolor: Prinses Irene
Zones 3 – 8
Although orange and purple might not be an obvious color combination, this peculiar pairing works perfectly here. The very fragrant, outrageously bright blooms have a pale-purple flame rising up the center. The stately stems grow up to 18 inches tall and look lovely in a bouquet.
Why we love it: We’re crazy about odd color pairings, and this one is royally unique. Try it with Jolly Joker pansies, another orange-and-purple beauty.
Bloom time: Early to mid-spring.
Best Multiple Flower: Happy Family
Zones 3 to 9
Grow happy little tulip families with this fun variety. The petals are purplish-pink and sometimes have a fine white line. This wonderful multiflowering tulip has one large flower, one medium flower and several small blooms: an entire family on one 14- to 16-inch stem!
Why we love it: Gardeners adore getting more bang for their buck, and this tulip reliably grows several blooms per stem.
Bloom time: Mid- to late spring.
Best Parrot: Professor Rontgen
Zones 4 to 7
Fancy fringed parrot tulips grab a lot of attention, and this one boasts heavily frilled and scalloped petals in a striking color combo. Rose, lemon-yellow and mandarin-red petals flecked with green grow on 17- to 21-inch stems.
Why we love it: The petals are extremely full and showy with their exotically frilly edges.
Bloom time: Mid- to late spring.
Best Cottage-style: Yellow Present
Zones 3 to 8
At first blush, this tulip may not seem all that special, but it’s truly a gift to your garden. Very strong and stout, it stands up to tough weather on its 12- to 14-inch stems. And if you look more closely, you’ll see that its creamy yellow exterior and sunny golden interior make quite the pretty package.
Why we love it: It is one of the toughest Triumph tulips available and is more perennial than many others.
Bloom Time: Mid- to late spring.
Best New Variety: Mystic van Eijk
Zones 3 to 8
This new Darwin hybrid is a wonderful combination of old-fashioned pink and dark pinkish-red flames, making it a fascinating addition to your late-spring garden. The long-lasting blooms on 16- to 18-inch stems look lovely in bouquets.
Why we love it: These strong, sturdy stems are healthy and one of the best perennial tulips, flowering for several seasons.
Bloom time: Mid- to late spring.
Best Mini: Lady Jane
Zones 3 to 8
The candy-striped petals are a delicious rose-red with bright white interiors. Growing only 8 to 10 inches tall, it’s ideal for spring beds and borders—and you’ll like its tendency to return year after year.
Why we love it: On sunny spring days, the flower opens fully to expose its brilliant white interior.
Bloom time: Mid- to late spring.
Best Traditional: Pink Impression
Zones 3 to 8
The most popular tulips tend to be the standards, like this beautiful pink one. Simple yet stunning, it blends several shades of rose and stands large and impressive on strong 20- to 22-inch stems.
Why we love it: As a Darwin hybrid, this tulip is more perennial than others. It is large, showy and really stands out in the garden.
Bloom time: Mid-spring.
Best Double Bloom: Monsella
Zones 3 to 8
With its sweet scent and riot of color, this double early tulip turns heads in the garden. Canary-yellow petals are streaked with blood-red flames. It’s a tough little flower, growing on strong 12-inch stems, and quite long-lasting in the garden.
Why we love it: It’s among the earliest double tulips and also forces without much fuss.
Bloom time: Early spring.
Best Tall: Perestroyka
Zones 3 to 8
This giant egg-shaped tulip is a stunning late bloomer. When it first opens, you see scarlet, muted orange and yellow, but from a distance the flower is a lovely, dusky salmon-rose color. At 24 to 30 inches, it towers over most other blooms.
Why we love it: It grows tall and strong, making it an excellent cut flower mixed with other late-spring blooms in a bouquet.
Bloom time: Late spring.
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