Plant tulip bulbs from October to mid-December, once the weather has cooled. Until then, store them somewhere cool, dry and safely away from mice and squirrels.
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Tulipa turkestanica is one of the best tulips for an informal, wild or naturalistic look to your garden. Regarded as a leading tulip species for naturalising: just throw a handful of bulbs out over the grass and plant them where they fall. Leave plants in the ground for several years, and they will gradually form a naturalised swathe of early spring colour. Tulipa turkestanica produces attractive grey-green leaves, and beautiful pointy, elegant flowers of ivory white, with a deep yellow and orange base, flushed reddish-green on the outside. Flowers are followed by seedpods that are almost as pretty! Many modern tulip cultivars have just one bloom per stem, but this species is multi-flowered, with as many as 12 blooms per plant!
As you may expect from its name, this tulip was first spotted growing wild in parts of Persia and Asia Minor. However, its native lands actually stretch from the Mediterranean, right across to the Himalayas and the Far East. It likes to grow in a well-drained soil, in full sun.
Tulipa turkestanica is in the Tulip Group 15 (Miscellaneous). It is considered such a good plant that the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) have awarded it a coveted Award of Garden Merit.
Quantity
Plant profile
Plant calendar
Choose full sun or partial shade. Improve heavy soil with organic matter and horticultural grit. For containers, use peat-free multipurpose compost with good drainage.
Plant bulbs pointed side upwards, 15–20cm deep and around 10cm apart. You can leave a little more space between them in borders.
Water once after planting to settle the soil. Border-grown tulips rarely need further watering, but containers should be kept lightly moist and never waterlogged.
Remove faded flowers, then allow the foliage to yellow and die back naturally. This helps the bulbs store energy for the following year.
- Botanical name
- Tulipa turkestanica
- Tulip group
- Species or Botanical (15)
- Flower colour
- White, yellow
- Bulb size
- 6/7
- Established height
- 20-30cm
- Established spread
- 10-20cm
- Growing skill
- Easy to grow
- Habit
- Upright
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Leaf colour
- Green
- Mouse resistant
- No
- Plant spacing
- 100 bulbs per m2
- Pollinator friendly
- No
- Position
-
Sheltered
Exposed - Rabbit resistant
- No
- RHS Award (AGM)
- Yes
- Scented
- No
- Soil acidity
- Any
- Soil moisture
- Free draining
- Soil type
-
Loam
Sandy
Stony
Multipurpose compost
Loam-based compost - Suitable for
-
Pots
Large containers
Borders
Gravel gardens
Coastal gardens
Cottage gardens
Low maintenance gardens - Sunlight
-
Full sun
Partial shade - Toxicity
-
Skin/eyes irritant
Harmful if eaten - Years to establish
- 1st year
Perfect for pots
Thrives in full sun
RHS Recommended
Perennial
Fully hardy
Packed in paper
Naturalising
Low maintenance
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Tulip turkestanica reviews
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