More Early Tulips
In Chicago and other Northern lands, people tend to think of tulips as flowers of May.
However, there are quite a few tulips that bloom in April. In my garden, the three earliest tulips are ‘Early Harvest’, T. praestans, and T. turkestanica. Of these, only T. turkestanica is still in flower. However two new tulips have emerged to make up for any floral attrition.
‘Keizerskroon’ is a Single Early Tulip that dates back to 1750. It’s a dramatic tulip, with blood red flames on a yellow background.
‘Keizerskroon’ is Dutch for ‘Emperor’s Crown’. The upwardly pointing triangular flames do seem to be joined at the base in order to form a crown.
My friend Julia described Tulipa dasystemon as looking like someone took a cookie cutter to an egg cooked sunny side up. This is a description I cannot improve upon.
T. dasystemon is just six or so inches tall and forms nice clumps. It seems to be looking skyward with optimism and eagerness. The leaves are long, straight, and pointy. This is a species tulip from the mountains of western China.
Watch this space for many more tulips coming soon!
What’s your favorite tulip blooming right now?
gardeninacity 
They are stunning Jason!!!! I need to pot up some more next year as it would be nice to have some more color! Happy gardening this weekend! Nicole
Thanks, Nicole.
Just stunning! – do the Tulipa dasystemon naturalise easily? I imagine being from china they might cope with wetter summers than the normal tulips which often rot in the ground…
Well, they are from far western China in the Tien Shan mountains, which I think is on the dry side.
I like that little poached egg one! My favourite right now is probably Eye Catcher, which is on my latest post. But ask me tomorrow and I’d probably have a different favourite! 😉
Just looked that one up – it is well-named!
I like the eager Tulipa dasystemon too, but my current favourite is ‘Bruine Wimpel’. I can’t get over it’s colour and how it changes as the sun moves.
I really enjoy looking at tulips in the springtime. Oddly, I haven’t planted any in our garden. They are so short lived in my part of the world. It is just too hot and the rain usually knocks them down. Yours are lovely!
Well, you can take pleasure in all the wonderful plants that do grow well in your region but not elsewhere.
I really like that T. Dasystemon…and that description. My tulips are almost over but I have a few mystery ones still blooming. Most tulips bloomed about three weeks early this year as we had such a mild winter and early spring.
We’ve had a late spring last year but an early one a couple years before.
Right now any tulip would be my favorite as the darn deer got into my yard and ate all of my tulips. No blooms, no tulips this year. Oh aarrgghh!
I thank my lucky stars I live in an area without deer.
Great post and AWESOME photos. Our tulips are all gone now… Some day I will plant more varieties of spring bulbs.
Spring bulbs can be very addictive.
Sadly Jason mine have finished, there are just a few that look OK as they die. The last to flower was a multi-headed purple one, I don’t have the name to hand right now. I’ll enjoy seeing yours while I’ve moved on to irises.
Luckily for all of us you have a great selection of irises.
I am sharing your blog link on a reflection post having completed the AtoZblogchallenge. A post of the 26 letters of the alphabet everyday but Sunday during the month of April. Siting your blog as an example of how it should be done. This blog is always great. Thanks.
Thanks, Stepheny, that’s really nice of you to say.
I love those T. dasystemon, I have a small clump and found they are reliable here too. Quite a fitting description I think. Species tulips are for me the way forward. Just removed another large clump of some that came up blind again!
I agree about species tulips, though I also grow hybrids as annuals in pots.
I love the colour and the crown on Emperor’s crown and I doubt anyone could improve on Julia’s description! I have Queen of the night blooming at the moment, I planted a hundred and last year they all came up, this year only 15 or so had blooms, the rest came up blind. I did leave them in the ground though.xxx
Hybrid tulips have a tendency to do that, that’s why I usually treat them as annuals.
I don’t really have a favorite tulip. I think they’re all equally beautiful and massing them can make them even more so.
Very true.
No favorite here either, I plant so many. One thing I prefer is that each year they grow in numbers.
I do have favorites, I just keep changing my mind about which one it is.
So nice to see some tulips out there, they look great. Mine just started opening up today and I hope they can last considering the weather is supposed to warm up next week. I love tulips and would plant many more if I could!
Today surprised with temps that felt almost hot. Everything went into high gear suddenly. We’ll see if it stays that way.
Your friend Julia gave an apt description of T. dasystemon. That’s a really attractive tulip. My experiment forcing tulips indoors worked up to a point. It was well on its way and the tulips would have done fine but I got sidetracked with other projects and didn’t keep the water level constant. Gardening outdoors is much easier for me.
I’ve never tried growing tulips indoors. In containers they need only occasional watering because most of their water needs are met by rainfall.
Love the early species tulips especially.
Me too, I’m so glad I discovered species tulips.
Wow, you have some stunning tulips! I have a few here and there that the rabbits haven’t destroyed. I think I’m going to round them all up and surround them with Daffodils, and see if that helps. Those large-eared monsters with fangs have a special appetite for tulips and Asiatic and Oriental lilies. I have many of the latter, but they are safely caged away from the bunnies.
The bunnies around my house seem to have different tastes than the Wisconsin bunniers. They leave the tulips alone but usually eat the crocus flowers, or at least bite the blooms off. Phlox is their other favorite.
Beautiful! This year I have to try growing tulips in pots. I think that’s the best way to thwart those dastardly voles.
Yes, and other pests as well.
We are ahead of you downstate; this year April has definitely been the month of tulips. In another week, the last of mine will probably be fading. Thanks for identifying the yellow species tulip–I really like these!
The thought of the tulips fading makes me terribly sad. I had to leave them for a business trip today and won’t see them again until Friday.
I look forward to your parade of tulips
The parade’s coming, get a lawn chair.
Oh my playing catch-up with your posts-beautiful!
Thanks!