Tulipa wilsoniana is a delightful species tulip which surprises me yearly by not only growing but actually blooming, as well.

While this feat may not seem like much of an accomplishment to those lucky (? you decide) growers in colder climes whose soils and winter temperatures encourage their tulips to reappear annually in ever more abundantly flowering profusion, to tulip-starved residents of Southern California T. wilsoniana is a real discovery.

While it's true we have T. clusiana (white segments with rose-pink reverse) and its varieties: 'Cynthia', larger than T. clusiana itself and having yellow petals with a rose reverse, and another form received under the name 'Cynthia', but which sports a peachy petal color instead of yellow but a similar rose reverse, what other tulips do we have that grow, multiply and bloom year after year here in the hot inland valleys of sunny Southern California? Well, there are two others that I know of which do well: T. saxatilis, lilac rose with a big yellow center; often with multiple flowers (up to five for me) per stem and T. bakeri 'Lilac Wonder', looking almost exactly like T. saxatilis except that it's a bit shorter and, under my conditions, at least, only occasionally shows more than one flower per stem. And now there is fourth Tulipa species for Southern California:

Tulipa wilsoniana. I have never seen this species listed in lists of tulips that grow and bloom in warm climates so I am grateful to have found it for not only does it increase our warm-climate-adaptable tulip species range it also extends our tulip color palette—T. wilsoniana is a brilliant lacquered red of just about the same shade as the automobile color we've come to know as Candy Apple Red. John Bryan calls it a deep, Vermilion red.

Not that one can't grow this species in colder climes. John Bryan informs us that this species is "Native of the mountains of Turkmenistan in Iran" and that it reaches 3-4 inches in height. Just what this native locale information means insofar as cold tolerance is concerned is a little hard to tell from this brief description. But it sounds like the species is at least worth a try even if you do live where the weather gets cool. Or even cold. I suspect one key to its blooming for us here in Southern California may be that our summer weather gets so hot and dry. Perhaps these conditions are what it gets in its native haunts and therefore requires in order to do well year after year.

My plants reach 5-8 inches (13-20cm) in height if I don't cool the bulbs (in my refrigerator's crisper, from four to six weeks) and 8-10 inches (20-25cm) in height if I do. Nevertheless, even at these taller heights I think of T. wilsoniana as a wee munchkin, for in flower form and overall dimensions it's such a near perfect replica of the big red hybrid tulips that it always makes my sense of delight take over, bringing a smile to my face. Flower size is 134 to 2 inches (2.5-5cm).

Now if what I have said already doesn't excite your bulb lover's imagination, here are a few more facts about this lovely species tulip which may: it requires no special care; its foliage is a lovely glaucous color; it makes a perfectly charming cut flower; its brilliant red color is one that my local aphids aren't especially attracted to (aphids are especially attracted to the color yellow although, in my garden, pink and white colors also command their attention); it holds its flowers well even in hot weather.

In addition, it is always fun to try growing something a little different and T. wilsoniana is just that. Recently, Dutch Gardens (in the Source List) has carried this species in its autumn catalog.

REFERENCE:

Bryan, John E. 1989. Bulbs, Volume II.- Timber Press, Portland, OR.