Sunday 17 February 2013

Parrot Tulips

Parrot Tulips have petals that are feathered, curled, twisted, or waved. Besides this, the flowers are very large and brightly coloured. As a result, Parrot Tulips are extremely flamboyant. If you want dramatic tulips, these are a great choice. Parrot Tulips were developed from mutations of certain late-flowering tulips, and from tulips in the Triumph class. As a result, some are late spring flowering, and some are mid-spring flowering. Heights also vary somewhat.
A few varieties have a fragrance; I have indicated which ones by putting an asterisk (*) after the name of the variety.

Flowering time:	mid spring or late spring
Plant height:	12 - 28" (30 - 70 cm); average: 16" (40 cm)
Minimum planting depth:	6" (15 cm)
Hardiness zones:	suitable for zones 4 - 7
Colours:	white, pink, apricot, yellow, orange, red, purple
Shape/form:	one large, cup-shaped flower per stem bloom has deeply feathered, curled, or twisted petals as flowers are exposed to sun over time, they open widely so that they almost flatten out very sensitive to cold, wet weather and should be planted in a protected spot
Alternate names:	none
Notes:	excellent as cut flowers; good for beds and borders
Example varieties:	Apricot Parrot* (bright apricot-colored, pink striped), Black Parrot (purple-black), Blue Parrot (mauve-blue), Estella Rynveldt (red and creamy white), Fantasy (deep pink), Flaming Parrot (yellow and red), Orange Favourite* (orange), Rococo* (red and green), Texas Flame (yellow and red), Texas Gold (bright yellow), White Parrot (white)