Tulipa humilis 'Tête-à-tête'

As small as it may be, the 'Tête-à-tête' Botanical Tulip stands out from all others with its double flowers of intense red-purple, which do not go unnoticed in rock gardens. Each short stem unfolds early in spring several flowers in small pompoms that reveal late a violet or midnight blue throat depending on the observer. They emit a unique fragrance, both peppery and sweet. The leaves, linear and shiny green, sometimes appear after flowering. Originating from Turkey and Iran, it is a very resistant plant, adapted to poor soils and arid conditions that naturalizes easily in the garden. 

The Tulipa humilis 'Tête-à-tête' belongs to the Liliaceae family. It is a recent hybrid, derived from Tulipa humilis, a botanical species whose origins are lost between the Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and northern Russia. Tulipa humilis has an extremely variable appearance depending on its origin. The 'Tête-à-tête' selection flowers in March-April, more or less early depending on the climate. It bears, at the end of a short flower stalk, not exceeding 15cm (6in), up to 5 flowers globular in shape, 6 to 10cm (2 to 4in) in diameter, composed of multiple rounded petals with pointed tips. The corolla opens in the sun, emitting a subtle, somewhat indescribable fragrance, but very pleasant. The bulbs are small, 3 to 4cm (1 to 2in) in diameter. This plant develops in late winter or early spring dark blue-green leaves, relatively narrow, sometimes almost curled, 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) long. They dry up a few weeks after flowering, when the bulb enters a dormant state. Varieties of Tulipa humilis are not afraid of dry soils in summer and winter, quite the contrary.

Tulipa humilis 'Tête-à-tête' is indeed a little gem, but it is also a reliable and faithful plant, which will naturally find its place in a rock garden, along a path, or on a slightly wild slope, even if it is rather dry in summer and winter. Far from the calyxes of its lofty Dutch relatives, its peony-like flowers at ground level bring life to flower beds, early in spring, accompanied by crocuses. It adapts well to pot or container cultivation, allowing one to enjoy its radiant and delicately scented flowering up close.  

 Botanical tulips, and very similar tulips like this selection, do not "degenerate" over time, they naturalize and can remain in place for several years without specific maintenance and thrive in borders and rock gardens. To create colourful scenes, they can be associated with various small bulb plants: Ipheion uniflorum, Anemone blanda, Cyclamen coum, Erythronium pagoda, Leucojum vernum…