Tulipa praestans 'Unicum'

Tulipa praestans 'Unicum' offers a fabulous contrast and perfect colour coordination by raising its narrow, deep red corollas on beautiful variegated and marginated bright green foliage. It produces multiple flowers per stem, guaranteeing a generous spring flowering. Twice as ornamental, it is easy to cultivate and often naturalizes in most gardens, tirelessly blooming year after year in flower beds and planters.

As with all other tulips it belongs to the lily family. Tulipa praestans is a species native to Central Asia, where it grows at high altitudes on slopes and rocky scree, up to the clear undergrowth of the southern Pamir Alai. It has given rise to numerous cultivars, including T. praestans 'Unicum'. This medium-sized tulip will not exceed 35cm (14in) in height when in bloom. Its foliage is a vibrant green, fairly wide, strongly margined with white cream, showing some random variegation of the same shade. The flowers appear in April, gathered in groups of 2 to 4 at the top of the stems, more or less early depending on the climate. They are a bright deep red, and open widely to reveal a heart tinged with bright orange. They bloom in the sun and close when it hides. This tulip easily naturalizes through the production of bulblets, in light and well-drained soil.

Botanical tulips do not degenerate over time like large-flowered tulips. They naturalize and can remain in place for several years without any particular maintenance and thrive in borders and rockeries. To create colourful scenes, they can be associated with various small bulbous plants: Crocus, Muscari, Cyclamen coum, Snowdrops, Scillas... These tulips are unparalleled for bringing the colours of spring in pots or in sunny gardens.