Tulipa fosteriana Border Legend

Tulipa fosteriana 'Border Legend' is a beautiful variety renowned for its early flowering, its longevity in the garden, and its ability to naturalise in favourable terrain. This elegant tulip awakens spring with its bicolour flowering, often as early as mid-March, depending on the regions. Each flower is adorned on the outside with a long heart-shaped red-cherry spot and opens in a star shape, revealing a pink interior with a black-spotted yellow centre. The charm of the flowers is highlighted by ample foliage, randomly marbled in brown-red. 

Tulipa fosteriana is a very hardy botanical species originating from Turkestan. Tulips derived from T. fosteriana belong to division 13 and are reliable performers: they are among the first tulips to flower, sometimes as early as March 15th, and they naturalise easily, so there is no need to replace them regularly. This 'Border Legend' variety was registered in 2009. It produces rather short, sturdy but flexible stems, 30 to 35cm (12 to 14in) tall, bearing at their tip a cup-shaped corolla, 12cm (5in) wide at full bloom. Its large leaves will dry out a few weeks after flowering. The bulb goes into rest in summer.

Tulips from the Fosteriana Group work well in flower beds and borders. The taller varieties are ideal for bouquets. Their sparkling yet elegant colours pair well with blue hyacinths, grape hyacinths, forget-me-nots, and with other tulips. When designing your flower beds, you must consider the height and flowering period of the tulips, as these parameters can vary significantly from one cultivar to another. It is wise to plant extra bulbs for bouquets, as they make gorgeous cut flowers that last a long time in a vase. The bicolour flowers of 'Border Legend' blend beautifully with the pink corollas of T. 'Lady Jane' or the white ones of T. 'Purissima' , for example.