Tulipa crispa Hamilton

Tulipa 'Hamilton' is a classic in spring flower beds. This excellent variety, awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society, offers a sustained and radiant flowering in May, extending the tulip season in a masterful way. Its beautiful flower is a sparkling golden yellow. The flower is initially narrow, before unfolding to display the fine fringes of its petals, which are sometimes touched with white. It looks superb when planted en masse, accompanying its sisters with white, orange, or even red flowers in dynamic compositions. The cut flowers have an excellent vase life.

Tulipa 'Hamilton' belongs to the Liliaceae family. Of horticultural origin, it was introduced in 1974. It is classified in the 'Crispa' group, whose main characteristic is finely dentate tips of the petals. This good-sized tulip has a sturdy stem that is resistant to bad weather. It reaches a height of 50 to 60cm (20 to 24in) when in bloom. Flowering takes place in May, a little later than that of other tulips. The flowers are single, with a cup shape that initially opens just a little, before fully blossoming in a randomly crossed golden yellow tone with a few rare and discreet white stripes. The finely fringed edges of this elegant tulip are of a similar tone, sometimes a little paler. The thick-textured flowers last a long time and extend the tulip season until May.

In the world of flowers, there are few plants to rival fringed tulips, which are original and elegant, and resistant to heat and bad weather. Ideal in borders with white varieties ('Snow Crystal', 'Daytona'), orange tulips ('Lambada'), or even violet tulips ('Queen of the Night'), Tulipa 'Hamilton' will form a superb combination with the viridiflora tulip 'Spring Green', which is white flamed with green. It will create cheerful arrangements with perennials and biennial plants that will fill the space after flowering. You can choose peonies, oriental poppies, wallflowers, forget-me-nots, or dame's rocket for this purpose. Very dark heucheras, such as the cultivars 'Blackout' or 'Obsidian', enhance all shades of yellow, as do blue perennial geraniums ('Rozanne', 'Johnson Blue', 'Orion'). Fringed tulips will bring a unique and refined touch to your bouquets. Only use a little water in a vase. If your tulips open too quickly, you can add two to three ice cubes to the vase each day.