Tulipa Flaming Prince - Early simple Tulip

The 'Flaming Prince' Early Single Tulip enchants spring with its contrasting two-tone flowering. Violet flames starting from the base of the corolla rise up against the pure white background, creating a dynamic graphic design. The foliage, with its uniform medium green colour, provides an ideal backdrop to showcase the flowers when this variety is planted in groups. Of a medium height, it can be grown both in the garden and in pots or containers on a terrace. Its good vase life and refined aesthetic also make it a great choice for bouquets.

The 'Flaming Prince' Tulip belongs to the botanical family Liliaceae, which used to include many genera that have since been reclassified into other families. Today, there are just over 400 species spread across about ten genera, with the most well-known besides the large group of tulips being the lily and the fritillary. Wild tulips can be found from Western Europe (for example, the tulip of Agen) to China and Japan, passing through Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and Central Asia. Their distribution area also includes North Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

Nevertheless, in our gardens, we more frequently find horticultural varieties classified into 15 divisions. 'Flaming Prince' is a representative of the group of Early Single Tulips, which constitutes the 1st division. Tulips in this division produce single cup-shaped flowers less than 8 cm (3in) wide, are relatively short (20 to 40 cm (8 to 16in)), and bloom between late March and early June.

'Flaming Prince' begins flowering in late April and continues into May for about 3 weeks if the weather is not too hot. The corollas, with a more or less elliptical to rectangular shape, measuring approximately 6 cm (2in) wide by 8 cm (3in) tall, are of the single type, formed by 6 tepals (this term refers to the sepals and petals when they have almost the same morphology). Their pure white background colour is adorned with pinkish-purple to purple-violet patterns, in the form of flames that irregularly rise along the tepals. These variations in pigmentation create a dynamic visual effect when the flowers sway in the wind, carried by their medium-sized stems. This variety reaches approximately 35 cm (14in) in height when in bloom, and the long lanceolate green leaves rise almost to the base of the corollas. When planted in groups, this tulip forms a dense mass of vegetation, magnified by the presence of the two-tone flowers. Growing in full sun or light shade, in most well-drained soils, it can also be cultivated in containers.

This tulip is perfect for creating beautiful bouquets, either alone or combined with other seasonal blooms. Plant it in groups along the edge of a diverse flower bed, and place just behind it the Syringa meyeri 'Flowerfesta White', a dwarf lilac that doesn't exceed 1.25 m (4ft) in height. Its abundant white single flowers will perfectly complement those of 'Flaming Prince', adding a delicious fragrant note to your bouquets. If you wish, you can also intermix a few stems of the indispensable Irises, with their early varieties further enriching your bouquets, while the late ones will extend the flowering period of your flower bed. The same goes for the sumptuous peonies, herbaceous perennials with a long lifespan, whose early varieties such as 'Itoh Firstæ Arrival' with its charming frilly pink flowers, will provide the final touch to your spring bouquets.