Tulipa batalinii Bronze Charm

The adorable little flowers of the 'Bronze Charm' Botanical Tulip are adorned with a nuanced colour: apricot, peach, and melon, with a touch of bronze in the throat. They bloom in April-May, on dwarf plants with a sturdy habit, whose shiny green ribbon-like foliage radiates with health. From its Uzbek and mountain origins, it has a clear preference for well-drained, moist soils in spring, and dry soils in summer. This bulbous plant is also long-lasting, faithfully flowering each year in the middle of the season and will naturalise over time.

Tulipa batalanii is a perennial bulb belonging to the lily family. Its origins are lost in the mountains of Central Asia, between Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. It is related to Tulipa linifolia, of which it is a depigmented form, and to Tulipa maximowiczii which closely resembles the latter.

The 'Bronze Charm' form, commonly associated with botanical species, stands out with its apricot to light orange colour tinged with peach and orange shades. The base of the petals and the throat are touched with bronze. Each flower is slightly different and the overall effect is quite charming. This small tulip will reach 15 to 18 cm (6 to 7in) high when in bloom in April-May. It produces a flower at the top of a short, robust stem composed of a corolla of 6 shiny and iridescent petals, pointed at their tips, which close in the evening. The flowers emit a light fragrance. Its foliage is deciduous in summer and consists of 4 or 5 sword-shaped, narrow, medium green, and shiny leaves.

Botanical tulips do not degenerate over time like large-flowered tulips. They naturalise and can remain in place for several years without special maintenance and thrive in borders and rockeries. To create colourful scenes, they can be paired with various small bulbs: Crocus, Allium moly, small-flowered Daffodils, Muscari... These tulips are unrivalled in bringing the colour of spring to pots or sunny gardens.

There are various wild species, many of which are endangered. In cultivation, these are called « botanical tulips », and one of the most common is the wild tulip (Tulipa sylvestris), which often used to grow sheltered by vines and whose subspecies australis is known as the southern tulip.