Tulipa clusiana Cynthia

Tulipa clusiana 'Cynthia' is among the most graceful. It produces solitary, bicoloured flowers with tapered petals on 25cm (10in) stems. They bloom in a star shape, revealing 3 pale-yellow tepals with a rosy base, surrounded by three others, which are red rose and bordered with pale-yellow. Its beautiful linear foliage is grey-green-blue. This botanical variety, like all T. clusiana, is undemanding and withstands winter cold. It blooms abundantly and naturalises easily in mild or Mediterranean-style climates, in well-drained or even sandy soil.

Tulip clusiana 'Cynthia' belongs to the Liliaceae family. T. clusiana, also called lady tulip, is native to southeastern Iran and the western Himalayas. Its base colour is white. It is one of the few species that naturalises and blooms in climates with mild winters, spared from frost. It has given rise to many cultivars including 'Cynthia', which is highly colourful. This small tulip will not exceed 25 to 30cm (10 to 12in) in height when in bloom. Its foliage is bluish-green with a touch of grey. The leaves are narrow and linear. The flowers appear in March-April, earlier or later depending on the climate. The elegant flowers are tapered. They are striped with dark pink and pale-yellow. They look beautiful even when closed. They open widely in the sunlight, revealing the inside of a pale-yellow star shaded with smoky pink at the base, and antique rose bordered with pale-yellow on the outside. They close in the evening and under grey skies.

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 rock gardens. To create colourful scenes, they can be planted with various small bulbous plants: crocus, Allium moly, Ipheion uniflorum, Anemone blanda, narcissus with small flowers, etc. These tulips are unmatched for bringing the colours of spring in pots or in sunny gardens.

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