TULIPA, the TULIP; a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the hexandria class of plants. There are three species, two of which only are known in the English gardens; and one of these in particular (the first sort) is famous for the extraordinary beauty of its large noble flowers, most elegantly striped and stained with a vast diversity of rich colours, in a thousand various forms; constituting so many different varieties, all very great ornaments to our gardens in April and May.
1. The gesneriana, Gesner's Turkey tulip of Cappadocia, or common garden-tulip, hath a large, oblong, tunicated, solid, bulbous root, covered with a brown skin, sending up long oval spear-shaped leaves; an upright round stalk, from half a foot to a yard high, garnished with a few leaves, and its top crowned with a large bell-shaped erect hexapetalous flower, of almost all colours and variegations in the different varieties.
The principal varieties are, early dwarf tulip (præcoca), rising with short stalks, from five or six to 10 or 12 inches high, with smallish flowers.—Tall late-flowering or common tulip (serotina), rising from about half a yard to two or three feet high, with large well-formed flowers.—Double tulip, rising a foot or two high, or more, having large double flowers.—Whole-blowing, or self-coloured tulip, being all of one original colour, either purples, reds, violets, greys, copper-colours, yellows, &c. which gradually break into numerous variegations.—Variegated tulip, comprising innumerable varieties, in respect to the different colourings, variegations, and stripes.
Each of the above varieties comprehends numerous intermediate ones, in respect to the colours and variegations of the flower; each, however, is originally all of one colour, especially seedlings, which, when arrived to a flowering state, each separate flower is either wholly red, purple, violet, grey, brown, black, or yellow, &c. without any variegations or stripes, consisting of self-coloured flowers with white bottoms; self-coloured flowers with yellow bottoms; and some also with blue, purple, and blackish bottoms; all of which, whilst they retain this original same colour, are in the florists language called whole blowers or breeders, because each flower is wholly of one self-colour. The roots being planted a year or two in prepared soils, to breed, or dispose them gradually to produce flowers that break from the original self-colour into variegations and stripes in various different forms, they are then called breakers, each different variegation constituting a distinct variety; consisting of flowers with—white bottoms, broken with brown stripes, with blue stripes, violet stripes, rose stripes, red stripes, &c. separated by streaks of white and other colours, variously disposed—yellow bottoms, broken with different reds, crimson, and golden-yellow flakes, and various other colours—blackish purple bottoms, &c. broken with stripes of dark colour, yellow, and tints of red: so that in these sorts of breakers, or variegated tulips, with white and yellow bottoms particularly, there are also white and red striped flowers—white and purple striped—white and violet striped—white and rose striped—white and brown striped—violet and white flaked—red and white flaked—red and yellow flaked—brown, yellow, and red flaked and numerous other intermediate variegations and stripes, variously disposed in an endless diversity.
Thus the breakers or variegated tulips are diversified with an infinity of colours in innumerable different ways, forming so many different varieties; the principal of which are by the florists distinguished by pompous names, either of some great personages, eminent florists, places of their original growth, &c.: but as vast numbers of new varieties are annually obtained from seedlings in so many different places, distinguished by various new names, and old ones rejected, and often the same flower, with a different name imposed by different florists, it would be impossible to give any correct list here of the names of such numerous varieties, so often changing every where.
2. The sylvestris, or wild European tulip, hath an oblong bulbous root, sending up long narrow spear-shaped leaves; and a slender stalk, supporting at top a small yellow flower, nodding on one side, having acute petals.
Both these species of tulipa are hardy perennials, durable in root, or at least, altho' the old bulb decays annually, it perpetuates its species by off-sets, and is annual in leaf and stalk; which rising from the bulb early in the spring, arrives to a flowering state in April and May, each plant having only one flower, supported on the top of the naked stalk without any calyx or cup, and consists of six large petals, three within and three without, mostly in an erect position; the whole together forming a sort of large cup, either bell or egg shaped, though the double tulip have the petals multiplied in an indeterminate number. All the varieties are succeeded by plenty of ripe seed in July and August, contained in an oblong capsule of three cells, having the seeds placed on each other in double rows. By the seeds numerous new varieties may be raised, which however will not attain a flowering state till they are seven or eight years old; and after that will require
Tulipa. two or three years or more to break into variegations, when the approved varieties may be marked, and increased by off-sets of the root, as directed in their propagation.
Of the two species of tulip, the first sort, tulipa gesneriana, or common garden-tulip, and its vast train of varieties, is the sort so generally cultivated for the ornament of our gardens, and so much admired by all for its great variety and beautiful appearance: It grows freely in the open ground in any common soil of a garden, and proves a very great decoration to the beds and borders of the pleasure-ground, for six weeks or two months in spring, by different plantings of early and late sorts; planting the principal part in autumn, and the rest towards Christmas, and in January or February. The autumn plantings will come earliest into bloom, and flower the strongest; and the others will succeed them in flowering; observing, that in summer, when the flowering is past, and the leaves and stalks assume a state of decay, the bulbs of the choicest varieties are generally taken up, the off-sets separated, and the whole cleaned from filth; then put up to dry till October or November, and then planted again for the future year's bloom.
Of this species, which is the florists delight, the varieties may be divided into two principal classes, viz. 1. Early or dwarf spring-tulips (præcocea). 2. Late-flowering tall tulips (serotina).
Early tulips.—The early tulips are among florists distinguished by the appellation of præcocea (early), because they flower early in the spring, a month or more before the others; are much shorter stalked, and the flowers smaller; but are in greater reputation for their early bloom and their gay lively colours, both of self-colours, and broken into flaked variegations; such as reds, crimson, scarlet, carnation, violets, purples, yellow, &c. with flowers of each, edged and flaked with red, yellow, and white, in many diversities.
Late-flowering common tulips.—This class is denominated late flowering, and by the florists called serotines, because they blow later in the spring, a month or more, than the præcocea, i.e. not coming into flower before the end of April, May, and June. They are all of tall growth, supporting large flowers, and furnish an almost endless variety in the vast diversity of colours, after they break from whole-blowers into variegations and stripes, exceeding all others of the tulip kind in beauty and elegance of flower.
Tulips are also subdivided into other classes, such as whole blowers, and broken tulips.
Whole blowers or breeders.—These are feeding tulips, having flowers wholly of one colour; they being raised from seed to a state of flowering, the flowers remain two, three, or more years of one self-colour, before they break into variegations; which are also divided into classes, according to the Dutch florists, called,—1. Bizarres; being generally almost of a brown copper colour, having at the bottom a small round spot, either yellowish, or black mixed with a little yellow, which when broken into different colours become bizarres with yellow bottoms.—2. Violettes; being either all of a purple-violet, pale violet, grideline, cherry-crimson, or red; having the spot at bottom, either a clear white, or blackish-grey mixed with a little white; and their production when broken into different colours be-
come tulips with white bottoms, called by the Dutch bybloemens.
Broken or variegated tulips.—Such as are broken from the self original colour of the whole-blower or breeding tulips, into variegations and stripes of different colours, observing they generally break into different variegations according to that of the former self-colour; generally, however, either wholly expelling the original self-colour of the breeder, or leave but very little remains thereof, which is a desirable requisite in these kind of flowers among professional florists; and, when thus broken or variegated with different colours, they exhibit themselves variously mixed, striped, flaked, feathered, marbled, spotted, edged, &c. a thousand different ways in an admirable manner; and are by the florists divided into the following classes, called by the Dutch
Baguette primo.—Tulips with white bottoms, striped with brown, &c.
Baguette rigau.—Tulips with a white bottom, broken with dark-brown stripes, &c.
Bybloemens.—Tulips with a white bottom, striped with violet and blackish brown, &c. White bottom tulips, striped with rose-colour, vermillion, and ruby.
Bizarres.—Yellow bottom tulips, striped with various colours.
Among florists the principal properties requisite in the above classes of tulips to constitute a fine flower, are—The stem must be tall, especially of the serotines, from half a yard to two or three feet high, or more, being proportionably thick and strong; the flower large, composed of six petals, as in the characteristic state, these being broad, thick, rounded at top, and stand firmly erect without turning much inward or outward, but so as to cup well, and give the flower a regular form. The colours and stripes of the flower must be bright, arising unmixed, regularly and distinct from the bottom, with but little or none of the original self-colour remaining.
The colours in greatest estimation in the broken tulips, are the blacks, golden-yellows, purple-violets, rose, and vermillion, each of which being variegated various ways; and such as are striped with three different colours distinct and unmixed, with strong regular streaks, with but little or no tinge of the breeder, may be called the most perfect tulips. Though it is rare to meet with a tulip possessing all the properties.
As to the manner of obtaining this wonderful variety of colours in tulips, it is often accomplished principally by nature alone, which however is sometimes assisted and forwarded by some simple operations of art; such as, that in the first place, when the feeding bulbs of the whole-blower or breeder are arrived to full size, and have flowered once, to transplant them into beds of any poor dry barren soil, in order that by a defect of nutriment in the earth the natural luxuriance of the plant may be checked, and cause a weakness in their general growth, whereby they generally in this weakened or infirm state gradually change and break out into variegations, some the first year, others not till the second or third; and according as they are thus broke, they should be planted in beds of good earth.
Another method to assist nature in effecting the marvellous work of breaking the breeding tulips into diversified colours, is to make as great a change as possible
Tulipa
Tun.
fible in the soil; if they were this year in a light poor soil, plant them the next in a rich garden mould, and another year in a compost of different earths and dung; or transplant them from one part of the garden to another, or into different gardens, &c. or from one country to another; all of which contributes in assisting nature in producing this desirable diversity of colours and variegations.
The double tulip is also a variety of the common tulip, and is very beautiful, tho' not in such estimation among the florists as the common single variegated sorts, not possessing such a profusion of variegations in the colours and regularity of stripes: they however exhibit an elegantly ornamental appearance, as they rise with an upright, tallish, firm stem, crowned with a very large double flower composed of numerous petals, multiplied in several series one within another like a double peony, but far more beautiful in their diversity of colours, variegations, and stripes of white and red, yellow and red, &c. so that they highly deserve culture, both in beds alone near the other sorts to increase their variety, also to plant in patches about the borders, in assemblage with the late variegated tulips, as they blow nearly about the same time, i. e. April and May.
Tulip-roots are sold in full collection, consisting of numerous varieties, at most of the nurseries and feedsmen, who both propagate them themselves by off-sets and feed, and import vast quantities annually from Holland; the Dutch being famous for raising the grandest collections of the finest tulips, and other bulbous flowers, in the greatest perfection, for the supply of almost all the other European gardens; distinguishing every variety in their vast collections by some pompous name or other, as before observed, arranged in regular catalogues, charging prices in proportion to their estimation; which formerly was so great, among the Hollanders themselves in particular, that there are accounts of a single root being sold for from 2000 to 5500 guilders; however, they are now more plentiful, and are sold at from 5s. or 10s. to so many pounds per hundred, and even per root for very scarce capital sorts.