Red is the most traditional, iconic color in tulips, and ‘Kingsblood’ is one of the 20th century’s finest, most enduring reds. Tall, late-blooming, and stately, it’s drop-dead gorgeous interplanted with ‘Greuze’, or sprinkle a few among pastel tulips to add a bit of visual zest, like the maraschino cherries in the fruit cocktail your grandmother used to serve. Single Late, 22-24”, zones 3a-7bS/8WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

A deep, smoldering ruby that’s so dark it’s just not right to call it red, ‘Koh-I-Noor’ brings a touch of midnight and mystery to the spring garden. Even its shape is unusual – spade-like petals opening into an angular crown. It’s named for one of history’s largest and most celebrated diamonds, the 700-year-old “Mountain of Light,” now part of England’s Crown Jewels. 10-12”, zones 4b-7a, from the Hortus Bulborum. Chart to compare. Last offered web-only in 2012. Although we hope to offer this rarity again in 2013, availability can’t be confirmed until June. Please check back then or subscribe to our email newsletter.

Bulb merchants have tried for over a century to capture in words the unusual colors of this elegant old tulip. One called it “deep crimson lake with a wide margin of blush pink,” another “claret purple tipped old rose.” Maybe best of all was Peter Henderson in 1907 who called it “silky plum shading off to silvery pink at the edges.” Its shape is equally distinct, with broad, pointed petals that arch gently outwards. All in all, it really is remarquable. Single Early, 10-12”, zones 4b-7aS/7bWC, from Hortus Bulborum. Chart to compare. Last offered web-only in 2012. Although we hope to offer this rarity again in 2013, availability can’t be confirmed until June. Please check back then or subscribe to our email newsletter.

During Tulipomania in the 1630s, this crown-like tulip of burgundy and ivory was traded for enormous sums. Today ‘Lac van Rijn’ (say: Lock von Rhine) may still seem expensive – but what else can you own from 1620 that costs so little? And since it multiplies happily with good care, it’s a smart garden investment. (We’ll be glad to explain that to your spouse.) Single Early, 14”, zones 4b-7a, from the Hortus. Chart to compare.

With bold flames and feathers of cherry-red on white, this striking English florists’ tulip was bred by a Lancashire weaver over 150 years ago. But who was Mabel? Wife? Daughter? Or maybe a favorite barmaid at one of the pubs where the tulip societies held their shows back then? Multiplies well, late blooming, 18”, zones 4-7, from the Hortus Bulborum. Chart to compare.

This wildflowery gem offers small, late, vase-shaped blooms of pale lemon to cream blushed with rose on graceful, wiry stems. A “neo-tulip” discovered in the south of France in 1894, it is most likely a much older garden escape. Cheap counterfeits are common, so for the real thing, come to us! 14”, zones 4b-7S/8WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

Winner of the prestigious RHS Award of Garden Merit, this mid-century classic is “a beautiful tulip of unusual shading” with “buff rose petals” enlivened by “a broad flame of raspberry” and silvery pink petal edges (Killingback, Tulips). After decades of popularity, it’s getting harder and harder to find — so we’ve added it to our ark. Triumph, 22-24”, zones 3-7S/8WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

This deliciously fragrant flower is “one of the best of all tulips,” writes Anna Pavord in her monumental Bulb, although it’s “not for the faint-hearted.” (Does that sound like a challenge?) Its “exceptionally long” buds open into “stupendous,” glossy, ruffled blooms of orange feathered with wisps of rose and green. Parrot, 20” , zones 3-7S/8WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

An exotic green and gold protea from some trendy SoHo floral designer? No, but that’s what this 300-year-old double tulip looks like when it first starts to open — and no modern tulip looks anything like it! For a close-up view of its weird beauty, simply click on our small photo. Now imagine it in a vase where you can watch it day by day as it slowly matures from a chartreuse symphony into a peony-like blossom of gold brushed with red. Wow! Double Late, 10-12”, zones 4b-7aS/7bWC, from the Hortus. Chart to compare.

We sell tons of this old tulip every year, even though doubles have been woefully out of fashion for decades now – a testament to its great beauty. It’s a frothy extravaganza of white and pink (not peach), like a lacy, romantic, Victorian valentine. If you’ve never grown double tulips, start here! Double Early, 12”, zones 3-7S/8WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.