Gorilla' Tulip Bulbs, Fringed

Tulipa Gorilla

She's tall, handsome, and blessed with the finest, most delicately fringed, silky petals, in a rich shade of purple plum. She's a mid-season variety, from April to May, with tassel-tipped flowers opening from gorgeous tight, deep burgundy buds to stand proud at 50cm tall in beds, borders, window boxes and containers. The stems and foliage are glaucous, a counterpoint to the saturated wine of the petals and buds. 

If you have enough to cut and bring indoors, all tulips carry on growing once in a vase and can get quite bendy. To combat this, try wrapping the stems in paper and winding around some wire, to keep the stems straight. Dunk in water for a few hours and then arrange in a vase.

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Features

• Colour: deep burgundy
• Height: 50cm
• Scent: none
• Flowering: April to May
• Group: fringed
• Planting Depth: 10cm
• Planting Months: October-December

Growing

It needs a well-drained soil and a good deal of sun (south facing is best, although west or east will work too), and plant at the end of autumn to skip viral and fungal diseases. Once flowered, leave the foliage to die back before removing. You can lift and dry the tulips, then replant the following autumn, for better year-on-year flowering. If you leave them, they won't last quite as many years.

A sizeable troop of gorillas weaved in and out of candy pink Fusarino is spectacular, or draw on the classic, well-proved combination of tulips and wallflowers: deep burnished orange Fire King with bold claret, or cool things down with an underplanting of White Dame. Another advantage is that the wallflowers create a good dense greenery that covers the fading leaves of the tulips.

Gorilla works well in generous pots, alongside pale lilac and white tulips, or combined with other spring bulbs such as pink and white splashed Fondant hyacinths.

Plant tulips such as Gorilla in borders and containers. They like richer soils with good drainage.

Space them quite widely when planting - tulip bulbs can be big so we recommend around 10cm between bulbs. The planting hole should be about three times deeper than the bulb is tall. The pointy end is the top...

If you want to keep them flowering the following year, plant them deep (20cm is fine) and deadhead as soon as the flowers fade. Many varieties multiply happily in the ground, but if in doubt, lift them when the foliage has withered. Dry them in a cool, dark place, remove any dried soil and store (in the dark at a low room temperature) in a tray or net, after removing any diseased or damaged bulbs. Replant the following October/November.

By all means apply a high potash fertiliser during the growing season to help bulk up the bulb for next year. Lift and divide clumps of tulips if flowering is poor.

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Did You Know?

Gorilla was introduced in 2008.