Purple Flag Tulip Bulbs, Triumph

Purple Flag Tulips

If you had to imagine a tulip, you would probably describe a Purple Flag. It has that archetypal, oval shape and richness of colour so often found in Triumph Tulips. Purple Flag petals have a feather-like sheen and are a clear regal purple with a creamy white base to them. You might ask whether we need yet another purple tulip but having viewed this one, indeed we do. It is different because the purple is a deeper, more lavender colour than Purple Prince and it does not have the beetrooty overtones of Negrita, both of which are similarly special purple tulips. The amazing palette of Triumph tulip colours now on the market means that you can be incredibly nuanced with the colours you use in your garden and enjoy experimenting with them all. Purple Flag grows reasonably tall - up to 45 cm - but does so on a strong stem, well able to support the weight of the flower. The sword like leaves are an attractive silver green and very much add to the plant's striking effect. See our full range of tulip bulbs, available to buy online.

Hoist the Flags

Purple hues are so fabulously useful in a garden: they can be cool and restful when combined with silvers, pastel pinks and pale blues or can be explosively exclamatory when matched up against bright zinging reds and oranges. Take your pick: there are Triumph Tulips for all these situations and they will flower at the same time as Purple Flag. However Purple Flag's winning formula of superlative vivid purple and well shaped slightly silvery leaves makes it excellent choice in serried ranks to provide a single block of colour. This is a tulip you can deploy with gay abandon.

Features

• Colour: bright purple with a cream base
• Height: 45 cm
• Scent: none
• Flowering: April/May
• Planting Depth: 3 times the height of the bulb
• Planting Months: October - November

Triumphant Tulips

Triumph tulips are considered the largest and most important class of tulip. Partly this is because they all exhibit that classic oval shape but mainly because you can find one in almost any colour you could possibly imagine. They are the result of an inspirational crossing of Early Single tulips with later varieties.

Give tulips a bit of room when planting - we recommend leaving 6-8 cms between bulbs. The planting depth should be at least three times deeper than the bulb is tall. The pointy end is the top...

If you want to keep your tulips for the following year, plant them DEEP (20 cms is fine) and deadhead as soon as the flowers fade. Many varieties will stay in the ground and multiply happily, but if you are in doubt, it is a good idea to lift them when the foliage has withered. Dry them off in a dark, dry, cool place, remove any dried soil and store them (in the dark at a low room temperature) in a tray or net, having first removed any diseased or damaged bulbs. Replant the following October/November.

Applying a high potash fertiliser during the growing season improves the flowering performance the next year. Lift and divide clumps of tulips if flowering is poor.