Add a Splash of Spring Color with Purple Tulips

Planting some purple tulips in your beds, borders and containers can add a glorious splash of color to your backyard or garden in spring. When we draw away from the winter and look forward to warmer days, the garden can still look a little bland, so adding a few tulip bulbs can certainly brighten things up.

Many people associate tulips with the Netherlands and anyone who has been there will have seen some stunning displays in the parks and gardens. However, tulips are indeed indigenous to mountainous areas with temperate climates in parts of Europe, Africa and Asia.

Perhaps surprisingly to some people is that tulips can come in many various shapes and sizes, and purple tulip flowers have many different shades and hues. The most common shape is the single tulip, which forms a cup shape of normally six petals. Popular single purple tulips include the darkish Purple Prince or the mauve colored Van der Neer.

Similar in shape to the single are the double late tulips or peony tulips, which have twice the number of petals. Lilac Perfection is a good example of a double late tulip. These varieties can grow between 12 and 24 inches high and will flower in late spring.

A particularly attractive looking shape comes in the form of the lily tulip, which as the name suggests has petals that look like those of a lily. Maytime is a violet colored variety of lily tulip with white edges. If you are looking for a more flamboyant looking flower, then the blue parrot and black parrot tulip has mauve and purple feathery petals respectively.

The black parrot tulip is a very dark purple but arguably the darkest of them all is Queen of the Night, which is the closest you will find to black. This is a Darwin hybrid tulip with pyramid shaped blossoms that can grow up to 24 inches. There are other dark purple tulips as well such as the Negrita, which is a large triumph type of tulip.

The bulbs need to be planted during fall in a soil that has been dug over. However, be sure not add compost or manure to the soil as the bulbs could well rot and they prefer a loose, well drained soil.

A general rule of thumb when planting the bulbs is to put them in soil twice as deep as their diameter. If you are buying packets of purple tulips from the nursery they will normally carry planting instructions on them. Planting purple with yellow or white tulips can make a stunning combination.

For those living in slightly colder climates where frosts are likely in early spring, there is no need to worry as the tulip leaves will withstand the cold. After the plants have finished flowering they should be dead-headed and similarly cut back the leaves when they have almost died.

Tulips will look fantastic while they last but generally only stay in flower for about three to four weeks. Therefore it is a good idea to plant the bulbs with biennial plants in order that you are not left with an empty space when the tulips have finished blooming.