Though preservation is our mission, bulbs drop out of our catalog every year.
Sometimes it’s because the harvest was too small. Sometimes it’s because they’re widely available elsewhere and don’t need our help. And sometimes it’s because we’ve lost our only known source due to severe weather (cold, drought, etc.), health problems (a debilitating stroke), or economic woes (small farmers are always at risk).
The good news is that, in time, we’re often able to return these bulbs to our catalog. So here’s a list of many we’ve offered in the past. For an alert the moment they’re available again, subscribe to our free email newsletter. Or to find a similar bulb, try our easy Advanced Bulb Search.
SPRINGTIME IN CAMELOT Sampler
In 1962 when President Kennedy asked Bunny Mellon to transform the moribund Rose Garden outside his Oval Office into a flower-filled ceremonial space, her redesign featured masses of tall, luminous tulips – including the five classic beauties in this sampler. We’ll send you 3 lavender ‘Blue Parrot’, 3 flamingo-pink ‘Fantasy’, 3 maroon ‘Black Parrot’, 3 rose-pink ‘Mariette’, and 3 ‘White Triumphator’. For zones 3a-7b(8bWC). Last offered in 2016. ‘Fantasy’, unfortunately, has gone commercially extinct, but you can order the other four tulips from us to create your own little bit of Camelot.
ADONIS, 1850
Named for the ancient demi-god of manly beauty and spring’s magic rebirth, this true English florists’ tulip is the first Bijbloemen to bloom each spring. With deep purple flames on ivory petals, it’s a thrill you’ll find yourself looking forward to all winter long. 16-18”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum. Last offered in 2014. We’ll offer it again whenever bulbs are available. For an alert subscribe to our email newsletter.
ALABASTER, 1942
If you’ve ever lusted after Sissinghurst’s iconic White Garden, here’s a tall, elegant, late-blooming tulip that can bring a touch of that magic place to your own back yard. It’s long lasting in bouquets (combine it with ‘Golden Harvest’ and forget-me-nots for a pastel dream) and it’s fragrant! Darwin/Single Late, 19-21”, zones 3a-7b(8bWC), from Holland. Last offered in 2012. ‘Alabaster’ seems to be commercially extinct, but we’ll keep searching for it!
ALBA REGALIS, 1838
Like a bubbling brook or a misty spring morning, ‘Alba Regalis’ is sublimely cool and refreshing. The first reference we can find to it is in the RHS Journal of 1838 where it’s described as having “flowers of good shape, white faintly edged with pale yellow,” and nearly a century later garden writers in the 1920s were still recommending it. Aka ‘Royal White’, Single Early, 12”, zones 3a-7b(8bWC). Last offered web-only in 2008. We may offer it again periodically, or we could special order it for you.
ALICE KEITH, 1930
With “tones of warm bronzy orange which thrill the admirers of Breeder tulips” (McFarland, 1941), this goblet-shaped beauty was introduced by the legendary Dutch bulb-house of Krelage and Son, founded in 1811. A word to the wise: We have just 25 bulbs available this fall, and they won’t last long. Dutch Breeder/Single Late, 20-22”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum. Last offered in 2015. Our grower is increasing his stock and we’ll offer it again sometime in the future. For an alert, subscribe to our email newsletter.
AMIRAL DE CONSTANTINOPLE, 1665
Only two parrot tulips from the 1600s survive, and you can grow this one! The jagged, billowing petals of this fabulous relic are a deep, fiery red embellished here and there with swirling brushstrokes of gold, green, and maroon. Tiny spurs and horns add to its wild allure. Its name is French (hence no “D” in Amiral), suggesting it got its start in quirky, flower-loving Flanders. (For 18th- and 19th-century parrots, see ‘Cafe Brun’, ‘Markgraaf van Baden’, and ‘Perfecta’.) Zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum. Last offered in 2014. We’ll offer it again whenever bulbs are available. For an alert subscribe to our email newsletter.
ANGELIQUE, 1959
“A boudoir tulip, very frilly and feminine” says Anna Pavord of this sumptuous, award-winning tulip with its “pretty, double flowers of apple-blossom pink” maturing to deeper pink and cream. Although it’s been enormously popular for decades, its acreage in the Netherlands is now shrinking precipitously, so we’ve added it to our ark. Woo-hoo! RHS AGM winner, Double Late, 16-18”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from Holland. Last offered in 2014. Widely available elsewhere.
ARISTOCRAT, 1935
Strong growing and richly colored, this powerful tulip wowed us when it first bloomed here. And when we saw how its flowers lasted and lasted, we liked it even better. Each petal is a blaze of deep rose with lavender undertones shading to soft pink at the edges. The effect is dramatic and full of energy. Darwin/Single Late, 28”, zones 3a-7b(8bWC), from Holland. Last offered in 2005. We lost our grower and haven’t found another who offers authentic stock.
BEAUTY OF BATH, 1906
“One of the most enchanting of the Cottage tribe,” said the Scheepers catalog in 1929. A true broken tulip, this British beauty opens with “the most lovely flushes and pencilings of pale to deeper yellow and pinkish lavender to rose” and then matures to a lace-like tracery of purple on white. Our friend Betsy Ginsburg was so enchanted she wrote a time-travelling detective story exploring how it got its name. Late, 16-18”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum. Last offered in 2014. We’ll offer it again whenever bulbs are available. For an alert subscribe to our email newsletter.
BESSIE, 1847
Although unusually old for an English florists’ tulip, ‘Bessie’ can still “break” so beautifully that it wins Premier Flame in shows of the Wakefield and North of England Tulip Society. It’s small-flowered, with burgundy flames on white petals that reflex charmingly as they mature. Broken, 16”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum. Last offered in 2014. We’ll offer it again whenever bulbs are available. For an alert subscribe to our email newsletter.
We’d love to hear from you!
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Ann Arbor, MI 48105.
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