Here you’ll find our VERY rarest bulbs along with late finds and others we simply couldn’t squeeze into our print catalog.
Those marked “Web-Only & Rarest” are sometimes in such short supply that they sell out within days — and some years we can’t offer them at all — so if you see one you like, we recommend you order it now!
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As OHG founder Scott looked up and down the rows at the Hortus Bulborum filled with hundreds of different tulips in bloom – all of them beautiful – ‘Archeron’ stood out as something special. It’s a deep garnet-red shaded with rust and smoke, well-named for the “river of woe” in the underworld of Greek mythology. Single Late, 20-24”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
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Historic? We’re not sure. Extraordinary? Yes! This true broken tulip was discovered at the Hortus Bulborum. It’s not clear whether it’s an heirloom whose label was lost or a newly-broken version of one of their other heirloom varieties, but it’s so stunning we couldn’t resist it. With dark purple flames on creamy white petals, it’s a tulip that Tulipomaniacs of the 1630s would have given a fortune to own! Single Late, 16-20”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC).
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A sport of the great ‘Bleu Aimable’, this lavender beauty is a cool, sophisticated parrot, with petals that are gently ruffled rather than jagged and wild. In 1962 when JFK asked the impeccable Bunny Mellon to remake the dreary White House Rose Garden, she included luminous masses of ‘Blue Parrot’. Learn more. Parrot, 20-24”, zones 3a-7b(8bWC), from Holland.
Chart, care, and learn more.
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With an unusually long, slender shape this lovely broken tulip was introduced by the legendary bulb-house of Krelage and Sons. In 1907 the Peter Henderson catalog praised it as “brilliant cherry rose flushed and striped with scarlet, violet, and white, very distinct.” Aka ‘Maid of Holland’, Single Late, 14-18”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
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Named for Harlequin’s sweetheart, this dreamy Bijbloemen broken tulip has flickering purple flames on petals that, instead of pure white, are blushed with lavender. Although tulip-show judges consider that a flaw, everyone else just seem to say, “It’s beautiful!” 18-20”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
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Now all but extinct, this sturdy little rose and white tulip was a popular American sweetheart for many, many years. New York City’s J.M. Thorburn offered it as early as 1872, and it continued to be widely catalogued well into the 1930s, a reflection of its charm and excellence. Thanks to the Hortus Bulborum for saving it! Single Early, 10”, zones 4b-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus.
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Fragrant, luscious, and late, ‘Dillenburg’ blooms with the earliest bearded iris, offering one last spring treat to look forward to each year. It’s a sophisticated “art shades” blend of peach brushed with rose and one of the last survivors of a whole class of tulips, the Dutch Breeders, that filled pages of catalogs in the early 1900s. As always our supply is very limited, but at least we have it – and every year we worry that we won’t. Single Late, 26”, zones 3a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
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This “coffee-brown, maroon-shaded” gem is “undoubtedly the most attractive of the brown tulips,” said the John Lewis Childs catalog in 1920 when tulips in so-called art shades such as bronze, terra-cotta, and mauve were the height of fashion. It’s certainly one of our favorites! Dutch Breeder/Single Late, 18-22”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum. See our other brown tulips.
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This rare ‘Duke’ is “deliciously fragrant” (W.N. Craig, 1905), and its bold color pattern — evoking Renaissance pageantry and the shields of heraldry — is one of the most enduringly popular in all of tulip history. In fact, if we assembled gardeners from, say, 1650, 1750, and 1850 and asked them to choose whichever of our tulips they liked best, we’re sure ‘Duc de Berlin’ would rank in their Top Ten. Single Early, 8-10”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus.
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If we had to choose a dozen landmark varieties to summarize the whole amazing history of tulips, this 400-year-old miniature would be one of them. Just 6 inches tall and extra early blooming, ‘Red and Yellow’ is the grandaddy of the ‘Duc van Tols’, a fabled clan of pixie tulips once grown in every garden and forced in pots for Christmas bloom. In front of purple hyacinths, its tiny flames are stunning. 6”, zones 4b-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
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Short, bright, and extra-early, these fairy tulips grew in every stylish garden from about 1600-1900. But when gardeners went crazy for tall, late, pastel tulips, the ‘Ducs’ all but vanished. A perfect little miniature at 5-7 inches tall, ‘Scarlet’ is classic and sublime. Very early, zones 4b-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus.
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This bright, sunny little tulip is deep yellow, and to our eye it’s the most elegantly shaped of all the Ducs. Try it combined with deep purple johnny-jump-ups — spring perfection! 5-7”, zones 4b-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
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Last offered in 2022. If you’d like to be notified when it’s back in stock, click to sign up for an email alert.
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This exceptionally rare tulip is “bronze crimson bordered with orange,” according to the 1889 Rawson catalog. But most gardeners over the past 196 years would have seen it as simply red trimmed with yellow – one of the most popular color combinations in tulips since the very first were brought into Western gardens in the 1500s – and, as the 1865 Vick’s catalog described it, “splendid.” Single Early, 10-12”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
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Mostly green at first, this fascinating tulip matures to mostly pink with broad brushstrokes of green and cream. One of the oldest surviving Viridiflora tulips, it’s also exceptionally long-lasting in the garden and bouquets – so be sure to order some extras to pick! Aka ‘Greenland’, Viridiflora (very late), 18-22”, zones 3a-7b(8bWC), from Holland.
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Like a sunrise in slow motion, it opens with baby-smooth, pale yellow petals feathered with rose, and then day by day it transforms itself into a big, ruffled flower of creamy white flamed with purple. You will be enchanted! True broken tulip, late-blooming, 16-18”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC).
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Brown? You bet! And it’s fabulous. This is the unbroken, Breeder form of a tulip which may be better known in its broken, mahogany-on-gold Bizarre form. Although its broken version is flashier, this anything-but-plain brown tulip – with its shades of coffee, bronze, and amber – needs no improvement. Single Late, 18-20”, zones 4a-7a(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum. See our other brown tulips.
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Named for a fiery French statesman, this “handsome flower” is “bright chestnut-bronze with golden-bronze margin and bronze-black center,” to quote the 1931 catalog of London’s Barr and Sons. It’s also one of the rarest tulips we’re offering – so if you want it, don’t delay! Dutch Breeder/Single Late, 24-28”, zones 4a-7b(8aWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
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“Supremely elegant” – that’s how connoisseur Anna Pavord describes this vibrant beauty bred by John Slater, author of the 1860 English Florist’s Guide, whose tulip collection numbered close to 20,000 bulbs. Named for his daughter, it’s an unusual “plated feather,” heavily marked with deep cherry red on white. Last offered in 2020, true English florists’ tulip, 14-16”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
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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-7b(8bWC), from Holland.
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A very rare survivor from the days of Tulipomania in the 1630s, this crown-shaped tulip of burgundy and ivory was once sold for enormous sums. Today it may still seem expensive – but what else can you own from 1620 that costs so little? And with good care, it multiplies! Pronounced “Lock von Rhine,” Single Early, 14”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
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With bold flames and feathers of cherry-red on white, this striking English florists’ tulip was bred by a Lancashire weaver over 165 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? True broken tulip, multiplies well, late blooming, 18”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
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With its classic 1950s name, this classic 1950s tulip is still “unsurpassed even after all these years,” writes Richard Wilford in his 2015 Plant Lover’s Guide to Tulips. An RHS AGM-winner, it’s wonderfully strong-growing and holds its big, luminous flowers on tall sturdy stems. Single Late, 26-28”, zones 3a-7b(8bWC), from Holland.
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This uniquely colored, brown-inflected tulip has “a real ‘old-timey’ look to its garnet and primrose flowers,” as J. Horace McFarland wrote in 1938. Its shape is wonderfully old-fashioned, too, with lancet-pointed petals that curl back gracefully as they open in the sun. One of the so-called Cottage tulips, it was re-discovered by the Rev. Joseph Jacobs “in an old garden in Hanmer in 1905.” Cottage/Single Late, 18-22”, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum. See our other brown tulips.
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Weird name, cool flower. With “much rich beauty to commend it” (in the words of the 1929 Scheepers catalog), this true broken tulip is a swirling tapestry of “all shades of deep lilac and dark reddish rose” feathered and flamed on creamy yellow and white. “The whole is rich and strange” – and glorious! Single Late, 20-24”, late-blooming, zones 4a-7b(8bWC), from the Hortus Bulborum.
Chart and care.
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