Garden Tulip

The Garden Tulip is a perennial, popular ornamental plant found in Eastern and Southern Europe, as well as in Minor and Central Asia, and Kazakhstan (in all countries of the temperate zone). In the wild, it inhabits steppes and semi-deserts.

The exact natural range of the garden tulip is unknown because this plant has long been cultivated and, with human assistance, has spread artificially (been introduced) to many countries worldwide.

The genus name of this plant (tulip) originally appeared in the homeland of all cultivated tulips - Turkey. It is believed that the plants were named either for their shape, which resembled a turban (a headpiece), or because they were used to decorate turbans.

The garden tulip is a light-loving and cold-resistant plant, capable of withstanding winter temperature drops of up to -29°C. It is moderately demanding when it comes to soil moisture content and is practically indifferent to soil quality. However, it prefers well-drained, gravelly substrates.

Garden tulips are widely used in landscape design and bouquet arrangements. These plants are cultivated in almost all temperate countries, but the Netherlands remains the global leader in production volume and breeding work.

Of the approximately 15,000 tulip varieties worldwide, most are based on the garden tulip.

P.S. Image attribution: Dina L, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons