Names of Dark Purple Tulips

History

• Tulips originated in central Asia, with a natural range that stretches across Siberia, Mongolia and China. In the wild, tulips prefer hilly landscapes in areas with cold winters and warm, dry summers. Though today, tulips are commonly associated with Holland. Persians were breeding these plants as early as the 12th century; tulips actually weren’t introduced to Europe until the 1500s. Tulips can bloom in single or double flowers; some have fringed edges, and some are multicolored. Today the dominant tulip color is red, but several cultivars bloom in dark purple hues.

Single Flower

• Most tulip cultivars and hybrids bloom in various shades of red, yellow or white, but a few purple, single-flowering varieties have been developed. Singapore cultivars have deep purple-burgundy flowers and waxy, blue-green foliage. Laptop tulips bloom with dark flowers that have pointed petals and narrow, deep green foliage. Baby Blue blooms with wide, open purple flowers and has broad, almost drooping foliage. Among the darkest purple tulips, Ronaldo has black-purple flowers that grow in a square shape atop light green foliage. Remise has dark purple flowers edged with white. Other single-flowering purple varieties include Abbey Dream, Bacchus, Dreaming Maid, Indus, Negrita, Purple Prince, Purple Flag and Prince Charles.

Double Flower

• Although not as common, double-flowering purple tulip varieties add a dramatic touch to the spring landscape. David Tenniers were introduced in 1960. These compact, violet-purple tulips grow to only 10 inches tall. Backpacker grows 18 inches tall but has lighter purple blossoms. Dream Touch has dark purple petals edged with white. Other double-flowering purple varieties include Black Hero, Blue Diamond and Blue Flag.

Fringed

• Fringed tulips are bred for their fluttery, fringed petals. Purple varieties include Mustang. Developed in 2000, this cultivar grows almost 2 feet tall and has violet-purple blooms and slender leaves. The more compact Traveler, introduced in 2004, reaches heights of only 13 inches. Belforts bloom with dense flowers, creating a puffy effect. Among the darkest fringed purple cultivars, Cuban Nights produce single flowers that almost appear black. Other purple, fringed varieties include Curly Sue and Gorilla.