Tulip Ballerina

Tulip Ballerina – are from the lily flowered tulip group. These are mostly tall, and late flowering tulips with long petals that arch into a fine point. Tulip Ballerina has long been one of our top sellers enjoyed by both the wholesale market and our website customers. The flower has a deep orange/red stripe fading into a paler orange to the sides. The orange is so rich, it can look like a beacon when it catches the evening spring light. It is also a scented tulip.

As a mid to late season tulip, flowering in May, it can be paired with single late tulips or other lily flowering tulips. I think purple is always a strong choice, but it will work well with reds or whites.

What are Lily Flowered Tulips?

Lily flowered tulips are hybrids, they produce slender flowers, often with recurving, pointed petals. The stems are not very sturdy, making them prone to wind damage, so they are best planted in a sheltered position. Like most tulips, they bloom best the first year after planting. They will often bloom again in the second year, but with smaller and fewer flowers.

Planting Tulip Bulbs

Plant your tulip bulbs in autumn between September and December. It is often preferred to let the late summer pass to avoid the bulbs drying out or catching bugs. No pesticides are used in the production of our flower bulbs and most bulbs are disease resistant through careful cultivation. Tulips will develop roots but need the cold weather to activate the growth hormone that allows them to flower in spring. Do not allow them to get too wet over winter. Once they are growing you should keep them moist but not water logged or the flowers will shrivel before they have developed.

Place them 5-10cm apart and plant 10cm deep. They will grow in any soil but a free draining soil is best. Tulip Ballerina looks great in full sun but it can also be planted in semi shade too.

We recommend lifting the tulip bulbs once they have finished flowering because the bulb will split in too many smaller bulbs that will not be of flowering size for the following year. Tulip Ballerina are not too bad for this and you can improve their chances of producing bigger bulbs by removing their heads so that the energy from the leaves goes back into the bulb rather than the seed head.

You can see an article on why we lift tulip bulbs.