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It's time to order, plant tulip bulbs

Tulips are a colorful feast for the eyes after a long, dreary winter. Small species and botanical tulips are appetizers; the late-flowering varieties are dessert.

Species tulips perennialize better than most other tulips, becoming charming drifts in the garden. They grow in varying heights, depending on the species, but they are typically short. Species tulips may be more difficult to find in garden centers but can be purchased online or through bulb catalogs.

Tulipa kaufmanniana and Tulipa greigii are the two most readily available botanical tulips in garden centers. They are small in stature and reliably perennial, naturalizing in rock gardens or toward the front of borders.

T. kaufmanniana, commonly called water lily tulips, feature blooms that fully open on sunny days, revealing their multicolored centers. Mottled foliage adds to their appeal. Available in many cultivars, they grow 8 to 14 inches tall.

T. greigii produce at least two, and sometimes as many as four, flowers per stem. Their flowers — in shades of red, orange, yellow or a mixture of these — are larger than you would expect on their short, 10- to 20-inch stems. Their foliage is streaked or heavily speckled in reddish-purple.

Single and Double Early tulips grow about a foot tall, each stem presenting a single flower. Single Early tulips show off big flowers in the classic tulip shape. The bulbs of Double Early tulips produce a single flower per stem, too, but flowers flaunt lots of extra petals. Both types are available in a kaleidoscope of colors.

Emperor tulips, also known as Fosteriana tulips, parade jumbo-sized flowers that open extra wide on sunny days. These medium-height tulips are available in a wide range of brilliant colors.

Single Early, Double Early and Emperor tulips are as beautiful in bouquets as they are in the landscape and are best grown as annuals. Many cultivars may weaken or disappear completely after a year or two in the garden.

Mid-spring brings on the main course of tulips — Darwin Hybrid and Triumph tulips. Darwin Hybrid tulips are my favorite for a few reasons. First, they boast very large flowers in bold colors. Next, they bloom in mid-spring when chances of a hard frost damaging their flowers has diminished. And the best reason, they are perennial. Given appropriate conditions, they rebloom for many years.

Triumph tulips bloom in a rainbow of colors and grow 18 to 20 inches tall. They are not as reliably perennial as Darwin Hybrids.

Toward the end of spring, Single and Double Late, Fringed, Lily-Flowered and Parrot tulips contribute additional color to perennial borders. Flawlessly formed flowers sit atop tall, 28-inch stems of Single Late tulips. Double Late varieties have so many extra petals, their flowers look like miniature peonies.

As their names suggest, the flowers of fringed tulips have fringed edges and blooms of lily-flowered tulips resemble lilies. Parrot tulips are flamboyant and fancy. The petals of their flowers are sometimes fringed, sometimes twisted and curled, and sometimes both. Many varieties are multicolored.

These late-blooming types are elegant tulips, beautiful in the garden and best planted as annuals. I usually choose parrot tulips to plant in containers that spend winter in the garage and then greet guests by the front door in May.

Give tulips their preferred conditions and even fussy tulips may return for a repeat performance. Plant bulbs at least three times their height in rich, well-drained soil that has been amended with lots of organic matter. Position them in a sunny border with drought-tolerant perennials so supplemental watering is rarely required. Add bulb fertilizer when planting

Care for bulbs properly after flowering. Deadhead spent flowers, but do not remove yellowing foliage for at least six weeks. The foliage is feeding bulbs for next year's flowers.

• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist, garden writer and speaker. She blogs at gardenwithdiana.com.

Tulips like Darwin Hybrids perennialize in the garden.
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