A Florist's Guide to Tulip Varieties and Colours — by Vase Life
Tulips occupy a unique and sometimes challenging position in professional floristry. No other commercially significant cut flower moves quite like a tulip — continuing to grow after cutting, bending towards light, opening dramatically with temperature changes, and transforming almost daily in form and character throughout its vase life. This dynamic behaviour is simultaneously tulips' greatest design asset and their greatest handling challenge. Understanding which varieties hold their form longest, which colours remain stable, and how different tulip types behave over time allows a florist to specify confidently, manage client expectations accurately, and deploy tulips to maximum creative effect.
What Makes Tulip Vase Life Different
Unlike roses or peonies, where vase life is primarily a question of how long petals remain fresh before dropping, tulip vase life involves an additional dimension — the bloom continues to develop, open, and change form throughout its display window. A tulip on day one and the same tulip on day six are often almost unrecognisable as the same flower. For some clients and design styles this transformation is a problem; for others it is precisely the quality they are seeking.
Tulips also continue to elongate after cutting — stems can grow several centimetres in the vase, which affects arrangement proportions and must be anticipated in design. They are strongly phototropic, bending towards available light sources, which can disrupt symmetrical arrangements if not managed. They are also relatively sensitive to ethylene gas compared to many other cut flowers, and to the presence of certain companion flowers — daffodils in particular release a sap that is toxic to tulips and must be conditioned separately before mixing.
Temperature is the primary driver of tulip behaviour. Cold temperatures slow opening dramatically and can hold a tulip at a particular stage for days longer than room temperature would allow. This gives florists a powerful tool for timing and management.
Tulip Type Classifications
Tulips are classified by the Royal General Bulbgrowers' Association (KAVB) into fifteen official groups, of which the following are most commercially relevant to floristry.
Single Early tulips produce medium-sized, classic cup-shaped blooms on relatively short stems. They are among the first to arrive in the season and open quickly.
Double Early tulips have fully double, peony-like blooms packed with petals. They are heavier than single forms and their stems must support considerably more weight.
Triumph tulips are the most widely grown commercial cut tulip group — a cross between single early and late varieties producing strong, long stems and classic cup-shaped blooms of excellent substance. The majority of commercially available tulips are Triumphs.
Darwin Hybrid tulips produce very large blooms on exceptionally long, strong stems. They have outstanding vase life relative to other tulip groups and are the closest thing to a long-vase-life tulip in commercial production.
Single Late (including Cottage and May-flowering types) produce large blooms on long stems in the later part of the season. They include some of the most elegant and unusual colour varieties.
Lily-Flowered tulips have distinctive reflexed, pointed petals that give the bloom an elegant, waisted silhouette very different from the classic cup. They are widely used in contemporary floristry.
Fringed (Crispa) tulips have petals edged with a delicate crystalline fringe. They are highly decorative but the fringed petal edges are more delicate than plain petals.
Viridiflora tulips retain green streaking or flaming on the petals throughout their vase life, giving them a botanical, naturalistic quality.
Parrot tulips have dramatically ruffled, fringed, and twisted petals in bold colour combinations. They are among the most visually arresting tulips available but are also among the most perishable.
Double Late (Peony-flowered) tulips produce very large, fully double blooms of exceptional visual weight. They are the tulip equivalent of a double peony — luxurious, full, and relatively short-lived.
Rembrandt and Broken tulips exhibit flame-like streaking caused historically by a virus and now replicated through breeding. They have a painterly, antique quality.
Colour Behaviour in Tulips
Before examining vase life by variety, it is worth understanding how tulip colour behaves over time, as this significantly affects design decisions.
Solid-coloured varieties — particularly strong reds, deep purples, and clean whites — tend to maintain colour integrity throughout their vase life. Bicolour and flamed varieties often become more dramatic as the bloom opens, with the secondary colour intensifying. Pale and pastel varieties can bleach slightly in strong light. Yellow varieties are among the most colour-stable of all tulips. Orange varieties tend to deepen slightly as they open and age. Some dark purple varieties develop a near-black quality at full bloom that is quite different from their appearance in bud.
Category One — Longest Vase Life: 10 to 14+ Days
These varieties represent the most durable tulips in commercial production. They are predominantly Darwin Hybrid and strong Triumph varieties from specialist Dutch and New Zealand growers, selected specifically for post-harvest performance. They are appropriate for multi-day corporate installations, longer-running event work, and retail bouquets where extended display is expected.
Darwin Hybrid Varieties
Darwin Hybrids are the vase life champions of the tulip world. Their very large blooms on exceptionally strong, thick stems, combined with robust cellular structure, give them staying power significantly beyond other tulip groups. They open more slowly than most tulips and hold their cup shape for longer before fully reflexing.
'Apeldoorn' — The benchmark Darwin Hybrid, producing large, classic scarlet-red blooms on strong stems of 55 to 65 centimetres. Under professional conditions it consistently achieves 12 to 14 days. Its colour is bold and pure — a clean, signal red with no orange or purple influence — and it holds throughout the vase life with minimal fading. It is the correct choice for any red tulip requirement where longevity is the primary criterion. The entire Apeldoorn family is commercially significant.
'Golden Apeldoorn' — The yellow counterpart to Apeldoorn, producing large golden-yellow blooms of identical stem strength and vase life performance of 12 to 14 days. Yellow tulips as a group are among the most colour-stable of all cut flowers, and Golden Apeldoorn exemplifies this — its colour remains clear and true from tight bud to fully reflexed bloom.
'Apeldoorn's Elite' — A sport of Apeldoorn with red petals feathered and edged in yellow. It shares the outstanding vase life of the parent variety at 10 to 14 days, with the additional visual interest of its bicolour patterning, which becomes more pronounced as the bloom opens.
'Big Smile' — A large, bright yellow Darwin Hybrid with excellent stem strength and a vase life of 10 to 14 days. Its clean, cheerful yellow is particularly effective in spring corporate work and retail arrangements where longevity is valued.
'Ollioules' — A Darwin Hybrid in soft rose-pink with cream base tones. One of the most elegant Darwin Hybrids for wedding and event work, achieving 10 to 14 days. Its large, softly coloured blooms suit romantic and pastel palettes where the structural strength of Darwin Hybrids is required alongside delicate colouring.
'Pink Impression' — A warm rose-pink Darwin Hybrid of exceptional size and reliability. Vase life of 10 to 14 days. Its clear, warm pink colour holds well throughout its display window and its large blooms make strong visual impact in tall arrangements.
'World's Favourite' — A bicolour Darwin Hybrid in red with broad yellow edges. Vase life of 10 to 14 days. The bold graphic quality of its colouring suits contemporary and corporate design where high visual impact and longevity are both required.
'Daydream' — A Darwin Hybrid that opens golden-yellow and transitions through orange to apricot-salmon as it matures — one of the most striking colour-change tulips available. Vase life of 10 to 14 days, with a distinctly different colour at the end of its life than at the beginning. Particularly valuable for evolving colour stories in long-running installations.
'Ad Rem' — A large Darwin Hybrid in warm orange-red with yellow edges. Vase life of 10 to 14 days. Its vivid, warm colouring makes it effective in bold, high-energy arrangements and its Darwin Hybrid vigour ensures reliable performance.
Strong Triumph Varieties
'Strong Gold' — A classic strong-stemmed yellow Triumph with a vase life of 10 to 12 days. Widely available throughout the commercial season and highly reliable. Its pure, saturated yellow maintains colour integrity from bud to full bloom.
'Ile de France' — A vivid signal-red Triumph with exceptional stem strength and a vase life of 10 to 12 days. One of the most reliable red commercial tulips outside the Darwin Hybrid group, widely used in corporate and event floristry.
'Prominence' — A deep red Triumph with slightly darker, richer colouring than Ile de France, achieving 10 to 12 days. Its colour deepens slightly as it opens, giving a warm, ruby quality at full bloom.
'White Dream' — A pure white Triumph with excellent substance and a vase life of 10 to 12 days. Its clean, cool white makes it the most versatile white tulip for professional work, holding its colour without the creamy warmth of some white varieties.
'Negrita' — A deep purple Triumph with exceptional colour intensity and a vase life of 9 to 12 days. One of the most reliable purple tulips in commercial production, holding its rich violet-purple colouring throughout its vase life with minimal fading. It develops a slightly darker, more intense quality at full bloom.
'Couleur Cardinal' — A classic Triumph in deep carmine-red with a plum-purple exterior. One of the oldest varieties still in commercial production, its extraordinary colour depth — the rich, wine-red interior against the deep purple exterior creates a two-tone effect — combined with reliable vase life of 9 to 12 days makes it a perennial designer favourite.
'Barcelona' — A warm fuchsia-pink Triumph of excellent quality and vase life of 9 to 12 days. Its saturated, warm pink colour holds well and its strong stems make it easy to work with in structured arrangements.
'Purple Prince' — A rich violet-purple Triumph that deepens as it opens. Vase life of 9 to 12 days. Its colour intensity is comparable to Negrita with a slightly more blue-toned violet quality.
Category Two — Good Vase Life: 7 to 10 Days
This category encompasses the majority of commercially traded tulip varieties. They perform reliably across standard retail and event timelines and represent the bulk of everyday floristry procurement. This is also where many of the most aesthetically interesting Triumph and Lily-flowered varieties sit.
Triumph Varieties
'Ronaldo' — A deep, dark purple Triumph approaching near-black at the tips of the petals. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. Its extraordinary dark colouring — among the deepest of all tulips — makes it indispensable for dramatic, high-contrast arrangements and dark, moody editorial work.
'Jan Reus' — A deep wine-red to near-black Triumph with a velvety, dark quality. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. Alongside Ronaldo, it represents the darkest end of the red-purple Triumph spectrum and is widely used in luxury and fashion-influenced floristry.
'Prinses Irene' — A warm orange Triumph with distinctive purple flame markings on the petals. One of the most beloved tulip varieties in European floristry, its complex, painterly colouring — orange and purple in unexpected combination — combined with a vase life of 7 to 10 days makes it a perennial favourite. It is at its most beautiful when slightly open, when the flaming is fully visible.
'Abu Hassan' — A mahogany-red Triumph with golden-yellow edges, creating a rich bicolour effect. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. Its warm, complex colouring suits autumnal and earthy palettes and its bicolour quality becomes more pronounced as the bloom opens.
'Leen van der Mark' — A bold bicolour Triumph in deep red with broad white edges. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. Its graphic, high-contrast colouring is distinctive and effective in contemporary design. It has been in commercial production for decades and remains widely available.
'Kung Fu' — A soft salmon-apricot Triumph with a warm, peachy quality. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. Its gentle, warm colouring suits romantic and bridal palettes and it is one of the most widely used apricot-toned commercial tulips.
'Foxtrot' (Double Early) — A large, fully double tulip in soft pink with a warm blush centre. Vase life of 7 to 9 days — excellent for a double form. Its peony-like blooms make it one of the most popular double tulips in wedding floristry. It opens relatively slowly for a double, which helps extend its display window.
'Wirosa' (Double Late) — A wine-red and cream double tulip with an unusual, antique quality — the deep red exterior opens to reveal cream-edged inner petals. Vase life of 7 to 9 days for a double variety. Its complex colouring and peony-like form make it a specialty product for sophisticated event and bridal work.
'Verona' (Double Early) — A soft cream to pale yellow double with a gentle, warm quality. Vase life of 7 to 9 days. Its warm cream colouring suits neutral and warm-white palettes where the cooler tone of White Dream would feel too stark.
Lily-Flowered Varieties
'White Triumphator' — The benchmark lily-flowered tulip and one of the most widely grown specialty tulips in commercial production. Its long, elegant, reflexed white petals and exceptional stem length create an architectural quality unlike any other white flower. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. It opens progressively, with the elegant waisted silhouette most pronounced in the early to middle stages of its vase life.
'Ballade' — A lily-flowered tulip in rose-pink with white petal edges. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. Its graceful form and bicolour colouring — the white edging intensifies as the bloom opens — make it one of the most refined and widely used lily-flowered varieties in floristry.
'Burgundy' — A lily-flowered tulip in deep wine-red approaching burgundy, with the distinctive reflexed petal form of the group. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. Its elegant, elongated form in a sophisticated dark colour is highly effective in contemporary and editorial designs.
'West Point' — A pure yellow lily-flowered tulip with exceptional petal substance and elegant, strongly reflexed tips. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. Its colour is clear and saturated — a strong, clean yellow that reads well at distance in large arrangements.
'Marilyn' — A white lily-flowered tulip with raspberry-pink feathering and flaming on the petals. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. Its Rembrandt-like patterning in the elegant lily-flowered form makes it one of the most distinctive and sought-after specialty tulips.
'Purple Dream' — A soft lavender-purple lily-flowered tulip with slightly translucent petals. Vase life of 7 to 9 days. Its delicate colouring and elegant form suit refined, romantic design styles.
Viridiflora Varieties
'Spring Green' — A white and green Viridiflora tulip with a broad green feather running through each petal. Vase life of 7 to 10 days — Viridiflora varieties as a group tend toward good longevity because the green chlorophyll-containing tissue in the petals is more structurally robust than standard petal tissue. Spring Green is one of the most widely used specialty tulips in contemporary floristry — its botanical, naturalistic quality suits garden-style and green-focused arrangements beautifully.
'Artist' — A salmon-orange and green Viridiflora with a complex, warm colour combination that intensifies as the bloom opens. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. Its unusual colouring — warm apricot-salmon against fresh green — suits naturalistic and earthy palettes.
'Groenland' (also spelled 'Greenland') — A pink and green Viridiflora with soft rose-pink petals marked with a green feather. Vase life of 7 to 10 days. Its gentle, botanical colouring is widely used in spring wedding work and garden-style arrangements.
Category Three — Moderate Vase Life: 5 to 7 Days
Varieties in this category require more careful timing and management. They include many of the most visually dramatic tulip types — particularly Parrot and Double Late varieties — as well as single-form varieties with thinner petals. They are best suited to two to three day events, same-week retail, and arrangements where their specific aesthetic qualities justify careful timing.
Parrot Varieties
Parrot tulips are among the most visually spectacular flowers in floristry — their dramatically ruffled, fringed, and twisted petals in bold colour combinations create an effect of extravagant abundance. The trade-off is that their more elaborate petal structure is inherently more fragile and perishable than simpler forms.
'Black Parrot' — A deep, near-black purple Parrot with dramatically fringed and reflexed petals. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. One of the most requested specialty tulips in luxury and editorial floristry — its dark, dramatic quality is unmatched by any other commercially available tulip. Buy tight for maximum display window; it is at its most extraordinary during full opening on days two through five.
'White Parrot' — A white Parrot with feathered, ruffled petals of great delicacy. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. Its extravagant form brings a theatrical quality to white arrangements that no standard tulip can replicate.
'Rococo' — A deep red Parrot with petals twisted, fringed, and edged in darker red-black. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. Its extraordinarily complex form and colour — the Flemish still-life tulip brought to life — make it one of the most visually arresting flowers in all of floristry.
'Apricot Parrot' — A soft apricot-cream Parrot with flushed rose and green markings and delicately fringed petals. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. Its soft, complex colouring suits romantic and garden-style arrangements where its ruffled form adds texture without the drama of darker Parrot varieties.
'Estella Rijnveld' — A red and white Parrot with dramatically twisted and fringed petals in a bold bicolour pattern. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. Its theatrical, almost carnivalesque quality makes it a powerful focal flower in maximalist designs and installations.
'Super Parrot' — A white Parrot with green feathering, combining the delicacy of Spring Green with the dramatic form of the Parrot group. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. Widely used by designers seeking botanical texture in a white-green palette.
Double Late (Peony-Flowered) Varieties
'Angelique' — The most commercially important Double Late tulip, producing very large, fully double blooms in soft blush-pink with a delicate fragrance. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. Its peony-like blooms are among the most photographed tulips in bridal floristry and its gentle pink colouring is enormously versatile. It opens from a tight double bud to a wide, flat bloom — buy at the earliest stage possible to maximise display window.
'Blue Diamond' — A double late in deep violet-purple with very full, heavy blooms. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. Its rich, saturated colour and peony-like form suit dramatic and high-impact designs. The heavy blooms can cause stems to bow under their own weight — support in mechanics or use in lower, denser arrangements.
'Mount Tacoma' — A pure white Double Late with very full, rounded blooms. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. Its pure white colouring and full, rounded form make it an effective alternative to white peonies for late-season bridal work.
'Uncle Tom' — A deep mahogany-red to near-black Double Late with exceptionally dark colouring among double varieties. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. Its dark, velvety blooms are striking in high-drama arrangements and pair effectively with dark foliage.
'Miranda' — A red Double Late with very large, full blooms and good colour intensity. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. A reliable choice when a red peony-flowered tulip is required.
Fringed (Crispa) Varieties
'Burgundy Lace' — A deep wine-red Fringed tulip with a delicate crystalline fringe along each petal edge. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. The fringed detail is most visible when backlit and creates extraordinary texture in arrangements. Handle carefully as the fringed petal edges are more delicate than plain petals.
'Blue Heron' — A lilac-purple Fringed tulip with deeply cut fringe. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. Its unusual colouring — a true lilac-purple rather than the blue-violet of many purple tulips — combined with its fringed form makes it a distinctive specialty item.
'Hamilton' — A yellow Fringed tulip with a broad, deeply cut fringe giving it an almost feathery quality. Vase life of 5 to 7 days. Its texture and warm yellow colouring suit naturalistic and garden-style arrangements.
Category Four — Short Vase Life: 3 to 5 Days
These are the most perishable commercially available tulips. They require same-day or next-day use and precise timing. Their inclusion in professional work is justified entirely by specific aesthetic qualities unavailable from more durable alternatives.
Species Tulips
Species tulips — the wild botanical ancestors of modern cultivated varieties — are grown in small quantities by specialist bulb growers and occasionally appear in the specialty cut flower market. Their small, delicate blooms and thin petals give vase lives of only 3 to 5 days, but their naturalistic beauty — entirely different in character from cultivated hybrid tulips — makes them invaluable for botanical and naturalistic floristry. Varieties such as Tulipa clusiana (the lady tulip, in white and cherry-red), Tulipa sylvestris (a nodding yellow species), and Tulipa humilis varieties in soft pink and magenta provide forms and proportions unavailable from any cultivated variety.
Very Open Single Forms with Thin Petals
Certain single late and early varieties bred primarily for garden performance rather than cut flower longevity have thin petals that give very short post-harvest lives. When sourcing unusual varieties from garden suppliers or specialty growers rather than commercial cut flower wholesalers, always test vase life in-house before committing to client work. As a general rule, older heritage varieties and garden-bred selections will fall in this category.
Broken and Rembrandt Types from Specialty Growers
Certain Rembrandt-type and virus-broken pattern tulips grown by specialist producers for the luxury end of the market have particularly thin, delicate petals — the same cellular characteristics that create the extraordinary flame patterning also reduce structural durability. Expect 3 to 5 days and use same-day for event work.
Practical Vase Life Management for Tulips
Tulips require specific handling techniques that differ in important ways from roses and peonies.
Wrapping tulips tightly in paper sleeves or newspaper immediately after purchase and conditioning keeps the stems straight during hardening, counteracting their tendency to curve and bend. This is particularly important for heavy-headed double and parrot varieties.
Cold water rather than warm is generally preferable for tulips — cold water slows opening and elongation, giving greater control over the display timeline. For rapid opening, warm water accelerates the process.
Shallow water is sufficient and often preferable to deep water for tulips — approximately 10 centimetres is adequate, and deep water can encourage stem rot in the submerged section.
No flower food for the conditioning period is preferred by some florists, with plain cold water giving better stem straightness. However, a correctly diluted flower food solution does extend vase life in the display stage. If using flower food, ensure the dilution is correct — too strong a concentration can cause petal edges to scorch.
Keep away from daffodils during conditioning. Narcissus species release a sap from their cut stems that is toxic to tulips and will cause rapid wilting. If mixing tulips and daffodils in an arrangement, condition daffodils separately in their own water for at least 24 hours first, allowing the sap to disperse, then mix without re-cutting the daffodil stems.
Light management for phototropism — if tulips are stored or displayed in a space with a strong directional light source, they will bend towards it. Rotating arrangements regularly, or storing in evenly lit conditions, mitigates this tendency. In designs where asymmetric movement is desired, directional light can be used intentionally to encourage organic bending.
Anticipate elongation in design — tulips will grow several centimetres after cutting and arranging. For structured or grid-mechanics arrangements, cut stems shorter than the final desired height to allow for this growth.
Penny in the vase is a popular folk remedy — copper ions from a copper coin do have a mild antibacterial effect in water, though commercial flower food is considerably more effective. It does no harm and may provide marginal benefit.
Quick Reference by Use Case
For multi-day corporate installations and event work requiring tulips to perform over a week or more, Darwin Hybrid varieties — particularly Apeldoorn, Golden Apeldoorn, Pink Impression, Ollioules, and Daydream — are the only reliable choice. Supplement with the strongest Triumph varieties such as Strong Gold, Ile de France, Negrita, and White Dream for colour range.
For standard retail bouquets and one-to-three-day event work, the broad Category Two range provides excellent variety across all aesthetic styles — from the elegant lily-flowered form of White Triumphator and Ballade to the botanical texture of Spring Green, and the romantic double blooms of Foxtrot and Verona.
For high-impact same-day event dressing, styled shoots, and luxury bespoke work where visual drama outweighs longevity concerns, Parrot varieties — particularly Black Parrot, Rococo, and Apricot Parrot — and Double Late varieties such as Angelique and Blue Diamond offer an opulence unavailable from more durable alternatives.
For naturalistic, botanical, and garden-style arrangements where uniqueness of form matters above all, Viridiflora varieties, species tulips, and Rembrandt-type specialty varieties provide textures and character entirely absent from the commercial hybrid range.
Tulips reward the florist who understands and works with their dynamic nature rather than against it. Their movement, their transformation, their continued growth after cutting — these are not flaws to be managed but characteristics to be embraced and incorporated into design thinking. A florist who can specify exactly which tulip variety is right for a ten-day hotel lobby installation versus a same-day bridal bouquet, and who can explain that choice with confidence, demonstrates a level of botanical and commercial knowledge that distinguishes truly professional floristry from competent flower arranging.
