Tulips are a must for spring colour, but hybrids - the tall, showy types that give the best display - have been bred to perform well for just one year, which means that they are often discarded once they have flowered. However some tulip types are reliably perennial, and others will return year after year if grown in ideal conditions.
Read our expert tulip Grow Guide.
‘Botanical’ tulips, which include species tulips, Tulipa kaufmannia and its hybrids, Tulipa greigii, Tulipa tarda, Tulipa turkestanica and Tulipa praestans, are naturally perennial. However they are generally short in stature with small flowers and need very good drainage, so work best in raised beds, gravel gardens or rockeries.
Viridiflora tulips have chlorophyll in their flowers, and are tinged with green. As the flower also photosynthesises, the bulb has extra reserves of energy, so is more likely to bloom year after year. Viridiflora tulips include Tulipa ‘Spring Green’, ‘Groenland’ and ‘Artist’, and the new ‘Orange Marmalade’.
Darwin hybrid tulips are a cross between Tulipa fosteriana and more conventional hybrid tulips. They have huge flowers and very large bulbs and usually come in red, orange, yellow or pink. They include the bright-red ‘Apeldoorn’ and the Impression series.
Other cultivars are also reliably perenial, provided that they are grown in optimal conditions. Here are some reliably perennial tulips, recommended by experts including bulb supplier Sarah Raven, planting designer Jacqueline de Kloet, Neil Miller, head gardener at Hever Castle, Martin Duncan, head gardener at Arundel Castle, Polly Nicholson, florist and owner of Bayntun Flowers and Alice Kennard, owner and head gardener at Forde Abbey.
Great reliably perennial tulips to grow
Tulipa ‘Jan Reus’
A mid-season Triumph tulip that has perennialised under a hedge for Sarah Raven. 50cm.
Tulipa ‘Kingsblood’
A single late variety that comes back reliably at Forde Abbey and Arundel Castle. 60cm. AGM.
Tulipa ‘Artist’
A Viridiflora type ranging in colour from orange to dusky pink, tinged with green. 30cm. AGM.
Tulipa ‘Pink Impression’
A charming Darwin hybrid, with deep-pink flowers. 55cm. AGM. Part of the 'Impression' series, which also includes 'Red Impression' and 'Apricot Impression'.
Tulipa ‘Mistress Mystic’
Smoky-pink Triumph tulip, reliably perennial under a fruit tree for Sarah Raven. 45cm.
Tulipa ‘Purissima’
Sometimes sold as T. ‘White Emperor’, this is a large, creamy fosteriana tulip. 30cm. AGM. Recommended by planting designer Jacqueline de Kloet and Polly Nicholson.
Tulipa ‘Spring Green’
Elegant green and ivory viridiflora tulip that comes back year after year thanks to the additional chlorophyll in its petals. 45cm. AGM.
Tulipa ‘Mystic van Eijk’
Darwin hybrid, with large flowers, streaked red, on a cream background. Recommended by Polly Nicholson. 60cm.
Tulipa ‘Marilyn’
A lily-flowered type, recommended by Jacqueline de Kloet.
Tulipa ‘Negrita’
Deep purple Triumph type recommended by Jacqueline de Kloet. 50cm.
Tulipa ‘Apledoorn's Elite’
"Comes up year after year like a welcome sunrise in pinky-yellow. It’s a vigorous tulip that doesn’t dwindle," says Neil Miller, head gardener at Hever Castle. A Darwin hybrid. 60cm.
Tulipa ‘Queen of Night’
A single late type recommended by Neil Miller at Hever Castle.
Tulipa 'Abu Hassan'
"Great for drama," says Neil Miller at Hever Castle. A Triumph type. 50cm.
Tulipa 'Ballerina'
Lily flowered, and scented to boot, recommended by Sarah Raven. 55cm.
Tulipa 'Greenstar'
A lily-flowered type recommended by Polly Nicholson. 45cm.
Tulipa 'Beauty of Spring'
Recommended by head gardener at Arundel Castle, Martin Duncan. Darwin Hybrid. 60cm.