Tulipa vvedenskyi
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Liliaceae
Genus:	Astrantia
Species:	T. vvedenskyi
Binomial name
Tulipa vvedenskyi Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
Synonyms
Astrantia major subsp. biebersteinii (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) I.Grinț.[2]

Tulipa vvedenskyi, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It has long reddish (or white) flowers.

Tulipa vvedenskyi is named for the Russian botanist Aleksej Ivanovic Vvedensky (1898-1972) who did significant research on the flora of Uzbekistan, where this botanical tulip originated. Professor Vvedensky was the author of the landmark work on Central Asian tulips, Flora of the USSR (1968).

Somewhat uncommon in the tulip trade, Vvendensky's Tulip is available only from species specialists. The unusual "double-V" spelling is sometimes improperly changed so that it is listed as Wedenskyi's Tulip.

We'll eventually plant more bulbs for this one, as the few bulbs we planted in 2002 turned out to be really stunning tulips of an extravagantly deep red, & had already multiplied in number by 2004.

Even their grey-green wavy nearly prostrate octopus-foliage is interesting. We planted them along the sidewalk in a low-maintenance sun-garden, where they are in full flower for April, shown in April photos from 2003 (top) & 2004 (second).

On overcast days the flowers are semi-folded, revealing the silvered dusting of the outer petals. When the sun is bright, the flowers fluff out a great deal, so that mostly only the pure red of the interior petals shows, & a small yellow eye in the bottom.

At full flower they are eight or ten inches tall, & four or five inches of that height is just the bright petals, which become shorter when fully opened in bright midday sun. They reclose in late afternoon.

TulipsThere are a couple of cloned cultivars on the market (i.e., 'Orange Sunset' & 'Tangerine Beauty') but ours is the original wild form.

Some generalities about species tulips apply equally to this one. While fancy tulip cultivars tend to weaken year by year, species tulips will become stronger & more numerous over the years, so it is really worth caring for them properly. They should not be too quickly cut back when they are done blooming, as the leaves will continue to develop for some while, fattening the bulbs. The leaves can be removed when they are browning; or they can be permitted to decay into the soil without being clipped back at all, though the tidiest gardeners may not be able to let them do so.

It is a good idea to deadhead spent blossoms, however, so that the energy will be expended on creating a larger stronger bulb, with offsets, rather than on seeds (the third photo shows a seedpod in late May). Nitrogen fertilizer generally is not required, but a potash feed shortly after bloom is a good idea for most bulbs.

PodWhen botanical tulips have completely vanished in summer, they are not in truly dormant, & should not dry out entirely; they are bulking up the bulbs & producing new roots to sustain the following year's flower. For T. vvedenskyi, however, they are native to regions noted for summer drought, so the least residual moisture in summer will be plenty for these.

In winter botanicals are much more at risk of damage if too wet while dormant. There is no stopping winter rainfall, however, so soils should be extremely well draining. In our mild zone where mulching is not required, a mulch of large maple leaves or big fern fronds from elsewhere in the garden can "barrier" the soil somewhat against too much wetness reaching the resting tulip bulbs.

Since there is no sign of the tulips when they are out of season, the area must be well marked, so that they will not be accidentally disrupted. Tulips do not like to be lifted, & if it is ever necessary to dig them up, it should be just before the leaves have died back completely, & they should be replanted instantly without drying out.

T. vvedenskyi may fail to thrive outside of zones five to eight. In warmer climates, the area of the bulbs will need to be mulched in summer so they will not become baked.^[3]

A low-growing tulip with surprisingly large flowers in colors ranging from red to orange and yellow, with one color sometimes brushed over another. It lives at 2,000m/6,500ft in the mountains of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Growers in the Netherlands have observed that this species makes so-called sinkers or droppers, new bulbs that push down deep in the soil, presumably to seek protection from hostile weather.^[4]

Other common names Vvedensky's tulip

Synonyms Tulipa wedenskyi

Family Liliaceae

Genus Tulipa are bulbous perennials with characteristic flowers, in a wide range of colours, in spring

Details T. vvedenskyi is a perennial bulb to 40cm tall with narrow, wavy-edged, grey-green, often prostrate, leaves. The red to orange-red flowers reach up to 10.5cm long, with each petal marked yellow at the base

Plant range Central Asia^[5]

Tulipa vvedenskyi is new for 2009. This orange-red variety is an early to midspring bloomer on stems 6-10 inches tall. The blue-green leaves have crimped, wavy edges. It makes a great addition to patio planters or as a focal point in the front of a border. Zones 3-8^[6]

The specific epithet vvedenskyi, refers to the Russian botanist Aleksej Ivanovic Vvedensky (1898-1972) who did significant research on the flora of Uzbekistan, where this botanical tulip originated. Professor Vvedensky was the author of the landmark work on Central Asian tulips, Flora of the USSR (1968).^[3]

Trudy Imp. S.-Peterburgsk. Bot. Sada 5:264. 1877 Taxon 23:557. 1974 advocates spelling "albertii" but the original spelling, permissible under Shenzhen ICN Rec. 60C.1, since the given name Albert has a well-established latinized form, is not correctable under Shenzhen ICN Art. 60.8 (see also Taxon 30: 240-241. 1981) Name Verified on: 16-Nov-1993 by ARS Systematic Botanists.^[7]

T. alberti was originally described and published by Regel

Asia-Temperate MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan (s.e.), Kyrgyzstan (w.), Uzbekistan (n.e.)^[7]

It is native to the south-eastern Alps in Europe.

• T. vvedenskyi 'Tangerine Beauty' - This 1980 award-winner is bright fire-red on the outside with Spanish-orange flames and a darker interior. Truly stunning. Tulip Class: Species. Fall 2019 bulb top size: 11 cm/up.. Mid-May. HZ: 5-8. 8"^[8] A wildflower tulip with large bright red flowers flamed with soft orange^[9]
• T. vvedenskyi 'Orange Sunset'^[3]
• T. vvedenskyi 'Henry Hudson'

• Walter Erhardt, Erich Götz, Nils Bödeker, Siegmund Seybold: Der große Zander. Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5406-7. (Ger.)
• Christoper Brickell (Editor-in-chief): RHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Third edition. Dorling Kindersley, London 2003, ISBN 0-7513-3738-2.
• Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
• Encke, F. et al. 1993. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage.
• Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening.
• Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964–1980. Flora europaea

• https://nargs.org/plant/tulipa-vvedenskyi

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tulipa vvedenskyi.

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