Native to rocky and stony areas in the mountains of Iran and northern Iraq, mountain tulip is a bul-forming herbaceous perennial and a member of the lily family, Liliaceae, that also includes fritillaria. Plants grow 4-8″ tall and have linear , blue-green, glaucous leaves with undulating margins. The cup-shaped flowers are 2-4″ across, usually a shade of red from scarlet and crimson to blood-red, and have a greenish-black blotch in the center and yellow anthers. The blooms appear on short stems in early spring, early summer, or mid summer depending on the geographical location. A yellow form exists in the wild.
Mountain tulips like full sun, and average, moderately moist, well-drained soil in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9. They are susceptible to damage by aphids, slugs, stem and bulb eelworm, tulip fire, tulip viruses, and bulb rots. Propagation is by seed or division of off sets in mid summer. The plants are especially attractive when massed and are a good choice for rock, cottage, and patio gardens as well as containers.
The genus name, Tulipa, is the latinized version of the Turkish word for turban, tulbend, referring to the resemblance of the flower to a turban. The specific epithet, montana, comes from the Latin word mons, meaning mountain, and refers to the native habitat of the plant.
Karen Meyers