Tulips, even the fancy hybrids, will close to protect their pollen when it is going to rain. These tulips were a gift from a good friend, who fell in love with their changing colors and thought I would enjoy them too. I do! They go through shades of yellow and orange as they age.
This was an early morning shower. Everything dried out by afternoon, so they stood up straight and opened. If you look carefully at the stamens, you can see the pollen they were protecting from rain.
Another colorful tulip that is much closer to its wild origins is Tulipa clusiana, which has narrow blue-green leaves and narrow flowers that have scarlet petals with white edges, at least when they are closed. They close when they are expecting rain.
The rain stopped and the sun came out, so these tulips started to open. The species is supposed to be a creamy white inside. The outer petals (I think these are actually sepals) are scarlet on the outside only; the insides and both sides of the inner petals veer towards summer butter rather than light cream. It makes a very colorful display when they are opening after rain.
When they are fully open, the scarlet is not obvious, although you will see flashes of it. The flowers give quite a different impression.
Tulipa tarda, another species tulip, also closes in the rain and opens in the sun. They are definitely yellow, even closed, but the outer petals have a green streak up the middle and touches of a dusky pink near the tips. These are opening in the early morning.
They are spectacular massed and very nice in smaller groups like this. The interiors are a deep yellow, shading to a lighter yellow on the petals’ edges.
Tulipa tarda opening in a sunbeam. Photographed on April 15, 2024.
These are reaching the end of their bloom period, and I will allow them to set seed. They spread nicely with the slight encouragement of scattering their seeds where I would like them to appear.