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Tulipa sprengeri

Sprenger's Tulip

Family LiliaceaeGenus Tulipa

Scarlet tulips with narrow pointed petals curving back, their yellow anthers showing, among grassy leaves.
FlowerSten PorseCC BY-SA 3.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
bulbous geophytePlants of the World Online
Flower
ScarletRead from the photograph on this page
Native range
TürkiyeGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Read from the photograph on this page — Deno's Garden; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Long thought extinct in the wild, it was rediscovered in June 2026 in a rural part of Amasya, Turkey, after 130 years. It is grown in more than 30 botanic gardens, Kew among them. Wikipedia: Tulipa sprengeri
  • Easy to grow, and it self-sows; the seed needs stratifying, and a seedling takes only four years to flower. Wikipedia: Tulipa sprengeri

This source reports three treatments. All are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1996

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around January 18, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  2. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

    20 germinated in this phase.

  3. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  4. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

    2 germinated in this phase.

  5. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

    18 germinated in this phase.

Steps after step 1 run on after germination.

Germination happens during step 1, in 77 days.

60% germination in 77 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1996 · 1st Supplement, Tulipa p. 84Public domain
Show the original text
Tulipa (Liliaceae). T. sprengeri germ. 40(60% in 11th w)-70(20%)-40-70(2%)-40(18% in 6-8 w), and 70D-40(34% in llth w)-70(51% on 2nd d), and none in OT.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement, 1st Supplement, Tulipa p. 84. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1996

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around October 6, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on October 5, 2026.

  1. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C Light: dark

  2. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

    34 germinated in this phase.

  3. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

about 6 months from start to step 3. Germination happens during step 3, in 2 days.

51% germination in 2 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1996 · 1st Supplement, Tulipa p. 84Public domain
Show the original text
Tulipa (Liliaceae). T. sprengeri germ. 40(60% in 11th w)-70(20%)-40-70(2%)-40(18% in 6-8 w), and 70D-40(34% in llth w)-70(51% on 2nd d), and none in OT.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement, 1st Supplement, Tulipa p. 84. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 3

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1996

Difficulty Very high Rated by us, not by the source.

  1. Sow outdoors and leave it

    Nothing germinated outdoors.

No stated waiting before sowing.

0% germination.

This source doesn't state how long step 1 lasts.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1996 · 1st Supplement, Tulipa p. 84Public domain
Show the original text
Tulipa (Liliaceae). T. sprengeri germ. 40(60% in 11th w)-70(20%)-40-70(2%)-40(18% in 6-8 w), and 70D-40(34% in llth w)-70(51% on 2nd d), and none in OT.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement, 1st Supplement, Tulipa p. 84. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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