What's Blooming

Tulipa 'Striped Crown'

Flower Field, Flower Dome

Tulipa ‘Striped Crown’ is a visually captivating tulip cultivar in the family Liliaceae, belonging to the recently introduced Coronet group of tulips. Launched in 2018, the Coronet group (also known as Crown Tulips) is the newest of the sixteen established horticultural groups used to classify tulips, which are defined based on flower shape, bloom time, and plant habit. With over 3,000 registered cultivars, these classifications help gardeners and breeders navigate the remarkable diversity within the genus.

Morphologically, the defining trait of ‘Striped Crown’ lies in its flower form. It features thick, leathery tepals (a term used in tulips and some other plants, like lilies, to collectively describe the similar looking, equally colourful petals and sepals) that are ruffled and curve inward, forming a structure reminiscent of a crown. This is especially noticeable when the flower is in bud. This coronet shape is both ornamental and horticulturally functional, contributing to the cultivar’s impressive durability in garden settings and cut flower arrangements.

What further sets Tulipa ‘Striped Crown’ apart from all other Coronet tulips is its exceptional variability in flower colours and patterning. Tulipa ‘Striped Crown’ flowers with a base colour ranging from creamy white to soft yellow, overlaid with an unpredictable array of streaks, specks, and stripes in shades of pink and red. This high variability means that no two flowers are exactly alike. Some blossoms may be predominantly pale, while others appear boldly red. The colours often also change and deepen as the flowers age, giving each flower variability in appearance throughout its bloom period.

In the past, viruses such as the Tulip Breaking Virus (TBV) caused the iconic streaks and variation in the highly-prized ‘broken’ tulip varieties, with solid tepal colours ‘broken’ with feathery swirls of a contrasting colour. This virus altered pigment synthesis and distribution in the tepals, creating unpredictable and dramatic patterns that were highly desirable and sold for large sums of money. However, the virus also weakened the plants over time, making them difficult to multiply via bulb division, hence many of the original broken tulip cultivars from the 17^th century have since died out. Today, however, modern tulip cultivars like ‘Striped Crown’ mimic these patterns safely through selective breeding, not viral infection. Tulip breeders use their better knowledge of pigment genetics and selective hybridization to achieve the same striking effects without compromising plant health.

Come and check out this newly featured tulip variety alongside 34 others in this year’s Tulipmania floral display in Flower Dome from now till 12 May 2025!

This article is part of our What's Blooming series.