Description

Tulip clusiana Cynthia is a botanically distinct, heritage-style tulip renowned for its lithe stature, minimalist elegance, and high ecological value. A true species tulip, it stands at 20–25 cm, with narrow, pointed petals in soft buttercup yellow and a bold crimson reverse, giving a bi-tonal starburst when open. It flowers reliably in March to early April, often preceding main-season narcissus and forming a crisp prelude to broader spring palettes.

Professionally, Cynthia excels in dry meadow schemes, historic bulb banks, rock gardens, green roof projects, and low-intervention rewilded spaces. It is one of the few tulips suited to genuinely poor soils, favouring full sun, chalky to sandy loams, and freely draining beds where it can dry out in summer. It does not tolerate prolonged winter wet or high organic content. Plant with Anemone blanda, Muscari azureum, and Iris reticulata for a textural, layered understorey.

Designers favour Cynthia for its naturalistic, ephemeral quality, particularly in orchard understories, prairie-inspired plantings, and ecological retrofit sites where perennial structure is balanced with early spring detail. It naturalises modestly, re-emerging yearly with increasing clump size if not disturbed.

In biodiversity terms, this cultivar provides early pollen access for emerging solitary bees and hoverflies, especially in open, sunny planting contexts with minimal disturbance. Tulip clusiana Cynthia is among the few tulips with genuine biodiversity merit. Ideal for pollinator-rich, low-mow schemes.