Description

Tulip clusiana Peppermintstick is a striking biodiversity-focused species tulip, prized for its creamy white petals dramatically streaked with raspberry-pink to cerise outer flares. Standing at 25–30 cm, its flowers open fully in sunlit spring mornings and close tightly in cool or shaded conditions — a botanical signal of its alpine-steppe origins. Bloom time is typically late March to mid-April.

This tulip thrives in full sun, in dry, well-drained, low-fertility soils, including sandy loam, crushed gravel beds, or limestone-based media. It is best left undisturbed to establish. Peppermint Stick thrives in no-dig, no-feed bulb meadows, green roof systems, dry prairie mixes, and xeric alpine terraces.

Its form is ideal for designers working in ecological modernism, restoration planting, and naturalistic mixed bulb underplanting. Pair with low grasses, Fritillaria persica, or Iris danfordiae for a biodiverse base layer with visual and ecological rhythm.

Of all tulips, clusiana forms, and Peppermintstick in particular, offers genuine pollinator support, with open access for early-flying bees and low-level hoverflies, particularly in urban microclimates and wildscaped domestic borders.