Description

Tulip Ivory Floradale is an exceptional Darwin Hybrid tulip that radiates quiet elegance in Irish spring plantings. Its tall, statuesque stems — often reaching 55 cm — carry large, perfectly cupped blooms in soft ivory-cream, sometimes catching a gentle buttery warmth in direct sun. These blooms are not just ornamental but architectural, holding their form beautifully even in the face of strong March winds or the sudden heavy showers that are all too familiar in Ireland’s spring weather.

Its flowering period bridges the gap between early daffodils fading and mid-to-late season tulips taking over, giving a valuable window of colour continuity. While not a significant food source for bees due to its closed cup form, Ivory Floradale can still be part of a biodiversity-aware scheme when underplanted with Muscari latifolium, Chionodoxa luciliae, or early Allium neapolitanum, ensuring pollinators have accessible forage nearby.

This tulip is a natural fit for formal parterres in heritage estates, long avenue plantings where rhythmic repetition creates visual drama, and municipal displays requiring clean, calm tones that pair easily with bold or pastel schemes. It thrives in free-draining loam or sandy soils with moderate fertility, in full sun for maximum colour clarity, though it will tolerate light shade without losing structure. Once planted deeply in autumn, it naturalises well, returning year after year with minimal intervention, provided foliage is allowed to die back naturally.