Description

Tulip Pretty Princess is a delightful Single Early tulip, admired for its charming compact stature and soft yet striking colour palette. The flowers open in warm blush-pink tones, beautifully accented with deep rose to crimson flares that sweep dramatically across each petal. Unlike taller later-season tulips, Pretty Princess flowers early in the spring, offering a much-needed burst of colour when borders and beds are only beginning to wake.

Standing on short but sturdy stems, this tulip is particularly well-suited for exposed Irish gardens where wind and rain can damage taller varieties. Its low-growing habit makes it an excellent choice for the front of borders, container plantings, or naturalistic drifts in small gardens. Despite its compact form, the colouring of Pretty Princess ensures it makes a bold impression, lighting up pathways, patios, and rock gardens with its painterly effect.

Its simple, open flower form makes it more accessible to bees and other early pollinators compared to more elaborate late-season tulip types. This modest biodiversity benefit enhances its value in ecological planting schemes.

In design terms, Pretty Princess excels when planted en masse, where its pink and crimson tones create a soft yet confident sweep of colour. It pairs well with early flowering companions such as crocus, scilla, and Muscari armeniacum, or can be combined with other Single Early tulips like Flair or Candy Prince for a richer palette.

Plant from late September through November, in free-draining soils, at a depth of 10–12 cm. A position in full sun is ideal, though it will tolerate light shade. With its early bloom period, Pretty Princess is a superb choice for Irish gardens, ensuring colour from March onwards when the landscape is still fresh with spring promise.