PlantFiles: Fosteriana Tulip
Tulipa 'Red Emperor'

These were my father's favorite tulip. I remember them growing up in Denver, CO. That was in the 1950s-60s. Whenever I them I am reminded of my father who so loved them.

Zone 5 - Albany, NY - long winters.

SPRING IS HERE!!!!

Come early April - these come screaming out of the ground, bright red. No, they're not the precise well behaved tulips that grace elegant beds. They're gaudy and I love 'em.

I live in a city where there are quite a few tulips, but few grow the red emperor, for whatever reason. With my clusters of bright red, we look like the painted whore in the neighborhood. *ha!* - 2 years running, I've had colleagues at work comment: OMG, I saw your tulips - they look wonderful.

If you want to put the first cheerful welcome to spring in the neighborhood, highly recommend.

I live in Warman Saskatchewan and have had great results. Our Zone is a 2a to 2b and these come faithfully every year.

They bloom. What they are not is red. They are a sort of bubble gum pink.

If there is nothing else in the garden, these will do but if you want the glory of a true red, stick with roses.

I live in Accokeek Maryland (just south of Washington DC, USA). I planted 30 red emperors last fall (2006) and they were amazing in spring 2007. When the sun hits them they glow and shimmer. The blooms lasted about three weeks. I planted them in an area that gets about 3 to 4 hours of progressive afternoon sun. I prepped the bed with my Mantis tiller and added a few bags of top soil and miracle grow soil to amend the clay.

This is the oldest tulip I grow. It was planted many years (at least twenty+) ago in a group of twelve bulbs along the front sidewalk. After a major foundation renovation and remodeling project, I discovered these dormant bulbs had been destroyed in the construction process. A year later to my surprise I found three tulips poking through the soil where the excavation had taken place. They have bloomed without fail to this day. A large shrub next to them has grown into their space. So they will be moved for the first time in 20+ years to a new location with more sun and less crowded conditions. I am amazed at their tenacity to survive and flower so freely. They are strikingly beautiful with vibrant red petals and black stamens. A yellow band circles the black center.

One of the earliest and at the same time most beautiful tulips with really large flower heads. A real stunner. Highly recommended. One of my all time favorites. A very good perennializer in my area.

This was one of the earliest fosteriana hybrids developed and it is still very popular today. Many of the new varieties that have been developed have had 'Red Emperor' as the parent. The flowers are huge; among the largest of any tulip. The colour is blazing red with a black center and yellow ring. Long-lived and highly recommended.

Bright fiery-red tulip. Fantastic when planted in large groups. Reaches a height of 16" and puts on a stunning display. Naturalizes well, too.