17 Types Of Green Tulips

Did you read that right? Green tulips? Yes, you did! And we’re not just talking pale, vaguely green tulips. We mean genuinely green-shaded tulips or green patterns in tulips. And why not? The flower literally comes in any shade, save true blue shades. And these stunning green tulip varieties add a significant talking piece to any flower garden, container garden, or indoor planter.

Why Green Tulips?

Typically, green tulips will include an ivory, cream, or white hue, but often these stunning blooms intermingle with a variety of colors, like those found in the parrot tulip varieties. These stunning, yet subtle highlights really pop in the midst of more commonly seen colors like peach or pink blooms.

It should be noted that they are fairly rare – meaning you won’t find hundreds of varieties and you won’t find them available at every nursery – they are worth hunting down if you’re got the penchant for a different kind of flower than most of your neighbors and friends will have in their gardens.

They also often have extended flowering periods, making them even more enticing.

Tulip Spring Green

Probably the most common variety of green tulip you’ll find, at least without several other colors mingled in, is the Tulip Spring Green. This gorgeous tulip is a creamy off-white tulip with bold green heart and flares of green on the outsides of the petals. They are long lasting blooms that go through a bit of color change as the blooms mature and grow as tall as 18 inches.

Tulip China Town

A stunning option in green tulips is the Tulip China Town. This has soft pink petals with green midribs. They have an extended flowering period, hit about 18 inches in height, and grow atop slender, attractive, sturdy stems giving them a certain elegance and height. They also have variegated foliage for an extra zing of visual aesthetic.

Tulip Ice Cream

The Tulip Ice Cream is a double peony tulip that gets its name from its unique good looks. The flower looks a bit like ice cream sitting atop a cone. The plant it shorter and blooms for a long time with large flowers. They reach only 12 inches or so and really stand out among the other flowers in the bed. They are mostly white and purple but have that distinctive dark green on the outside of the blooms.

Parrot Tulips

Another well-known of the green tulip varieties is the Parrot tulip. This class of tulips are showy blooming plants that grow between 12 and 28 inches in height, with bold, colorful petals like a parrot’s plumage. There are several varieties that have green and some without. They are technically nursery hybrids and flourish in USDA Zones 3 to 8, requiring full sun.

Apricot Parrot Tulip

One Parrot variety is the Apricot Parrot tulip. This is an over-sized flower of pink petals with striped of yellow and green and a fringe on the edge like a parrot’s feathers. They usually grow up to between 16 and 24 inches tall, thrive in full sun, and should be planted in sheltered spots in the autumn.

Tulip Cabanna Parrot

Another Parrot variety is the Tulip Cabanna Parrot. It’s a bit harder to come by than some green tulips, exclusively through Dutch growers, as it is a fairly new variety of tulip. The flower is large, with creamy white petals that are fringed with mauve, fuchsia, or pink, with green touches in the “plumage” of the flowers. This variety grows to be 18 inches tall.

Tulip Renown Unique

For those who love peony style tulips, this Tulip Renown Unique is a winner. The stunning plants grow up to 20 inches in height and produce lightly fragrant blooms that show off multi-layered, muted yet vibrant shades with green intermingled in the petals. They have large flowers that bloom later in the season.

Lily-Flowered Tulips

Lily-flowered tulips are another class of tulips that are unique and intriguing with their lily-like blooms. They look enough like lilies that many wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them. They are a late spring bloomer, however, offering up pointed, flared petals. The flowers are bold, tall, and long-blooming, with hues in many shades, including pink, cream swirls, and green, or heirloom yellow. They are nursery hybrids that thrive in USDA Zones 3 to 8 in full sun.

Viridiflora Tulips

The “green tulip” class is the Viridiflora tulip. They come in moderately sized blooming plants that grow up to 24 inches in height, with beautiful colors in many shades. The blooms, though, are complemented by stunning greens. The blooms tend to be large. The green may streak across orange, yellow, red, or pink. They are nursery hybrids that do well in USDA Zones 3 to 8, in full sun.

Groenland Green Tulips

Thriving in well-draining soil in USDA Zones 3 to 8, the Groenland (Greenland) Green Tulip is a pink flower that features green accents that stand out. The plant grows to between 12 and 18 inches, blooming in late spring, in USDA Zones 3 to 9. The flowers are in delicate colors of pink and cream with that gorgeous blush of green on every petal.

Turkestanica Tulips

The Turkestanica is originally from Turkey, which you might guess from the name. The plant produces green-gray leaves in star patterns and beautiful green-gray or green-pink flowers. They have purple-yellow anthers and yellow, orange, purple, or brown stamens. The plants may reach 10 inches in height and come back each year, as long as they are cared for properly.

Kolpakowskiana Tulips

A long time tulip cultivar is the Kolpakowskiana, which dates back to 1844. The beautiful plant has yellow flowers accented with pink, green, and red streaks on the outside of the petals. They grow up to 8 inches tall, are perennials, and thrive in full sun or slightly shaded areas.

Artist Tulips

One of the most unique tulips overall, the Artist is a beautiful, bold flower with soft green highlights on orange-gold blooms. The flowers last up to 3 weeks and the plants may reach 12 inches in height, as long as they are grown in full sun, in well-draining soil, and are properly cared for.

Antoinette Tulips

The Antoinette tulip is a multi-bloom plant with 4 to 5 flowers per stem. The beautiful plant reaches up to 20 inches in height and change colors as the flowers mature. They start out as pale yellow and green flowers and gradually become salmon, orange, and raspberry shades.

Double Sugar Tulips

A unique tulip is the Double Sugar, which looks like ruffled roses. They come in variegated shades of light to dark pink and often are accented with pale green and yellow. They grow up to 18 inches tall and thrive in full sun, as long as they are sheltered against severe weather.

Exotic Emperor Tulips

The Exotic Emperor tulip produces a stunning white bloom that is streaked with green stripes. They sometimes have cream colors mixed in, as well, and they usually grow to be about 16 inches tall. They are perennials, so will come back year after year.

Florosa Tulips

The Florosa looks like lily-flowered tulips, but aren’t technically part of the class. They come in multiple colors, including pale pink, deep rose, or cream colored bases, and have lime green streaks running throughout. They bloom for a while, up to 3 weeks.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Walter Erhardt/Shutterstock.com