The 9 Best Purple Tulips To Grow In Your Garden
Many gardeners agree that tulips are truly the soul of spring, and pretty purple tulips are one of the most stunning sites to see in a spring garden! The color purple has a calming, timeless, and regal elegance, and is one of the most popular colors for flowers in the garden.
After a long winter, most gardeners are eagerly waiting for bloom time, when those first tulips pop through the soil. It’s one of the best times of the year when the risk of frost is over, and those happy spring flowers greet us throughout the neighborhood! As easy-to-plant flower bulbs, tulips promise a grand spring display of color- and what is lovelier than seeing a see of gorgeous purple blooms?!
Whether you’re looking for a deep purple tulip or a soft lavender tulip, these beautiful purple tulips are sure to quickly become favorites.
Why You’ll Love Purple Tulips
Purple tulips are such a beautiful addition to any garden! You can add these pretty flowers along a fence, driveway, walkway, or entryway and really make a spring garden come to life. Rows of purple blooms sprouting in front of a home is such a pretty sight to see! From purple tulips in pots to purple tulip hedges, they’re sure to bring that wow-factor to any garden. I promise you’ll love them!
Purple Tulip FAQs
- What are the different shades of purple tulips? There are many different shades of purple tulips including light purple (like a soft lavender purple), medium purple, deep violet, pink-purple, and even a bold dark purple-black.
- What are some popular varieties of purple tulips? Some of the most popular varieties of purple tulips are Negrita Triumph Tulips, Purple Prince (Single Early Tulip), Purple Flag (Triumph Tulip), and Dream Touch (Double Late Tulip).
- What do purple tulips symbolize? Purple tulips often symbolize creativity, spirituality and rebirth or new beginnings. Purple tulip meanings have also been associated with royalty, wealth, and abundance, as well as admiration and adoration.
- What occasions are good for gifting purple tulips? Any! A purple tulip bouquet is always a lovely gift, but they’re often given for Mother’s Day, welcoming newborns, or celebrating graduations. Tulips in a light shade of purple are a sweet gift for Easter, spring birthdays, and make a lovely springtime bouquet or hostess gift!
- When is the best time to plant tulips? This depends on your climate, and which hardiness zone / horticultural zone you belong to, but tulips are typically planted in the fall in cooler climates.
- How long do tulips bloom? The length of time a tulip blooms depends on the tulip variety, weather, and planting conditions, but typically last 1-3 weeks (sometimes more!).
- Can you grow tulips in pots? Yes! Be sure to read: Planting Bulbs In Pots (How I Grew Tulips In My Garage!)
- Do I need to deadhead tulips after they bloom? It’s helpful to deadhead (or remove the spent flower) so the tulip stops wasting energy on producing seed, but it’s also not necessary.
- What are some good companion plants for purple tulips? White, cream or yellow daffodils, white alliums, and white muscari/grape hyacinth are all beautiful companion plants for purple tulips. White tulips, yellow tulips, and pink tulips also pair beautifully with purple tulips! (Tulip bulbs, daffodil bulbs and other fall-planted bulbs are so easy to plant together, too!)
- Are tulips deer resistant? Unfortunately, deer love to snack on tulips, so no, they are not deer resistant.
- What are some creative ways to use purple tulips in my garden? Purple tulips can be grown in pots, along walkways, as a tulip hedge, around trees, along fences, and look stunning directly in front of homes.
- Which color tulips go well with purple tulips? Pretty purple tulips look gorgeous paired with soft yellow tulips (this yellow variety is stunning!). Purple and white tulips are often paired together, as are purple and pink tulips. Mixing shades of purple also look beautiful! Light purple tulips look great paired with bolder dark purple tulips, and soft lavender tulips look lovely paired with peachy-pink tulips! I’ve seen stunning apricot single early tulips paired with single early purple tulips and it is such a pretty combination for early spring color!
- Are tulips scented? Tulips are typically not scented, however there are a few varieties of pink tulips that have a fresh sweet scent, such as the Angelique tulip (a pink-lavender tulip), or Purple Peony tulip.
- What garden style do purple tulips fall into (formal garden/cottage garden, etc)?Any! Purple tulips are suitable for romantic cottage gardens and stunning formal gardens alike.
- Are tulips perennials? Tulips can be quite unpredictable. Some varieties only last a season or 2, or the blooms may not be as large the following season. However, some varieties are considered (or more likely to be) perennial tulips, such as Purple Pride tulip (Darwin Hybrid Tulip), and Negrita tulip (Triumph Tulip) has been known to be a reliable perennial tulip.
HOW DO I CHOOSE THE BEST VARIETY OF PURPLE TULIPS FOR MY GARDEN?
One thing you may want to consider before choosing the best variety of purple tulips for your garden is bloom time. What month would you like to see these flowers blooming in your garden?
There are early-tulips (which typically bloom in March or Early April), late tulips (which typically bloom in late spring around May), and mid-season tulips (which bloom somewhere in between).
Pro Tip: If you want to see tulips blooming all spring, consider choosing 3 varieties of purple tulips- one that blooms in early spring, one that blooms mid-spring, and one that blooms late spring!
If you don’t necessarily care about bloom time, then I recommend choosing the varieties of purple tulips that you love the most! It’s perfectly fine for some to come up in early spring, and others in late spring, or all at once, as long as you have the variety you’re excited about!
The Most Beautiful Purple Tulip Varieties
This year, I’m all about PURPLE TULIPS. And if you love these gorgeous purple blooms as much as I do, you’re in for a treat. Here are some of the most beautiful purple tulips for your spring garden:
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Out of all the tulips I planted in our garden last spring, a few varieties of the purple tulips became quick favorites- they were stunning. There’s a fine line between purple and pink in the tulip world- some are “purple with a pink sheen”, some lean lilac but “soften to light pink”. But for the sake of this blog post, we’ll stick to the most beautiful purple tulips and you can judge for yourself whether you categorize them as purple or pink! Regardless, these following tulips are GORGEOUS.
Blue Diamond Tulip
- Double Late Peony Tulip
- Mature Height: 12-16″
- Blooms In: Late Spring
- Fragrant
- Very Popular Cut Flower
Please tell me these aren’t one of the prettiest purple tulips you’ve ever seen. I first heard of Blue Diamond Tulips via Danish gardener, Claus Dalby. First of all, Claus Dalby is like the sweet Danish Uncle I wish I had, and his gardening style is impeccable. Just watch one of his YouTube videos and I promise once you hear his sweet Danish accent saying, ”Allo, allo, and velcome to my gaaarden” you’ll be suckered in too.
Anyhow, back to this beautiful purple tulip. Blue Diamond is a double tulip with gorgeous purple-violet flowers that feature a subtle streak on the inner petals. Blue Diamond tulips bloom late in the season, around May, reaching 12-16 inches tall.
Because of Blue Diamond tulip’s bold purple-violet color, I found it pairs well with whites or creams. I had mine growing in containers alongside some Maché White ranunculus I had picked up from my local garden center- a lovely combination!
You can buy Blue Diamond Tulips HERE
Margarita Tulip
- Double Early Tulip
- Mature Height: 16–18″
- Blooms In: Early Spring
- Lightly Fragrant
This tulip. Seriously. One of the prettiest tulips I’ve ever seen. Online descriptions categorize Margarita tulips as “vibrant magenta-purple with a magenta-pink sheen” or “magenta tones with rosy highlights”. Just to confuse our “purple tulip” categorization! I honestly feel like I need to go with my 7 year old daughter’s description of Margarita Tulips being “shocking pink”.
Regardless of being purple vs pink tulips, these Margarita tulips are a dramatic, double, peony-like early bloomer that reach about 16 inches tall on very strong stems. Again, because of Margarita tulip’s bold color, I found it also pairs well with whites or creams. I planted mine in containers (which I overwintered in our garage) alongside Erlicheer daffodils, and muscari (grape hyancinth). The combination was so pretty!
You can buy Margarita Tulips HERE
Candy Prince Tulip
- Single Early Tulip
- Mature Height: 12-14″
- Blooms In: Early Spring
- Long-Lasting Blooms
- Good Cut Flower
If you’re looking for a soft lavender-colored classic tulip, Candy Prince tulip is your go-to. Candy Prince tulip is a beautiful single, early bloomer that grows to about 18 inches tall. Depending on the lighting, sometimes Candy Prince tulips lean more toward soft-lavender, and at other times, soft-pink.
Although I love the bold and dramatic shape of a double tulip such as Blue Diamond or Margarita tulips, there is something so “classic spring” about a pastel-colored, upright single tulip.
I planted mine in a boxwood parterre, and they looked so cute and so majestic at the same time. Our last spring was essentially an extended winter that wouldn’t quit, so to see these Candy Prince tulip beauties pop up from the freezing temps was such a warm welcome in our garden.
You can buy Candy Prince Tulips HERE
The following tulips are popular tulip varieties that are some of the tried and true favorites amongst gardeners:
Image Source: Dutch Grown
Negrita Tulip
- Triumph Tulip
- Mature Height: 16″
- Blooms In: Mid to Late Spring
- Sturdy Stems
- Popular For Mass Plantings
Purple Prince Tulip
- Single Early Tulip
- Mature Height: 16″
- Blooms In: Early Spring
- Great For Mass Plantings
- Great For Growing In Pots And Containers
Dream Touch Tulip
- Peony Double Tulip
- Mature Height: 20″
- Blooms In: Late Spring
- Popular Cut Flower
If you love purple tulips with a touch of white, the next 3 tulip varieties are absolute showstoppers!
Image Source: Dutch Grown
Tulip Shirley
- Triumph Tulip
- Mature Height: 18″
- Blooms In: Mid to Late Spring
- Great Cut Flower
- Popular Potted Tulips
- Gorgeous and Delicate Purple Edges On Petals
Flaming Flag Tulip
- Triumph Tulip
- Mature Height: 16″
- Blooms In: Early to Mid Spring
- Great For Mass Plantings
- Gorgeous Streaks Of Deep Purple
Tulip Crunchy Cummins
- Fringed Tulip
- Mature Height: 20″
- Blooms In: Mid to Late Spring
- Popular Cut Flower
- Gorgeous Fringed Petals
Helpful Tips For Planting Tulips
Fall-Planted Tulip Bulbs = SPRING TULIP DISPLAY
Here in Zone 6a, on the North Shore of Chicago, tulips aren’t exactly the first thing on anyone’s mind when it’s JULY. Don’t tulips come up in March, or April, or May you may ask? Yes. But in cooler zones, tulip bulbs must be planted in the fall, undergo a “cold period” (winter), in order to bloom in the spring. Surprisingly, tulip bulb online orders start right in the middle of summer, and inching into fall. However, fall-planted bulbs sell out quickly, so if there’s a particular tulip you’d like to see popping up in your garden in the spring, you need to get on it. It’s also a good time to think of other fall-planted bulbs you may like, or lovely combinations like muscari and tulips together.
Planting Tulip Bulbs
Alright, so your box of tulip bulbs arrived- now what? Here are a few helpful tips for planting tulip bulbs:
- Plant 6 inches deep, 3-6 inches apart
- Plant in sun or partial shade
- Will tolerate most soils
- Do NOT overwater
- Mulch 1-2 inches for winter
- Use a bulb food like Bulb Tone when planting
- Fertilize once in spring (optional)
Planting tulip bulbs are really a set-it-and-forget-it process. As long as the squirrels don’t snatch your bulbs, you should end up with a gorgeous display of yellow tulips!
Additional Tips:
- We have some CrAzY squirrels on our property- so to prevent them from eating the bulbs I sprinkled red pepper flakes all over the soil right after I planted the bulbs. It worked!
- Don’t leave tulip bulb remnants out because squirrels are very smart and they’ll know what you’ve been up to.
- It is important to let the foliage mature and die down naturally (it will turn a yellowish-tannish color)- do not cut back right away because the plant is putting energy into next year’s bloom.
- You may have heard “don’t plant your tulips in a single row”, but honestly plant them how you wish. I decided to plant my yellow tulips in a densely packed row and they looked stunning. I will say, the more tulips you can plant, the better! Tulips en masse are a gorgeous site to see come spring.
Favorite Items for Planting Tulips
*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. All opinions and recommendations are my own.
- Organic Bulb-Tone
Perfect for getting tulip bulbs off to a healthy start.
If you own a drill, this makes it much easier than digging by hand.
3. Bulb Planter Tool With 6 Inch Measurement
Takes the guesswork out of how deep to plant bulbs.
Perfect for digging a tulip trench or other large areas.
You don’t need expensive garden gloves for planting tulips, and these are non-slip, basic, and super cute.
To deter the squirrels!
I hope you enjoyed these beautiful purple tulips as much as I do! Let me know in the comments below: what is your favorite purple tulip? Happy planting!
Other Posts You’ll Love:
The Most Beautiful Yellow Tulips
Planting Bulbs In Pots (How I Grew Tulips In My Garage!)
9 Most Beautiful Tulips To Plant This Fall (For A Stunning Spring Garden)
12 Beautiful Purple Flowers For Your Summer Garden
