Tulip Danique is a small tulip with a surprising amount of color. The flowers open into neat little stars in soft silver pink with deeper rosy edges, and as they flare out they reveal a smoky blue to charcoal heart with a fine yellow circle at the base. Each bulb produces several slim stems, and every stem carries more than one flower, so even a modest planting quickly turns into a cloud of blooms. This is a true species style tulip of the clusiana type, bred for gardens rather than cutting fields, and it keeps that natural, informal look that suits cottage plantings and meadow style borders. Tulip Danique stays compact, usually around four to eight inches tall, and flowers in April or early May, making it ideal for the front of a bed, rock gardens, gravel gardens, and pots on steps or balconies. The open star shaped flowers are easy for bees and other pollinators to visit, while the small leaves and fine stems weave nicely among low perennials and ground covers. Garden trials and European growers list it as hardy in roughly USDA zones three to eight, so it copes well with cold winters in the northern states yet also performs in many milder regions as long as the soil drains freely. For best results in American gardens, plant Tulip Danique bulbs in fall once the soil has cooled. Choose a sunny spot or very light shade with well drained soil, tuck the bulbs about four to five inches deep and around six inches apart, and leave them undisturbed after flowering so the foliage can fade naturally. In the right place the bulbs settle in and return for years, slowly forming small clumps that bring a soft wash of pink and their distinctive dark eyes back every spring.
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