Breeders, Flames and Feathers

English Florists’ Tulips are distinguished by flamed and feathered markings. These are caused by the Tulip Breaking Virus. This is the virus that affected ‘Semper Augustus’ and ‘Viceroy’: the two most valuable and sought after tulips during the Tulipomania period in the Netherlands.

English Florists’ Tulips were at the peak of their popularity in the early Nineteenth Century, with many florists societies growing the tulip and other florists flowers like ranunculus, carnation, anemone and auriculas. It was also when standards of what represented a good flower were first laid down.

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At the start of the Twentieth Century there were only four remaining tulip societies, and when the Royal National Tulip Society closed in 1936, our society was the last remaining one dedicated to growing and holding tulip shows in Britain.

Florist Flowers and Standards

‘Florists were persons who grew plants for the sake of their decorative flowers rather than for any useful property the flower might have.

Later it came to refer to one who grew certain kinds of flowering plants and those to a very high standard, their excellence being tested at competitions held with fellow florists’ (From Florists’ Flowers and Societies by Ruth Duthie).

The English Florists’ Tulip has to conform to certain strict standards, particularly in having a shape like half a hollow tennis ball, and having a clean base either white or yellow, on top of which the darker colour is overlaid. Although ‘Semper Augustus’ was very beautiful, very rare and extremely valuable, it wouldn’t win any prizes as an English Florist Tulip!

The attractive markings on some of the flowers exhibited arise from infection of the bulb by the tulip breaking virus. This infection alters the appearance of the flowers separating and intensifying the colours of the petals.

These markings have been known, and valued, since the days of Tulipomania in the Seventeenth Century, when livelihoods were gambled on the values of individual bulbs. However, it was only during the 1930’s, and thanks to the hard work of Dorothy Cayley, that the Tulip Breaking Virus was discovered to be the cause.

The flowers do not seem to suffer from this infection: one of the oldest cultivars known to us is Habit de Noce (Wedding Coat), dating from the 1790’s, and still grown by Society members today.

Breeder, flamed and feathered forms

Each variety can exist in three different forms:

Breeder Tulips are flowers unaffected by virus in which the base colour, either white or yellow, forms a base to petals of a solid colour.

Above: a breeder ‘Columbine’

Flamed Tulips have been affected by virus so that the petal colour intensifies into a central bar up the petal and flame-like markings around the edge of the petals.

Above: a flamed flower ‘Doctor Hardy’

A flower will be marked down if there are “skips” where the colour has missed, or if the markings are too heavy.

Feathered Tulips are less heavily marked and have no central bar, the edge being finely feathered with the body colour.

Above: a feather ‘Columbine’