Named in honour of Frederic Francois Chopin (1810-1849). The flowers, coloured creamy-white to lemon-yellow with tints of crimson have black bases and the attractive blue-green leaves also have specks or streaks of maroon.An early season bloomer growing just 8 inches tall.Chopin himself paid homage to flowers such as these in his "Raindrop Prelude."A sun reveller, the blooms open flat in sunshine and close at night and for this reason the inside of the flower is as important as the outside.This habit gives the kaufmanniana tulips their nick name of “The Water Lily Tulip”, the flower giving the appearance of a water-lily when fully open.Plant the bulbs in fertile, well-drained, soil, during autumn.Performs best in full sun but will tolerate partial shade.Remove the flowers as they fade to prevent plants setting seed but allow foliage to yellow and wither for approx. 6 weeks before removing it.
