Tulipa ‘Peppermint Stick’ - Candy-Striped Botanical Tulip for Naturalising

Tulipa ‘Peppermint Stick’ is a wonderfully distinctive little botanical tulip, producing elegant spring flowers with creamy-white petals dramatically striped and flushed with raspberry-red to carmine on the outside.

When closed or only partly open, those contrasting colours create the characteristic striped appearance that gives ‘Peppermint Stick’ its wonderfully appropriate name. As sunshine opens the flowers, the paler interiors become increasingly visible, transforming each slender bud into a delicate star.

Growing to around 20-30cm tall, it has a much lighter, more natural character than the large traditional bedding tulips. Slender foliage and relatively small flowers make it particularly attractive in sunny gravel gardens, rockeries, naturalistic border edges, raised beds and containers.

Plant several bulbs loosely together and the alternating red-and-cream markings create a particularly lovely effect as flowers move between closed, partially open and fully open throughout the day.

Wildlife value

‘Peppermint Stick’ is an ornamental tulip and is not native to Britain, so its wildlife value should be considered alongside - rather than equivalent to - that of native spring flowers.

We've selected it because the flowers retain a simple, accessible structure. When they open in suitable sunny weather, visiting insects can reach the pollen-bearing parts of the flower without having to negotiate the dense petals found in some highly bred ornamental flowers.

It can therefore provide useful additional spring forage as part of a garden containing a much broader succession of wildlife-friendly plants.

Our approach is straightforward:

Native where ecological relationships matter most; carefully chosen ornamentals where they genuinely provide useful additional forage.

Planting & care

Position: Full sun. A sunny position encourages the flowers to open fully and helps bulbs perform well over successive seasons.

Soil: Fertile to moderately fertile but, most importantly, well drained. Avoid areas that remain wet or waterlogged, particularly during winter.

Planting depth: Plant approximately 10-15cm deep, pointed end upwards.

Spacing: Approximately 8-10cm apart, or plant several bulbs in loose groups for a more naturalistic effect.

Height: Approximately 20-30cm.

Flowering: Mid to late spring, generally around April into May, depending on location and seasonal conditions.

After flowering: Leave the foliage in place until it has yellowed and died back naturally. The leaves continue feeding the bulb after flowering and help build the reserves needed for the following year's growth.

For perennial planting, choose a warm, sunny position with excellent drainage and avoid routinely watering the dormant bulbs through summer.

A botanical tulip with two very different faces

Part of the charm of ‘Peppermint Stick’ is how dramatically its appearance changes according to the weather and time of day.

Closed flowers show their richly coloured outer surfaces, creating narrow raspberry-red and creamy-white stripes. In warm sunshine, the petals spread apart and reveal much more of their pale interiors.

That changing appearance gives a planting far more variation than its small size might suggest - particularly when some flowers are fully open while others remain partially closed.

‘Peppermint Stick’ is commonly associated horticulturally with Tulipa clusiana and the group of slender Lady Tulips derived from it. These differ considerably from the large, cup-shaped tulips familiar from traditional bedding displays, with narrower flowers that open into elegant stars.

The wild species Tulipa clusiana has its origins across parts of western and central Asia, although centuries of cultivation mean its horticultural history extends well beyond its original natural range.

SAFETY NOTE

Tulips are not edible. The bulbs and other plant material can be harmful if eaten, and handling tulip bulbs may cause skin irritation in some people. Wear gloves if you have sensitive skin and keep bulbs away from children and pets likely to eat them.

Why Wild Your Garden?

We carefully select bulbs that earn their place in a wildlife-friendly garden — prioritising native and naturalised species where ecological relationships matter most, alongside carefully chosen ornamentals that provide useful additional forage.

Orders are hand-picked for quality and packed in paper wherever suitable, with breathable net packaging used where necessary to keep bulbs in the best possible condition.

We work with specialist bulb growers and suppliers, including long-established local growers.