Darwin Hybrid Tulip 'Olympic Flame'

correction: hybridised by: J.H.Clement


The page mentions this Tulip was hybridised by A.Verschoor.

...Read More I am 100% certain this is not right. It was hybridised by my own grandfather, J.H.Clement. He was a tulip farmer and dealer and did hybridisation as a side business. He spent many years developing a good hybride, and when he got one tulip selected, he spent many years after that multiplying it. You can imagine how many years it would take to get a field from 1 single tulip.

I have witnesses the multiplying process myself, since i lived in the same place and worked with the tulips as a kid (born 1970)

But, as things go, our tulips standing just in the open field along the road in Voorhout, near Lisse in the Netherlands, they were open to everyone, and some got stolen. Later these were multiplied by others, which i once discovered when i saw a field of them nearby, but not owned by our company. So it went, but give the real man the honour, because it was a lifetimes work.

Sport of T. 'Olympic gold'.

Received the prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM) from the British Royal Horticultural Soci...Read Moreety in 1997

According the database of KAVB (the Dutch Royal General Bulb Growers' Association)
Registrant: A. Verschoor Jr.;
Registration in 1971.

A very tall, robust, round-shaped tulip.
Unsurpassed for cutflower use, but not of a pleasant odor. Flowers first open with som...Read Moree red flaming, but mature with up to 30% red coverage, mostly on the interior. A good neighbor to Fritillaria imperialis. Good perennialization quality, not overly fussy.

This is one of my favorites, too. In this climate, tulips have to be refrigerated before planting, since the "winter" isn't cold enough ...Read Moreto get them to bloom on their own. Thus, tulips are usually considered "annuals", to be discarded after the bloom is over. However, I have dug up and re-refrigerated my "Olympic Flame" tulips and they have bloomed several years in a row.