I snagged this collection december of last year, and I ordered three of them. Let me tell you, I wish I had gotten three times as much because of how beautiful this mix is so far.
Right now it's the end of april, zone 6a. After much anticipation, the Mondial (white) and the Blue Spectacle (Purple) have bloomed. They are absolutely gorgeous.
I have pictures of both but I'd like to describe how gorgeous they are.
The mondial is a double tulip, a dainty teacup shape with a beautiful pure white color. At the start, the cups are tightly closed, with the outer petals being a soft, beautiful white green cream that turns into said beautiful clean white. Usually when you order tulip bulbs you get one flower per bulb because the bulbs are quite young. But for whatever reason some of my mondials are sending up two and even three flowers! The flowers are elegant, dare I say almost like a mini peony.
The blue spectacle isn't blue, I'll say that much. I mean, blue tulips don't exist, so that much is obvious. The blue spectacles are much bolder than the mondials- a vibrant, deep sangria pink. More pink than purple, a deep magenta, maybe. Elegant, proudly tall standing flowers on tall, skinny stems. Very elegant, almost fragile you would think, right?
Yet both these varieties (and the other two, which are poking out their flower heads but not ready to bloom yet) withstood 3 windstorms and 2 sudden, sharp frosts in the 20s (my heart nearly stopped when this happened) with absolutely no damage. My greatest scourge was the rabbits, who delighted in chewing them to the ground (liquid fence is a godsend for this). I planted them in an open flower bed, their only protection a thick layer of mulch which I imagine at least insulated them from too much damage.
If I had to say one or two regrets I have, concerning these tulips, it would be first, not acquiring liquid fence sooner, as I did lose a few to said rabbits, especially in the beginning, when their tender shoots are the only thing to eat in the winter, and also that I didn't mix them up. They are absolutely beautiful, but the mix really shines when they're... well! Mixed! I did them in blocks, and while they're still absolutely beautiful, the color choices of this mix really dazzle when seen close to each other. It also makes it less obvious where the early tulips start and where the late tulips end. So keep that in mind!
These tulips need full sun, and need to be somewhere where they won't be tread on. I fed them once in the early spring and I won't be cutting back their foliage until I absolutely have to. I can only imagine how beautiful these tulips will be in their second, third, fourth year, should they decide to return!
As I love educating people on my purchases, and how they hold up long term, I will be sure to update people reading this review of what varieties came back, and what varieties started naturalizing!
But for now I can say I 100% absolutely love these tulips and will buy 10 packs of this collection next time they're in stock! Their beauty and elegance is unseen of around here, so I often catch people admiring them as they walk down the sidewalk past my home- and that, readers, is priceless.