tulipa batalinii

This is the third year of growing Tulipa batalinii 'Red Gem'. I'm amazed at how the single flowers from last year are now three, and the one that I planted three years ago is now a clump.

It's particularly surprising to me because before I lived in Albuquerque, tulips were pretty much an annual. They were planted in the fall, and bloomed beautifully the following spring, but the next year the flowers were small, and the following year, almost nothing. Even the big tulips seem to come back most years here, although after a few years they might need dividing.

I chose T. batalinii because the species comes from a climate that is fairly similar to mine (Iran and Turkestan). They seem to like it here.

Here's what it looks like in the morning, when the buds are closed and just before the sun has come up.