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From a large batch of tulips bought from the Flemish grower Lenglart, the well-known Haarlem bulb cultivator E.H. Krelage selected the best single-coloured cultivars. Initially, he selected only red and pink flowering ones, not yellow ones, as that colour was then out of fashion. He introduced his choice in 1886 as Darwin Tulips and made them a resounding success. In 1889, he had them planted in large areas at the Great Exhibition in Paris, setting a new trend. Until just a few years ago, it was the generally accepted way of displaying tulips: boxes in one colour, never mixed. Darwin Tulips have longer stems, so you look against the outside, whereas with the older, lower tulips you look mainly into the heart. The petals are not pointed but rounded, broad and fleshy. Nowadays, together with Cottage Tulips, they are classified under Single Late Tulips. Especially by Dutch bulb growers, so many crosses were later made between the two groups that they became indistinguishable.
