Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' (Flaming Parrot tulip) care

Light

Aim for at least 4-6 hours of direct sun on the leaves. Full sun, 6 or more hours daily, brightens the yellow-and-red flaming and keeps the large blooms from flopping. In shade the colours dull and stems weaken; a bright, open, sheltered position gives the best display and stem strength. If your only bright window faces south, that's perfect for tulipa 'flaming parrot' — same window any aroid would fry on.

Watering

Watering tulipa 'flaming parrot': moist during autumn rooting and spring growth; dry off as foliage yellows. The number that matters isn't the day of the week — it's how dry the top 2-3 cm of the pot feels. A finger in the soil tells you more than a watering app. After every watering, tip the saucer. Water after planting and through spring flowering. Stop as leaves die back so the bulb dries for summer dormancy. Keep dormant bulbs dry, as standing moisture rots them, the chief cause of tulip failure.

Soil and pot

Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' grows best in free-draining, fertile neutral to alkaline loam. Plant 15-20 cm deep in fertile, sharply drained soil. Add grit to heavy clay to prevent winter waterlogging, and avoid low, wet spots where dormant bulbs sit in cold standing water. A pot with a working drainage hole is non-negotiable for this species — even free-draining mix will turn soggy in a closed planter. If you love the look of a decorative pot without a hole, use it as a cachepot around an inner nursery pot you can lift out to water.

Humidity and temperature

Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' sits happiest at around Ambient outdoor humidity humidity and Needs 12-16 weeks below 9°C to flower; grows actively at 9-18°C (Needs 12-16 weeks below 48°F to flower; grows actively at 48-65°F). No humidity control needed outdoors. Space plants for airflow to reduce Botrytis (tulip fire) and grey mould on the large ruffled flowers in cool, damp springs. If you keep the room above Needs 12 year-round and avoid placing the plant near a cold draught, a hot radiator, or an air-conditioning vent, you have already handled the two biggest indoor stressors.

Fertilising

Feed tulipa 'flaming parrot' sparingly. Mix bonemeal or balanced bulb fertiliser into the planting hole in autumn. Feed with high-potash fertiliser as shoots emerge and after flowering to fatten the bulb for next year. Avoid high-nitrogen feeds, which promote soft growth and rot. Skip fertiliser entirely on a stressed, recently-repotted, or actively wilting plant — fertiliser salts make damage worse, not better. Wait for a round of healthy new growth before resuming a feeding rhythm.

Common problems

Below are the issues we see most often on tulipa 'flaming parrot' in the Growli community. Each is annotated with the most common cause so you know where to start.

• Bulb rot — Wet, poorly drained soil rots dormant bulbs. Plant in sharply drained ground and keep dry through summer dormancy.
• Large flowers flopping — The big, heavy blooms on tall stems can bow or snap in wind and rain. Plant in a sheltered spot and stake exposed plantings.
• Tulip fire (Botrytis tulipae) — Scorches leaves and spots petals. Remove infected plants and avoid replanting tulips in the same soil for 2-3 years.
• Unreliable perennial return — Parrot tulips bloom less reliably in later years. Replant fresh bulbs each autumn, or lift and store, for a dependable display.

Propagation

Propagate by lifting and dividing offset bulblets once the foliage has died down in summer, then growing them on to flowering size in a nursery bed. The cultivar does not come true from seed, so vegetative offset division is the only true-to-type method. Propagation is the cheapest, most satisfying way to expand a collection — and it doubles as insurance against losing a mature plant to an accident. Take a backup cutting once the parent is established and healthy.

Toxicity to pets

Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' is toxic to pets. ASPCA lists Tulipa as toxic to cats, dogs, and horses. The toxic principles tulipalin A and B are most concentrated in the bulb; ingestion causes vomiting, hypersalivation, drooling, depression, and diarrhoea. Keep bulbs and cut stems out of pets' reach. If you keep cats, dogs, or curious children in the house, weigh placement carefully — a high shelf or a hanging planter is enough for casual safety. For severe ingestion incidents, call your local vet and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (in the US, 888-426-4435).

Pet-safety status is sourced from the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List, which catalogues the most-asked-about plants for cats, dogs, and horses.

Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' deep-dive guides

Every aspect of tulipa 'flaming parrot' care, each with its own calibrated guide:

• Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' watering schedule
• Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' light requirements
• Best soil mix for tulipa 'flaming parrot'
• Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' fertilizing guide
• When to repot tulipa 'flaming parrot'
• How to propagate tulipa 'flaming parrot'
• Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' growth rate & size
• Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' cold hardiness
• Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' temperature & humidity
• Is tulipa 'flaming parrot' toxic to cats & dogs?
• Is tulipa 'flaming parrot' toxic to cats?
• Is tulipa 'flaming parrot' toxic to dogs?
• Getting tulipa 'flaming parrot' to bloom

Featured in these plant shortlists

Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' qualifies for 3 curated Growli shortlists — each one filtered objectively from our structured plant-care library, so the selection is consistent and checkable:

• Best flowering houseplants — Indoor plants grown for their blooms — selected from the flowering species in Growli’s plant-care library.
• Houseplants toxic to cats & dogs — The common houseplants the ASPCA lists as toxic to cats and dogs — the ones to keep out of reach, each with its symptoms and a safe alternative.
• Best houseplants for full sun — Houseplants that want direct sun — the species for a hot south or west-facing windowsill where shade-lovers scorch.
• Browse all 29 plant shortlists — pet-safe, low-light, drought-tolerant and more

Related guides

Tulipa 'Flaming Parrot' is also commonly called Flaming Parrot tulip or yellow red parrot tulip.

• Peace lily care — light, water and common problems
• Bird of paradise care — light, water and common problems
• Hoya care — light, water and common problems
• All 3899 plant care guides in the Growli library