One of the most famous and popular of the Emperor Tulips, Orange Emperor boasts clear tangerine blooms that seem to glow in the sunlight.
Early in the 20th Century, a talented Dutch hybridizer named Lefeber worked long and hard with a wild tulip called 'Tulipa fosteriana' from Central Asia. It is red, and from it, he hybridized the group that became known as the Emperor Tulips. From the very small wild form, the enormous-flowered, world-famous Red Emperor was introduced in 1931, and is what we now call a member of the 'Fosteriana Tulip' group. In fact, Red Emperor's official variety name is 'Madame Lefeber' in honor of the original hybridizer's wife.
White Emperor, Orange Emperor and a few others now make up this classic group. Every year millions of Emperor Tulips are planted worldwide, and are favorites for mass plantings in parks, botanical gardens, and other public places. They bloom early, are all the same height (shorter than later tulips), and the huge flowers open wide before they fade, almost like huge poppies. Since the Emperors are closely related to a wild species, they are much more 'perennial' than most tulips, making them even more valuable.