like Iris gatesii to Dutch commercial gardeners. Obviously, too many bulbs were taken from the wild, and the plant became extinct. Later, he had to flee the country. The Englishman Edward Whittall from Izmir seems to have supplied Damman & Sprenger as well. No wild plants have been recorded since the First World War. There are no descriptions of the wild habitat of the plant. Sprenger's tulip is grown in over 30 Botanical gardens, among them Kew, Kopenhagen, Bonn and Edinburgh, it is also widely available from commercial nurseries. M. Rix believes that it may yet be rediscovered in the wild. The Atatürk Arboretum in Istanbul has initiated a reintroduction project in co-operation with Kew Gardens. Genetic studies have shown that the tulips grown at Kew have retained a relatively wide genetic diversity. The story of the single misplaced bulb supplied by J. J. "Manissaadjian" to Van Tubergen therefore seems spurious. Cultivation Sprenger's tulip is easy to grow. It can be naturalised. It also successfully self-seeds, the seeds need to be stratified. The plant needs only four years till flowering-stage. The plant needs a sunny but not too hot or semi-shady position. It should be planted 10–15 cm deep in well-drained, fairly fertile, humus-rich but not too dry soil. It may need protection from strong winds, but is frosthardy to - 10 °C, as long as the soil is not waterlogged or excessively wet. The plant tends to root very deeply and can thus be difficult to eradicate. It received the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1948 and 1993. It rarely hybridizes because of the late flowering time. The bulbs dislike being disturbed and are difficult to move. The plant suffers excessively from aphids. References Further reading Wilford R, Fay M. F. 2007. Tulipa sprengeri. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine 24, 211–216. External links sprengeri Ephemeral plants Flora of Turkey IUCN Red List extinct in the wild species Plants described in 1894