Information on the tulip growing tradition in Lithuania, development of introductive investigations, which were divided into two periods is presented in this work. Within the first period including years, 1972–1992, scientific investigations on tulip introduction and bulb reproduction were carried out at the Vilnius Section of Bulbous Flowers of Kaunas Botanical Garden. The tulip collection contained approximately 600 tulip species and cultivars. During the second period (1997–2007), investigations were continued at the Department of Systematics and Geography of Botanical Garden of Vilnius University. Within this period, the tulip collection consisting of 263 species and cultivars belonging to 15 classification groups was accumulated. Since 2002, scientific work on the examination and assessment of the ornamental quality and phytopathological state of tulip species and cultivars have been carried out as a constituent part of the Lithuanian State Programme “Genefund”, State Scientific Programme of the Botanical Garden of Vilnius University “Scientific investigations of Lithuanian genetic resources” and the theme “Accumulation, investigation and preservation of the genefund of Lithuanian ornamental plants”. The main criteria for the evaluation of introduced plants are the possibility and expediency of their growing. Expediency is defined by their ornamental–applied value; the possibility is determined by suitability to grow in our climatic conditions and resistance to diseases. Basing on general criteria for selection of introductive plants for preservation and specific criteria for tulips, tulip species and cultivars were selected and presented for preservation in the Lithuanian Plant Genetic Resources.

Keywords: tulip, decorative capacities, resistance, tulip breaking potyvirus, Botrytis tulipae, main criteria, specific criteria, genetic resources, indexed tulip bulb vegetative reproduction coefficient