Long ago, in the 17th and 18th centuries, tulips with petals displaying flamed patterns (also known as ‘broken tulips’) demanded extremely high prices. Now we know that this colour-breaking is the result of certain virus diseases, but in those days, of course, the concept of viruses was as yet completely unknown. Some of these classic Rembrandt tulips can still be seen in the famous bulb garden, the Hortus Bulborum in the Dutch town of Limmen. Today, we can still fall under the spell of these majestic tulips, because few other tulip cultivars display such bold flames of colour without indication of virus.
Most significant cultivars
- ‘Cordell Hull’: creamy white
- ‘Olympic Flame’: yellow, flamed red
- ‘Prince Carnaval’: yellow, flamed red
- ‘Sorbet’: rosy white
Type of bulb: bulb
