I cannot help myself even with Google, ha, to find the name of this cultivar. Really gorgeous blooms if I do say so myself for such old bulbs. Thank you. Variegated Tulips ( photo / image / picture from TooManyWeeds87's Garden )
I can't tell what the markings are on your tulip but check these two out to see if one of them is yours. Tulipa 'Strawberries and Cream' Tulipa 'Apricot Parrot' (Apricot Parrot Tulip)
Interesting varieties. My tulips look more striped than the strawberries and cream and not parrot-like as the apricot one. Total mystery, and what similar pictures I did find did not identify the plant. oyoyoyoy
Tulips of more than one color are called Broken Tulips. The break in the solid colors originally came from a virus they contracted, first recognized sometime in the 1600's. Now they are bred and grown with the break in color. http://www.oldhousegardens.com/hortus.asp they have 5 pages of photos of broken tulips starting here..... http://www.oldhousegardens.com/display. ... lip&page=1 Maybe you can find yours there.
I was awestruck by some of those tulips, Toni. Absolutely stunning! Seemlingly also rare and expensive ones. The closest one I could compare was to 'Mabel," http://www.oldhousegardens.com/display. ... =Mabel.jpg At 9.25 each I think I may sell the ones I have, haha. How hard is it to grow tulips from seed? hmm.... Interesting bit about "breaking." Does that term apply to all variegated tulips? I was under the impression, perhaps falsely, that only applied to the viral infection.
From what I have read all tulips were solid color until the viral infection caused the colors to break in the infected ones. The break in colors caused such a 'feeding frenzy' that growers started breeding them with the break and creating the break of other colors too. http://library.wur.nl/desktop/tulp/history.html This gives you a pretty involved history of the Tulip and the interesting info that it almost caused the collapse of the Netherlands economy.
Thanks for all the interesting information about tulips. I actually painted a copy of the "Tulip Folly" in high school. The Jean-Leon Gerome painting is right here in Baltimore at the Walters Art Museum. http://art.thewalters.org/viewwoa.aspx?id=32905 Heaven only knows why he painted the soldiers carrying guns when their duty was to smoosh the flowers. HAHA
