black to yellow tulips

[diane1]

last year I grew some tulips all colours some of which were a very dark purple colour almost black anyway I never lifted them once they were finished and this year the ones that were black as i called it are yellow i'm mistified anyone got any ideas? the winter had very cold spells i'm up here in the north east of Scotland by the moray firth not sure if this has any bearings on the matter but there you go. thanks

[Cetti]

diane - If you don't get an answer here, it might be an idea to go to the BBC Gardening Message Board - I'm sure they would be able to explain the tulip mystery.

[quattro]

The Tulips I have planted in the past always seem to be a bit hit or miss sometimes they flower sometimes they don't whereas the humble Daffodils don't seem to suffer as much . It might be a good idea to make a plan or take a photo of the tulip bed for next year and then you can have a reference to work from . You can get fertiliser to put down to improve the bulb fertility I think you put it down in Autumn time this might make your tulips flower their true colour .