Are harlequin tulips common?

diana.dcb

Among my tulips this year I have a beautiful harlequin tulip, with 3 frilled yellow petals, 1 smooth red petals, and two harlequin half-yellow/ half red - see my photo.  I've never seen this before - is it common? 

Uff

I must admit that I've never seen anything like that before either the shape or the colour. 

JennyJ

I haven't seen anything like that in a tulip but I have a chrysanthemum that occasionally produces a shoot with flowers half yellow and half pink, divided across the middle (it's meant to be yellow), and occasionally shoots with all-pink flowers. I think it's a form of genetic mutation or partial reversion.

Google found this, which looks a lot like yours so maybe that fringed yellow variety is prone to it https://www.dreamstime.com/unusually-colored-tulip-hybrid-mutation-brilliant-yellow-red-color-flower-one-kind-different-then-crowd-beautiful-image148672202

fidgetbones

Not in focus but you can see that one petal is purple and white, all the others are white. This was in a batch of purple tulips last year.

JennyJ

I haven't seen anything like that in a tulip but I have a chrysanthemum that occasionally produces a shoot with flowers half yellow and half pink, divided across the middle (it's meant to be yellow), and occasionally shoots with all-pink flowers. I think it's a form of genetic mutation or partial reversion.

Google found this, which looks a lot like yours so maybe that fringed yellow variety is prone to it https://www.dreamstime.com/unusually-colored-tulip-hybrid-mutation-brilliant-yellow-red-color-flower-one-kind-different-then-crowd-beautiful-image148672202

BenCotto

There’s a discussion here if you’d like to read more

https://www.rhs.org.uk/problems/bicoloured-flowers