Tulips changed color from last year - normal?

[carbuff]

This is my second growing season in a 30-yr old house with some established gardens. Last year, the tulip patch of about 10 or 12 plants had the most glorious rich red blooms. Well, they came up a few days ago, and the color has bleached out to a vermillion shade, which, if I'd seen for the 1st time would say is nice, but knowing what they were like last year, I'm bummed out. Is this a normal thing to happen with tulips? Would the fact that I mistakenly dead-headed not only the flowers, but the leaves as well last year cause this? After the fact, I read somewhere that you should let the leaves alone in order to promote bulb growth or something, so perhaps I'm lucky that they came back at all?

[dr-solo]

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[Doug Kanter]

Yes, you should let the leaves grow until they begin to yellow. Plant other things to hide them if the ugliness detracts from the appearance of your flower bed.

As far as the color changing, the likely cause is an otherwise harmless virus. More about this (and worth reading):