Tulip fire is a fungal disease that only attacks tulips. Affected plants produce brown spots on their leaves. The leaves also look twisted and distorted and may wither away. Affected plants look like they’ve been scorched by fire – hence the common name.
The leaves and plants may not flower properly and wither away prematurely. You may also see a fuzzy grey mould on affected plants, and spots on the flowers that lead to rotting in wet weather.
You can see symptoms on the leaves any time from when they emerge above the ground until they die down in summer, or earlier when badly affected.
The disease can be more prominent in very damp autumns.