Tourists are being ripped off at Amsterdam's famous flower market, with just one percent of all bulbs sold at the floating bazaar ever producing a blossom, investigators said Tuesday.

A probe commissioned by the Dutch capital's municipality and tulip growers also found that often only one flower resembled the pictures on the packaging like color, and that there were fewer bulbs than advertised.

"The probe showed that there is chronic deception of consumers," at the sale of tulip bulbs at the flower market, the Royal General Bulb Growers' Association (KAVB) said.

"Millions of tourists and day-trippers are being duped," KAVB Chairman Rene le Clercq said in a statement.

Amsterdam and the KAVB have now referred the matter to the Dutch consumer watchdog.

The Amsterdam flower market is one of the city's most famous landmarks and dates from around 1862.