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THE Inside the tulip bulb Flower bud Scales Thick, fleshy leaves are arranged around the stem In the center of the bulb is a baby flower bud. Tunic Paper outer covering SCIENCE OF SPRING-FLOWERING TULIPTIME Not every spring flower is created the same way. Learn about the root causes of our gorgeous gardens The stages of growth Basal stem The compressed stem connects the flower, scales and roots of the plant Fun facts Roots Grow out of the basal stem BULBS 1. Planting time 2. Making roots 3. Cooling period 4. Growing period Sept. - Oct. November Dec. - Jan. Feb. - March The tulip bulbs are planted. Most important: plant them twice as deep as the bulb is high. They have no roots at this stage. The roots start growing out of the base. They establish themselves in the dirt and take nourishment out of the dirt. The mother bulbs get ready for winter. Now starts the rest period. In order for the bulbs to bloom in the spring, they need weeks of at least 40-degree temperatures. Frost at this time does not harm the bulbs. The bulbs begin to change as the starch, or carbohydrates, in them turns to sugar. As this occurs, the leaves and flower gradually push upwards out of the bulb. • Currently, there are about 75 wild species of tulips and 150 species in total, with more than 3,000 varieties. • The word tulip is derived from a Persian word called delband, which means turban. • Tulips are native to the mountainous areas of Central Asia and have been cultivated for more than 500 years. The tulip is the national flower of Turkey and Afghanistan. • The Netherlands remains the world’s main producer of commercially sold tulips, producing as many as 3 billion bulbs annually, mostly for export. • Tulips came to Europe in the 16th century via a gift from the Ottoman Empire. They were introduced to the United States in the 1800s. • Tulips require a period of cold dormancy called verThe Dutch obsession with the tulip led to nalization to flower. a period from 1634-1637 known as Tulipma• Tulips normally have nia. Tulipmania was the world’s first major one flower per stem but financial bubble. Investors began speculating in tulips, driving prices to unprecedented a few species have up highs. The average price of a single flower to four flowers on a sinexceeded the annual income of a skilled gle stem. worker. Tulips sold for 4,000 florins, the 6. Time to regenerate 7. Multiplying bulbs April - May May - June July - Sept. As the tulips bloom they receive their nourishment from the roots only. The skin of the bulb barely remains as all of the energy goes to the bloom. After the blooming period, the flowers are cut and the leaves are left on the plant. The new daughter bulbs will be using the food values of the leaves to grow. Up to five small bulbs can be expected to grow out of the mother bulb. They form their roots slowly and develop their blooms and leaves within the bulb, for next years plant. 5. Blooming time By Christine Facciolo Special to The News Journal othing announces the arrival of spring better than a flower garden full of colorful and fragrant blooms. The plants that grace these gardens come from either seeds or bulbs. So if seeds and bulbs both produce plants, what exactly is the difference between the two? All plants—even bulb plants— originate from seeds. The major difference between bulbs and seeds lies in the role each plays in the life cycle of the plant and their function. Seeds develop after sexual reproduction combines genetic material from parent plants. Bulbs, on the other hand, develop from asexual or vegetative reproduction when plant cells divide and form a copy of the parent plant. These new bulbs are called offsets or bulbets. “When you plant a bulb, you’re sure you’re going to get the kind of plant you like,” said Rose Ogutu, Ph.D., horticulture specialist for Delaware State University’s Cooperative Extension. A bulb is a plant that grows from an underground mass of food storage tissues. The primary function of these underground storage structures is to provide the plant with enough nutrients to ensure the plants survival when it’s resting or waiting to be planted, said Martha Stevens, public landscapes manager at the Delaware Center for Horticulture. Botanically speaking, a bulb is a modified stem containing a miniature plant surrounded by fleshy scales, which provide food and a basal plate, which produces roots. Tunicate bulbs, like tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and ornamental alliums, have a paperlike covering called a tunic that protects the N 40° Bulb Tulipmania currency of the Netherlands at the time. When prices fell dramatically over the course of a week, many investors went bankrupt and the economy crashed. SOURCE: Investopedia.com fleshy scales from drying out. Imbricate bulbs like the lily do not have this protective covering and must be kept moist prior to planting. Like the bulb, a seed is a miniature plant with a protective cover and a food supply called endosperm. But unlike the bulb, the seed shows none of the structures found on the adult plant. Indeed, the primary purpose of the seed is to germinate a plant formed from the genetic material of two parent plants. Seed plants can be annuals, biennials or perennials. Bulb plants, on the other hand, are equipped to survive over the long term. Bulb plants are naturally perennial and, with proper care, will grow annually for many years. Bulbs are divided into two categories based on when they bloom. Summer-flowering bulbs such as the lily are too tender to survive harsh winter conditions and are planted in the spring. Spring-flowering bulbs like the tulip are often called hardy bulbs because they can survive in cold temperatures. In fact, they need the cold in order to flower properly. “If you plant them in October or November and they get that cold treatment, you should have a show in the spring,” said Carrie Murphy, ornamental horticulturist with the New Castle County Cooperative Extension at the University of Delaware. Some other plants that we call bulbs are not true bulbs because they lack one or more characteristics of the true bulb. Corms like the crocus and gladiolus store food in a large basal plate but have no fleshy scales. Tubers such as dahlias lack a basal plate and do not produce offsets. Rhizomes such as iris, calla lilies and cannas, differ from other storage structures in that they grow horizontally along the surface of the soil or just under it. Design and graphics by Dan Garrow/The News Journal Where to see tulips • Lewes Tulip Festival Lewes, Thursday, April 10 April 12, (302) 645-8073 • The Inn at Montchanin 514 Montchanin Road, Montchanin, (302) 888-2133 (garden of tulips near the “Pink House”) • Loockerman Street Dover (tulips blossom in the grassy median near Post Office) • Longwood Gardens 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, Pa. (610) 388-1000 • Mt. Cuba Center 3120 Barley Mill Road, Hockessin, (302) 234-4244, www.mtcubacenter.org • Valley Garden Park Campbell Road, Greenville, (302) 576-3810 SOURCE: ONLINE QUIZ AND INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC Test how much you’ve learned about THE SCIENCE OF TULIP BULBS at delawareonline.com/didyouknow COMING NEXT WEEK: DOWNTON ABBEY STYLES