Download the science of spring-flowering bulbs

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