Tulips
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Tulip Garden Update: April 6, 2001

Today's Report Includes:

The News This Week
Tulip gardens are emerging all over the place this week! Take a look for yourself! Click on the map, then click again to reveal a BIG map that shows where all the Journey North gardens were planted in the fall. You will see a surprise! How many planting sites have a green triangle on them? Does yours?



Reminder- Important Definitions
Just a quick reminder to help you in determining when to report your tulip data:
Important Definitions

Emerging
The first sign of the tulip leaves breaking the ground. (No matter how many tulips you plant, report the FIRST tulip to emerge.)
(Photo: Jo Leland)

Blooming
The first time the flower opens and you can see the pistils and stamens inside.
(Photo: Gayle Kloewer)


Gardens Blooming Later or Earlier than Last Year?
All across the continent gardeners are writing that their tulips are coming up a week, or two weeks later than last year. From Joyce Middle School in Woburn, MA, we heard, "The snow was finally gone from our garden. Several of our tulips had emerged on Monday March 19. This is our latest emerging date in the 5 years we have planted our Journey North garden.
Audubon Elementary School in Rock Island,IL reported, "Our first 4 tulips emerged today! The weather has been cooler than normal by about 10-20 degrees the past 2 weeks.
And, from Francis Koontz's class in Bowie, MD we have this to share, "We have had a cold snap, cherry blossoms aren't even in bloom! Checked tulips this AM, no blooms, frost last night."
Courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center
Then we have parts of the country where it is warmer than usual. From our Journey North gardeners at Fall City Elementary in Fall City, WA we heard this, "We have had a VERY dry, warm winter. We predicted our bulbs would bloom early for this reason. We have had frosts with temperatures in the 20s. Temperatures during the day have been in the 60s. Our tulips are all in full bloom!"
Take a look at this weather map from the US Climate Prediction Center. Locate your hometown on the map. Study the map and see what you can learn about your weather this winter:

Challenge Question #13
"Using the colored key as your guide, what can you tell us about the departure from normal temperatures in your area this winter? How has that affected the arrival of spring in your hometown?"

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Original Gardens Update
Wondering how your predictions are coming on our Journey North Original Gardens? Here is the score so far:
 
Tulips have Emerged:
  • Murfreesboro, TN (2/26/01)
  • Bowie, MD (2/12/01)
  • Kingwood, TX (1/29/01)
  • Woburn, MA (3/17/01)
  • Newport-on-Tay (3/14/01)
  • Don Mills, ON (4/03/01)
  • Palo Alto, CA (2/01/01)
  • Hood River, OR (2/02/01)

Photo courtesy of Gayle Kloewer.
Tulips have Bloomed:

  • Murfreesboro, TN (3/27/01)
  • Palo Alto, CA (3/12/01)
  • Hood River, OR (3/23/01)
  • Kingwood, TX (4/05/001)


We are worried about the tulips in Salt Lake City. The gardeners expected something coming up by now, and are digging up the garden this week to look for clues.
Read below for details about the Kingwood, Texas garden. There are some wonderfully dedicated Journey North schools in warmer regions that go to great odds to help us with this International Project! We all applaud you!

Early or Late? What's the Range, Median and Mean?
Are gardens really emerging and blooming late this year? If so, how late? Let's find out when they normally emerge in Anchorage, AK. Looking carefully at data helps us to be precise, and helps us draw accurate conclusions that may give us some new insights.
First some mathematical terms:
  • Range: The difference between the earliest and latest dates in a set of data.
  • Median: The median is the 50th percentile. The date in an ordered set of data such that half of the dates are earlier and half of the dates are later. Half the values are larger than the median, and half are lower. If there are an even number of values, the median is defined as the average of the two middle values.
  • Mean: The mean is the average of all the values. It's the most common measure of center. To determine the mean, find the sum of the values in the set, then divide by the number of values.

Try This!
Here are emerging dates for tulips in Anchorage: 3/20/00, 5/07/99, 4/13/98, and 5/05/97. Take a close look at the data:

  1. Make a stem-and-leaf plot, arranging the data in order from earliest to latest date of sighting.
  2. Count the number of days between the earliest and latest arrival dates. This difference is the range of emerging dates for Anchorage.
  3. Next figure the median emerging date. Your data are already in order, so you can see on which date half of the records are earlier and half of the records are later. (Because there is an even number of records, you'll need to find the average of the two middle values.)
  4. Finally, calculate the mean emerging date. (The mean is the concept most people think of as the "average.") When using calendar dates, this can be tricky. Before reading the example on the worksheet, challenge yourself to think this through!

Now, based on what you know to be the mean date of emergence, what do you think will happen in 2001?

Challenge Question #14
"After calculating the mean, or average date of tulip emergence in Anchorage, what do you predict this year's emergence date will be? If you think it will be different than the mean, what factors this year might lead you to your prediction?"

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Our Tulip Expert Gives Us the Scoop on Cold Weather and Tulips
Tulip expert Mary Meyer of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum adds: "If the flower buds freeze, they will not bloom. Tulips are OK at 25 or even 20 degrees, but temperatures below 20 degrees can be fatal to tulips. Any part that is frozen will turn white and not be able to make sugars for the flower to continue to form this year--or for the bulb to store for next year's plant."

Challenge Question #15
"What is a bud? Why is it so important to the growth of the flower?" Why can a tulip BULB freeze under the soil during the winter--with the bud inside--but be able to bloom in the spring?"

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Mystery in Texas Has a Great Ending!
This tulip was labeled, "No hope."
Now that the wave of spring has reached further north, you must have wondered the same thing we did: Why did it take so long for our friends' garden in Texas to bloom? Week after week their data looked the same; garden emerged, but when why doesn't it bloom? Times have been tough for our persistent tulip gardeners at the Journey North Original Garden Site in Kingwood, Texas. The last two years the weather was so dry their tulips never bloomed. This year on January 4, students planted each of their bulbs with a personalized label and hoped for the best. At last they had some winter weather that stayed cool with plenty of rain. After wondering we asked them and they informed us that they thought their tulips had died. We were all so disappointed...
The Texas "Blooming" Reporter

BUT WAIT! Sometimes GREAT things happen when you least expect them! Here is how they reported in on April 5, "We were so excited. After the students had decided that the tulips would not bloom, 2 girls came running into the room after school saying "We have 2 red flowers on our tulips!!" I went out and checked, and the girls and I celebrated. The class is so excited. I guess when you least expect it great things happen." JoNell Kent and her Third Grade Class.

Clues Spark Observers-- Spring is Almost Here!
Certainly tulips are one sign that says spring has arrived, but there are lots of clues. Read on to share what others are seeing that help them to know that spring is changing the world around them.

Students in St. Louis, MO (38.63N, -90.19W) report, "Tulips have been up about a week, emerging around mid-March in our yard. No buds yet. Crocuses have been in bloom a little longer than that. The buds on our serviceberry are getting fuzzy and the forsythia buds are starting to green up. The euonymus is just beginning to leaf out a bit."

A report out of Bethany, OK (35.50N, -97.64W) tells us that students at Falcon Academy know that spring is here, "First buds of the REDBUD tree are showing a beautiful lavender as they start to open."

At Marbletown Elementary School in Accord, NY (41.8045N, -74.23W) students report, "Our tulips have finally emerged outside of the school. We planted snowdrops to help mark where we had planted. The snowdrops persisted through the snow, and finally the tulips are showing now."

The Language of Looking Closely

"Nobody sees a flower, really--it is so small--we haven't time, and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time."

Georgia O'Keeffe

"I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars."

Walt Whitman

Springtime can help us awaken to the wonderful changes all around us. Deborah Grupe and her students in St. Louis, MO have been looking VERY CLOSELY! "The buds on our serviceberry are getting fuzzy and the forsythia buds are starting to green up. The euonymus is just beginning to leaf out a bit."

What are you noticing about the springtime world around you? A close look at a single piece of grass, carefully described, can sound like poetry:

"Culms low, tufted, mostly not more than 15 cm tall;
leaves mostly basal, the blades flat or folded,
usually not more than 1 mm wide;
panicle narrow, purple, 1-3cm long,
the branches appressed to somewhat spreading;
spikelets about 2 mm long;
lemma nearly as long as the glumes, awnless;
palea about two-thirds as long as the lemma."

Manual of the Grasses of the United States, A. S. Hitchcock


Challenge Question #16
"What do you see when you take a close and careful look at your own yard and garden? Use as many descriptive words as you can. Feel free to make up your own words-- and try to define them."

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Lessons From Studying Microclimates
Courtesy of York Middle School.
Gardeners are learning some great lessons about how microclimates can affect when tulips will emerge and bloom. Ms. Dempsey's Second Grade class at Charlotte Dunning School in Framingham, MA had a good lesson about how a building can soak up heat from the sun and also heat up the microclimate of the land nearby. On March 29 they wrote, "We are amazed to find that the tulips we planted in what we thought was the shadiest spot on the north part of the building emerged! They are right next to the building, so the warmth of the building really made a difference. Two tulips at the front of the building, planted according to the rubric, have emerged. Tulips we planted away from the building in the courtyard, in what we thought was a sunny spot, have not emerged yet at all!! We should have planted them where last year's class did! Right next to the foundation, in the courtyard, against a western wall. Those tulips are already three inches high! We sure did learn about the importance of building heat and plant emergence!"

What have you learned about microclimates in your school yard?

Snow on your Parade, Discussion of Challenge Question #11
After another series of snowstorms the end of March dropped over six inches of snow in parts of North America, we wondered if the tulips already emerged would be affected by the snow. Students polished their map reading skills and compared the weather map with the Journey North tulip map. Here are some of your answers:
Mr. Burkholder's class in Orrville, OH compared maps and thought that yes, spring had reached some of those places where the snow fell. The snow and cold could damage and maybe even stunt the sensitive tulip parts already out of the ground.
Mrs. Gaines class in Ithaca, NY were mixed in their opinions. They stated that the places in higher elevation, like their school, and in the mountainous region that received the snow it was colder and would be slower to show springtime. Plants in those higher places wouldn't be affected because they weren't emerged yet.

Growing Under the Snow: Discussion of Challenge Question # 12
"Do you think tulips which are buried under the cold, cold snow could be growing? How do you explain this puzzling observation?"
Mrs. Dempsey's Second Grade Class in Framingham, MA has a thoughtful answer:
"The snow acts like a blanket. Maybe the ground is protected from the cold air and the ground stays warmer."
Jennifer and Jessica from Berea Elementary School have some good ideas:
"I think that the tulips grow under snow because they can grow under cold weather to the temp. of forty degrees. So that is why I think they can grow under snow. The tulips don't know there is snow so they just keep on growing. Also because it's warm and they push their way up."
How to Respond to Today's Challenge Question

IMPORTANT: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message.

1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-tulip@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #13 (or #14, or #15, or #16).
3. In the body of the message, answer ONE of the questions above.

The Next Tulip Garden Update Will be Posted on April 20, 2001.

Copyright 2001 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form

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