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Tulip Garden Update: March 8, 2002
Today's Report Includes:
- Tulips Take Notice of the Cold
- NEWS BULLETIN FROM TEXAS: COLD Weather News Highlights
- Cryogenics and Cryology: A Cool Experiment
- Challenge Question #7
- Students in Ferrisburgh, VT Investigate Microclimate
- Help! Tulips are Tasty! Challenge Question #8
- Focusing with O'Keeffe on the Details
- Comparing: Spring 2002 and 2001: Discussing Challenge Question #5
- How Long Does it Take a Tulip to Grow? Discussing Challenge Question #6
- Teacher Tip: Glass Boxes Show Tulip Growth
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Temperatures this past week in the midsection of the continent plunged down about 10 degrees below normal. Take a look at how the tulips have responded to the COLD weather this week. Records show only 16 gardens reported emerged this week compared to 29 last week! Take a look- then read some gardeners' comments.
"On Monday, Feb. 25, we found 5 different tulips emerging. The temperature was 60 degrees and it felt like a spring day. Today, it is snowing and the windchill is 18 degrees." Bluffton Elementary School, Bluffton, OH
"When we checked our garden this morning we saw some of our four inch deep experimental tulips were up to 10 or 12 cm, and some of our control tulips were just poking out of the ground." Classical Academy Charter School, Cliffton, NJ
"Finally, we have buds poking their heads out of our garden! Every year so far, we come back from February
vacation to find our bulbs sprouting. But, not this year. We expected to see them because we have had a very mild
winter. The only reason we can think of for the later budding is that we moved the bed this year to the Tot Park.
It probably doesn't get as much sun as the front of the school." Glen Hills School, Cranston, RI
NEWS BULLETIN FROM TEXAS: COLD Weather News Highlights
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Just as winter was coming to a close, real winter-like weather struck through the mid-section. Take a look at the top map that shows how unusually warm the winter of 2002 HAD been.
NOW analyze the lower map showing departure from normal temperatures across the U.S.this past week. (Please contact us if you know where we can find a similar map showing such data for Canada and Mexico.)
Tulips are not native plants. Because they are introduced species, once their dormancy requirements are met their growth is triggered by environmental factors. Plants that pushed their way above ground last week are susceptible to frost damage when weather turns cold.
Cryogenics and Cryology: A Cool Experiment
Expand your vocabulary with some big, science-sized words! Cryogenics and cryology represent a branch of physics that studies very low temperatures and their effects. The prefix "cryo" comes from the Greek word "kruos," which means extreme cold. The suffixes "genics" and "logy" come from the words for "producing" and "study." When you put them together, you get the words "cryogenics," and "cryology," the production of very low temperatures and the study of their effects.
Living tissue is composed mainly of tiny cells. These cells contain a lot of water and other substances dissolved in the water. When vegetable material is immersed in a very cold environment, the water in the cells freezes rapidly. The water then solidifies and expands. A plant cell has very little "give," or resiliency. This is because plant cells have a unique structure. Plants don't have skeletons in the way many animals do. For structural support, plant cells have rigid cell walls.
Have you ever seen lettuce leaves that have been frozen? Their frozen leaves become very stiff. When thawed, the leaves don't look the same as they did before.
Try This!
The implications of frost damage can be easily seen. Fill a glass jar to the top with water and screw on the cover. Place the sealed jar into a plastic bag and seal the bag well. Put the whole package into the freezer. Check on the container a day or two later. PREDICT WHAT WILL HAPPEN AND EXPLAIN WHY YOU THINK SO.
Now Try
Place some lettuce leaves into a bag and place this inside the freezer. A day or two later remove from the freezer.
Take the leaves out of the bag and observe their texture. Do they feel stiff? Can you snap or break them by folding?
Let the leaves thaw to room temperature
Challenge Question #7:
"1.) How are a sealed jar and a plant cell similar? 2.) What do the frozen lettuce leaves look when they thaw? 3.) What happened to the cells in the leaves to make them this way?"
(To respond to these questions, please
follow the instructions below.)
Students in Ferrisburgh, VT Investigate Microclimate
How do you know if your winter weather is "normal?" Fourth Graders at Ferrisburgh Central School share their insight to Challenge Question #4:
"We would need to know about the past springs, and if it is a earlier than normal spring. We would find out about the previous springs, but looking at the weather records. If it is an earlier spring than usual, then the plants would bloom ahead of time. If the weather does not stay nice, the cold weather would hurt the plants."
EXACTLY! Great thinking Ferrisburgh!
Help! Tulips are Tasty!
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" We are having a problem with our tulips. They have emerged, but the deer are eating them as fast as they ae coming up. I don't know if we will get to see any bloom. This is very frustrating, if anyone has a suggestion as to what to do, please let us know. Thanks."
Do some research and send us your solutions to this common plant problem:
Challenge Question #8:
"Deer, rabbits and even moose have munched tulip gardens across the continent. What are some of the best solutions for keeping these animals from eating the tasty tulips?"
(To respond to these questions, please
follow the instructions below.)
Focusing with O'Keeffe on the Details
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People often describe the art of Georgia O'Keeffe as being somewhere between stark realism and abstract design. Examining the work, you can sense her strong and distinctive relationship to the very real and visible world around her. Each year as spring advances, we are drawn to its wonder and beauty. Use this art lesson to take a moment to focus on the beauty of springtime in the natural world.
Comparing: Spring 2002 and 2001: Discussing Challenge Question #5
Last update we gave you these statistics to analyze.
As of February 22 each year:
2001: 43 gardens have emerged of 235 planted
2002: 57 gardens have emerged of 317 planted
What Percentage of each total has emerged? A couple of calculations give us some interesting answers.
- In 2001, 18.3% of all the tulip gardens planted had emerged by Feb. 22.
- In 2002, 17.9% of all the tulip gardens planted had emerged by Feb. 22.
Not much difference in these numbers! Looks like the years are "neck-in-neck" for percentage emerged.
It is interesting to note that even though this winter shows warmer than average temperatures there was enough
heat generated in both years to send the tulips up through the soil.
How Long Does it Take a Tulip to Grow? Discussing Challenge Question #6
We took a look at the dates each of the following gardens was planted, and when the tulips emerged. Then counted how many days it took for them to grow:
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Location of Garden |
Date Planted |
Date Emerged |
# Days |
| Vero Beach, FL |
01/09/02 |
02/13/02 |
35 |
| Cobble Hill, B.C., Canada |
11/18/01 |
02/14/02 |
88 |
| Lincoln City, OR |
11/04/01 |
01/23/02 |
80 |
| Fresno, CA |
12/20/01 |
02/04/02 |
46 |
| Croydon, England |
09/28/01 |
02/08/02 |
83 |
| Kingwood, TX |
01/04/02 |
02/01/02 |
28 |
The numbers of days-to-emerge in all these gardens really varies! This leads us to the conclusion that the amount of time in the ground doesn't the answer question. Studying the data shows that the warmer the climate the shorter the number of days to emerge. If you predicted that the amount of heat the bulbs are exposed to affects the emerge time you were absolutely right!
Measuring the soil temperature and applying the Growing Degree Days calculations to your classes' tulip experiment could offer you a lot more to chew on!
- Think about this for studying bloom time yet this year or emerge time for next year's tulips. Review: Spring Fever
Teacher Tip: Glass Boxes Show Tulip Growth
Here's a neat idea for some indoor experiments from teacher Holly Cerullo.
"This year we tried some indoor experiments with our bulbs. We put several bulbs in the refrigerator for six weeks and left some at room temperature for the same amount of time. Then we planted 8 bulbs in a large glass tank; two refrigerated, upside down; two room temperature upside down; two refrigerated, normally; and two room temperature, normally. We also planted four bulbs hydoponically in gravel (two refrigerated, two room temperature). All the refrigerated bulbs are growing nicely, while the room temperature bulbs are not growing or are stunted. The upside down ones can be watched because we placed them up against the glass. It looks really cool." Holly Cerullo, Joyce Middle School, Woburn, MA (hbcteach@aol.com)
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 #7 (or #8).
3. In the body of the message, answer ONE of the questions above.
The Next Tulip Garden Update Will be Posted on March 22, 2002.
Copyright 2002 Journey North. All Rights Reserved.
Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form
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