Tulip Garden Update: January 5, 2007

Today's Report Includes:

• Gardeners Plant Late in Warm Temperatures
  • Today’s Map and Data
• The Stories in a Map
• Is this Emergence?
  • What are YOUR Tulips Doing
  • Plant Physiology
• Spotlight on the Classroom: Robots in the Garden
• Forget to Report?

In this unusually warm winter we see the first tulip gardens emerging.

The map is filling up with tulip gardens! Over the past month another 50 gardens were planted, bringing our total to 394 gardens this year. Keep your eyes on the map in the weeks ahead!
Can you see some green on the map? Yes, 2 gardens were reported emerged. This is the earliest we have received reports that tulips have emerged in the Midwest. Are you having a mild winter in your hometown? Will springtime come early in 2007?
Predict in your Tulip Garden Journals: What affect will the unusually warm weather from the Midwest to the Northeast have on our tulip gardens?

• Today's Data >>

Departure from Average Temperatures:Dec. 24-30, 2006	Departure from Average Temperatures: Nov. 2006

Find your garden on these maps. Were your temperatures above or below normal? Will our temperatures today affect future seasonal change? Will spring come on time in 2007?

Last Year?
When did your tulips emerge last year? You can find your own historic records reported to Journey North from past years here: Maps and Data Archives >>

Students in MI had a pre-Christmas surprise in their garden. They sent this garden report:

Here in Midland, Michigan we have had an unseasonably warm December. Our local newspaper reported that many people had called in to say that their tulips are emerging (yes, that's headline news here in small town America!). I checked our Journey North Tulips at Cook School, and there are 2 that have emerged.

Why are tulips emerging in December in this MI garden? Students here have planted Journey North tulip gardens since 2004. Each year the tulips have emerged in March, not December. Where can you find more information that might explain this phenomenon? (Hint: Search the Web to find temperature and climate records for this location.)

What are YOUR Tulips Doing?
You may have discovered that some of YOUR tulips have broken dormancy already this year. If you see tulips beginning to emerge in your garden report to Journey North that your garden has EMERGED. Be sure to note this event in your Tulip Garden Journal.

Plant Physiology
If a plant isn't dormant, the growing tissues can be damaged with freezing temperatures. Water in the plants tissues can burst, permanently cutting off water and nutrient flow to the bloom or leaves, causing them to die. This could mean fewer tulips blooming this spring.
Applying a layer (4-6”) of mulch over the garden area will protect delicate tissues from freezing temperatures.

“Hello from Mr. Gullickson’s 6th grade sciences classes at Seven Oak Middle School in Lebanon, Oregon. This is the third year our school has participated in the Journey North International Tulip Study... This year we will be monitoring soil temperatures and moisture conditions in our garden using LEGO robots. Our robots will be traveling along a raised track system we our installing in our garden...”

• Read more about Seven Oak Middle School’s innovative monitoring project >>

Find the Owl button on every page.

Have you forgotten to report your garden planted? There is still time to get your data into the experiment! Simply press the "Owl" button to report from your site. Wait 5 minutes then refresh the map page to see your site pop up on the map. (From the same button, you can also "Go to the Sightings Database" and read comments from all gardeners.)

• Report your Tulips PLANTED:>>