Update: January 7, 2010  Please Report
After You Plant Your Garden
Welcome to the Journey North Tulip Garden Study!
TulipEmergeConclude03
Keeping a garden journal
News: Gardeners — Keep a Watch

Don't Miss Anything!
Don't forget to stop at your garden for a quick look now and then. You may discover 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, and then be sure to note this event in your Tulip Garden Journal.

The map is filling up with gardens. Where will the first tulips emerge? Make your predictions and then keep an eye on the map!

map/sightings
(North America)
map/sightings
(Eurasia)
For Your Journal:
This Week's
Map Questions
Explore: Maps — Tools for Prediction
Slideshow
Maps hold clues to help us predict spring's arrival across North America. Temperature maps, gardening maps, satellite maps, and our own Journey North maps help us understand the changing seasons. This winter and spring get to know them.

Slideshow: Maps - Tools for Predicting When Your Garden Will Emerge

Slideshow
Explore: Plants Underground

By now all tulip bulbs are planted in their beds 7 inches below ground. How much protection from the cold is there 7 inches down? Try a simple soil temperature experiment this winter to find out!

Tender growing tissues can be damaged with freezing temperatures. Water in the plant's tissues can burst. This permanently cuts off the water and nutrient flow to the bloom or leaves, causing them to die. This could mean fewer tulips blooming this spring.

If you have tulips emerging early when there is still a chance of extended freezing temperatures, apply a layer (4-6”) of mulch over the garden area. This will protect delicate tissues from freezing temperatures.

A layer of mulch can protect early emerging bulbs.
What's mulch?
Forget to Report?
Have you forgotten to report your garden as planted? There is still time to get your data into the experiment! Press the word "Sightings" on the navigation bar at the top of this page.
 
Related Journey North Lessons and Links
  • Experiment: What's Happening Underground: Taking the Soil's Temperature
  • Map: Using Journey North maps
  • Journal: Journey North Tulip Garden Journal (Click and Print)
  • Explore: Winter Lessons and Activities

Can our study of winter temperatures help us to make better predictions about where spring will arrive first, or last?
Let's take a closer look at this wonderful temperature map.

More Journey North Lessons and Teaching Ideas!

This is the Final FALL Update. Mark your Calendars for the First Tulip Garden Update of the Spring 2010 Season — February 4, 2010.