Journey North | Citizen Scientists Studying Plants, Climates, and the Seasons

Tulip Test Gardens

Spring is Progressing!
March 29, 2017, Mary Hosier

Tulip emergence leads to big, beautiful blooms as spring progresses. Brush up on flower anatomy this week and be ready to look at your blooms with the eyes of a botanist.

blooming tulips
"Happy day in Mrs. Stein's Gr. 2 class at West Prep!" in Toronto, Ontario. Taken on March 28th by Cathy Stein.

Bundled in winter jackets and boots, students in Ontario celebrated in their garden. Students in Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Russia also discovered tulips emerging in their Test Gardens this week.

"Our spring has been unusual. In February, we had temperatures in the high 50's. Then, snow the following week. The Saginaw Bay froze and thawed a few times this year."
Bay City, Michigan on March 24th.

"It is snowing outside, so we thought they would not emerge yet."
Emergence in Evanston, Wyoming on March 27th.

"Some tulips have emerged this week. We're so excited!"
Zelenograd, Russia on March 20th.

Spring Blooms
Spring can be rough on early-emerging tulips. Students are learning that they are very resilliant plants. It's hard to keep them down for long.

"Yesterday evening we had a terrible rain storm that beat many of the tulip plants down. Today they are slowly lifting up. In April, we will dig up the bulbs and see what has happened beneath the soil."
Franklin, Tennessee on March 26th.

McPherson, Kansas

Franklin, Tennessee

Tulip Flowers are Big and Beautiful

All flowers are made of the same basic parts. Once you learn the parts of a tulip flower, you'll start seeing all flowers differently. Let's look at a flower's petals, stamens, and stigma. A perfect flower has all of the parts needed to make its seeds.

A flower almost always has these parts. Sometimes there are lots of them, and sometimes they are fused together to only a few. In this tulip flower they are a bright red color.

What Part Am I? A flower almost always has these parts. Sometimes there are lots of them, and sometimes they are fused together to only a few. In this tulip flower they are a bright red color.

The Petals! Petals are often the most colorful part of a flower. The color acts as a signal to pollinators to come over for a visit.

What Part Am I? Flowers need these parts to reproduce. It is usually found in the center of the flower.

The pistil is the female part of a flower. It is made up of 3 parts; the stigma, the style, and the ovary. At the top is the sticky stigma. At the bottom is the ovary which holds the eggs. They will become seeds. The tube between the stigma and the ovary is called the style.

The Pistil! The pistil is the female part of a flower. It is made up of 3 parts; the stigma, the style, and the ovary. At the top is the sticky stigma. At the bottom is the ovary which holds the eggs. They will become seeds. The tube between the stigma and the ovary is called the style.

What Part Am I? A flower needs these parts to reproduce, too. Often there are the same number of these as there are petals.

The stamens are the male part of a flower. They have 2 parts; the anther and the filament. At the top is the anther. It's loaded with pollen. The tulip pollen on this anther is purple. Can you see the stalk under the anther? It is called the filament.

The Stamen! The stamens are the male part of a flower. They have 2 parts; the anther and the filament. At the top is the anther. It's loaded with pollen. The tulip pollen on this anther is purple. Can you see the stalk under the anther? It is called the filament.

All Together Now Now that you've learned the flower parts, use this flower diagram to create your own flower drawing.

Companion Resources

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Photo Gallery

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Driving Question

What is the function of each part of a flower?

Test Garden Maps

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Journey North Climate Garden Map: North America

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Next Update April 5, 2017