In our last report, students in Houston, Texas were racing those in Palo Alto, California. Whose tulips will be the first to bloom? We have an update for you today. Tulips have also emerged from the ground in several new places this week. Thanks to those who sent a report. Remember, while Journey North is officially collecting reports of BLOOMING tulips, it's fun to hear about your gardens as they grow. Just send a note to: jnorth@learner.org
To report BLOOMING tulips, see the instructions at the end of this message.
Comments From Observers:
From TEXAS:
February 27, 1996
On Thursday, February 15th we had 7-8 healthy, beautiful, ready-to- open buds. We will continue to hope and water our bulbs, but it looks like disaster. The plants themselves survived the freezes, but sadly the buds did not. We will be as anxious as everyone else to find out where the first red emperors bloom.
When things turn out differently than we hope or expect, there are lots of opportunities for learning. We'll still send you a picture, my kids have been looking forward to that--but it won't be like what we had imagined on all the days we went to check our plants. The excitement of real life science is that it doesn't turn out like the beautiful pictures in the science book! Wish I had been as smart as Mrs. Green in Nocadoces, Texas to plant more than one variety. Live and learn. Ms. Leland's Class, Houston, Texas joleland@tenet.edu
From CALIFORNIA:
February 29, 1996
We were hoping for blooms this week, but our weather has been COLD and rainy for the last week. The tallest tulip bloom stalk from Ms. Surber's class is 22 centimeters. It is bright red and starting to separate a bit into petals. The tallest from Ms. Forrest's class is 17 cm. Ms. Forrest's garden is a bit shadier than Ms. Surber's so we guess that is why her tulips are not growing as quickly.
We had a class discussion about Ms. Leland's decision to cover up the tulips that were in danger of freezing and were unanimous in agreeing with her decision to do so. Our reasons for feeling that way were:
1. Her class would have been disappointed if all the tulips died.
2. It is harder for them to grow tulips where it is so cold; the weather is
against them.
3. It was fair to cover them since that is the normal thing to do in that
climate.
One suggestion was that she could have covered half, or most of the tulips
and then compared what happened to the two different groups.
We loved hearing about the weather in Cass Lake, Minnesota. Blowing frozen bubbles sounds like great fun, and we were amazing that boiling water would freeze before it hit the ground! We hope your tulips are growing well. Best wishes from the 4th grades at Hoover School in Palo Alto, California.
From FLORIDA:
February 22, 1996
Hi from Tallahassee! We planted 20 tulip bulbs, ten were planted two weeks earlier than the others. The first ten are now two or three inches tall. The second ten tulips are now about one inch tall. Sandy Beck's Students, Academic Resource Center Tallahassee, Florida beck@wane-leon-mail.scri.fsu.edu
From CALIFORNIA:
February 22, 1996
Our tulips are just breaking the ground. Some have not broken ground yet. We are patiently waiting. We are in San Diego, California.We are anxiously awaiting our tulips. Daffodils are blooming like crazy here, but the tulips are just peeking out from the dirt. Helen_Copeland_at_LGSD@ccsmtp.lgsd.k12.ca.us
From NEW JERSEY:
February 23, 1996
Greetings from the deep freeze, Oradell, N.J.! Our tulips are having a very hard time growing. Our snow only melted yesterday. We've had almost 62 inches of snow this season. Our average snowfall is usually ONLY 28 inches. We're actually about two inches from a new record. That's the reason we're in school right now, because of all those snow days.
So far our tulips look like they're still dormant. We cannot even see where they were planted. We've been reading about your tulip updates, and it seems incredible how different it is here! Luckily today it's in the 50's. That may not seem like much to you in Texas and California, but here it's the warmest day since October. We've been keeping track of the average daily temperatures, and icotherms, and photoperiods and think it will take a few more weeks until any signs of growth begin. From Miss Schaum's Thursday 5th grade Class. Oradell Public School, Oradell N.J. oradell@intac.com
From TEXAS:
February 27, 1996
We examined the ground where the tulip bulbs were planted. No sign of life. Perhaps the students planted them too deep or perhaps our heat and lack of rain has kept them from sprouting. The daffadils that we planted last year came up again this year and they are blooming now. I drove past about 600 homes in our neighborhood and not one tulip in sight! Maybe the bulbs shipped to Houston were not good. People planted them, but they did not come up!
The real sign of Spring in the Houston area is the blooming of the Azeleas and the redbud trees. Both are blooming now. The azaleas are not very pretty this year due to lack of water. The redbud trees are gorgeous. They do not have any leaves yet, but they are covered with dark pink flowers. Jane A. Holzapfel, Clifton Middle School, Houston, Texas jholzapf@tenet.edu
From OHIO:
February 27, 1996
I teach the undergraduate science methods classes for elementary/middle school teachers at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. One of the students reported finding the first tulip of the season. It was found in Bay Village, Ohio (on the shore of Lake Erie). He reported that the tulips were about three inches tall. Bill Hughes, whughes@ashland.edu
From TEXAS:
February 20, 1996
I had reported to you earlier that we didn't get any tulips planted so we don't have any results to report. Just wanted you to know that we probably wouldn't have gotten good results due to our weather--it's been very dry--no rain since last September and yesterday (Feb. 21) it was 103 degrees here. So much for winter, maybe we can try again next year!! We are located at 101 W and 30 N (approximate).Katherine Harrington, Comstock High School, Comstock, Texas khar@tenet.edu
How to Report BLOOMING Tulips
When your tulips bloom, send a Field Data Form to Journey North by pressing the button below marked "Report Field Observations". For this study, blooming is defined as the first time the flower opens so that you can see the pistils and stamens inside.
The Next Tulip Update Will be Posted on March 15, 1996
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