Big Wide Experiment

From Alaska to North Carolina students have planted tulip gardens using the same scientific protocol. Join them by planting a test garden of your own.

Students measuring planting depth — Students plant tulips 7” deep in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Photo by Jessica Sherman.

Time for Planting

How will local microclimates in the city and in the country affect when tulips emerge? What will happen if we plant bulbs deeper? Your tulip garden can become a springboard for your questions about planting, climate, and geography.

New Hampshire: “We planted 60 tulip bulbs correctly and 5 wrong to see what will happen.”

Massachusetts: “We planted the tulips in sunny weather. We’re hopeful for spring.”

West Virginia: “Kindergarteners at Shepherdstown planted 100 tulip bulbs. We first explored the inside of a bulb.”

Alaska: “We planted 25 tulips in the rain for the tulip project!”

Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania

Plymouth, Massachusetts

Bulbs: The Inside Story

You have already examined your tulip bulb; weighed, measured, and cut it open. Now learn more about each part of the bulb. Use this step by step slideshow to learn how each part has a unique function for this plant storage structure.

What is a Bulb?
A bulb is a specialized plant storage structure that contains everything the plant needs to survive winter and grow in the spring.

Cut open your bulb and look inside. Do you see the flower bud? This tiny bud will grow into the big red flower of the Red Emperor tulip. Why do you think it is found in the center of the bulb?

Find the Flower Bud
Cut open your bulb and look inside. Do you see the flower bud? This tiny bud will grow into the big red flower of the Red Emperor tulip. Why do you think it is found in the center of the bulb?

When you cut open your bulb, did you notice that it was kind of wet and a little juicy? A bulb’s thick, fleshy leaves, called scales store food and water to keep the bulb alive in cold and dry conditions.

Thick for a Reason
When you cut open your bulb, did you notice that it was kind of wet and a little juicy? A bulb’s thick, fleshy leaves, called scales store food and water to keep the bulb alive in cold and dry conditions.

The stem looks very short in the bulb, but it will grow and expand as spring arrives. This part of the bulb is very important. The compressed basal stem connects the scales, flower, and roots. New little bulbs will form from this basal stem as the tulip grows older.

Holding it All Together
The stem looks very short in the bulb, but it will grow and expand as spring arrives. This part of the bulb is very important. The compressed basal stem connects the scales, flower, and roots. New little bulbs will form from this basal stem as the tulip grows older.

Roots emerge from the bottom of the bulb at the beginning of the growing season. Are the roots on your bulb short and stubby, or have some started to grow?

Stubby Roots
Roots emerge from the bottom of the bulb at the beginning of the growing season. Are the roots on your bulb short and stubby, or have some started to grow?

The tulip bulb is wrapped in a thin papery layer. This covering is called the tunic. It protects the leaf scales of the tulip bulb. What ways do you think the tunic might protect the bulb?

Wrapped in a Tunic
The tulip bulb is wrapped in a thin papery layer. This covering is called the tunic. It protects the leaf scales of the tulip bulb. What ways do you think the tunic might protect the bulb?

Now you know all the parts of the bulb and have learned how their form helps the tulip survive. This photograph helps show what real bulbs look like. How is your bulb similar or different from this picture?

A Look at Your Bulb
Now you know all the parts of the bulb and have learned how their form helps the tulip survive. This photograph helps show what real bulbs look like. How is your bulb similar or different from this picture?

Your tulip bulbs will sit underground until spring arrives. Its specialized plant parts will protect it. In the spring when it starts to grow, the food and water inside will help it emerge and bloom.

A Bulb with a Purpose
Your tulip bulbs will sit underground until spring arrives. Its specialized plant parts will protect it. In the spring when it starts to grow, the food and water inside will help it emerge and bloom.

Big Wide Experiment

Time for Planting

Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania

Plymouth, Massachusetts

Bulbs: The Inside Story

Companion Resources

Tulip Maps Fall 2017

North America

Report Your Sightings

Eurasia