Tulips Continue to Emerge

February 26, 2020 by Team Journey North

March is just around the corner and tulips – a true harbinger of spring – continue to emerge throughout the United States.

“For an exceptionally snowy and cold February, it was surprising to find these peaking through.” Submission by Lauren. (Littleton, CO; 2/21/2020)

An Uptick in Reports

Journey North gardeners are reporting tulips starting to emerge and tracking their growth. Several gardeners have reported bulbs emerging and even first blooms!

Extreme temperature fluctuations and early emergence have also been noted; in some cases, gardeners have reported their earliest tulip emergence on record. 

From Ivins, UT: Carla said, “this has been a crazy winter. These tulips emerged today - the earliest ever here in UT.” (02/01/2020)

From Pocono Lake, PA: Paula Marie observed, “this year’s tulips emerged the earliest of the 8 years we have participated in this experiment! We anticipate our bloom date will be earliest as well. Hopefully, the temperamental  weather does not damage our Red Emperors! (02/11/2020)

From Millstadt, IL: Kathy noted, “we didn’t get out to check them last week, so they got a little ahead of us! Three bulbs emerged and are now at heights of 6cm, 9 cm, and 10 cm.” (02/12/2020)

From Ridgeway, VA: Joel reported, “first tulips up! Warm winter so far, but hopefully we had enough chilling days in December for lots of blooms. No snow so far, but it’s nice to see these guys!”(02/17/2020)

From Humble, TX: Stephanie shared, “kindergarten was so excited to find our first blooms today! They are beautiful!” (02/18/2020)

Be sure to report your sightings of emerging and blooming tulips!

Track Change

Study the map to see where there’s action!

Inspire students to think and act like scientists as they observe seasonal changes in the garden. Use notebooking sheets to record soil temperatures, measure growth, and draw and describe the garden. Provide a workplace where  they can document discoveries and record questions.