Tulips

6 April 2007 supra, 1 May 2007 media, 28 April 2009 infra

Date.......................High.............. Record
27 April 2009........85 °F....... 86 °F (1990)
26 April 2009........86 °F....... 87 °F (1948)
25 April 2009........85 °F....... 87 °F (1990)
24 April 2009........85 °F....... 88 °F (1925)

The color and shape of spring bulb flowers are truly lovely. Tulips are often delightful in those qualities, and in fragrance. The aesthetic experience is thoroughly enjoyable; under moderate weather, they can be brilliant for more than a month. The colors can succeed each other, yellow comes first, and the darkest purple, called black, is the finale. The color palate waxes and withers. Some colors predominate, and then fall away, and other colors come to the fore. Drying, wilted tulips have a concentrated color on their curled, and contorted petals.

During their vibrancy, they open and close their blooms. The mid-day sun can splay them 180°, exposing the internal base color, which can be white, or black, or another hue than the predominate color.

They prefer the mid 50°s. Here, they just went through four consecutive mid 80°s. The first day, it surprises them, and they recover during the night; after that, the cycle is, noticeably accelerated, and the toll hits.

They can survive an early snow, especially when the bud is tight; an open bud, when capturing enough wet snow can snap the stalk. Tulips are cold hardy. Too much heat, and they mature rapidly.