Ottawa Tulip Festival: Early blooming expected

To appreciate the spectacle of tulips in bloom in Ottawa and fill your social networks with photos, it would be better not to wait too long this year, experts warn.

The Canadian Tulip Festival takes place from May 10 to 20 at Commissioners Park in Ottawa. And already, horticultural experts are warning: flowering is likely to arrive sooner rather than later.

Visitors are therefore recommended to go at the start of the annual event, next month, rather than at its end.

A few flowers have already shown the tip of their nose this week. Experts attribute this phenomenon to global warming.

If it’s cold it slows things down and everything happens later. But if it’s hotter, it’s the oppositesummarized Ed Lawrencewho answered calls from the public about gardening on the radio of CBC for 40 years.

He recommends viewing the tulips between two weekends, about halfway through the festival.

The company Strathmorewho signed a contract for the care of the tulips, explained that early flowering was expected.

The flowers were planted normally to begin blooming on May 12, Mother’s Day, according to Colleen Huletta horticulturist who works at Strathmore. A warm March and the absence of snow, however, allowed the tulips to bloom earlier than expected, she added.

Although her team doesn’t know exactly when the tulips will bloom, Ms. Hulett think this should happen on the 1st^er may.

The first weekend may be beautiful, but the tulips may be gone by the second weekendconfided Ms. Hulett. We hope there will be flowers the second weekend, but it’s a different year.

Plans for early flowering

Tina Liu, chief landscape architect for 15 years at the National Capital Commission (NCC), oversees 120 flower beds at 30 sites managed by the Crown corporation.

She and her colleagues have noticed changes in Ottawa’s climate in recent years. They therefore adjusted their floral program to make it more resilient. This year, the tulips are about a week and a half ahead of schedule, she said.

Part of the solution is to create beds with a mix of tulips that bloom at different times so that the beds stay fullMs. Liu reminded.

By mixing the different groups, it should be possible to extend the duration of exposure from two weeks to four weeks.

The head landscape architect and his team also changed the distribution between early tulips, mid-season tulips and late-season tulips.

% of the bulbs planted are early flowering tulips and the rest of the bulbs are late flowering tulips”,”text”:”Today about 20% of the bulbs planted are early flowering tulips and the rest of the bulbs are flowering late”}}”>Today, about 20% of the bulbs planted are early flowering tulips and the rest of the bulbs are late flowering, she explained. She expects the early tulips to start blooming during the first week of May.

Mr. Lawrence recommends that the public check the weather and plan their visits accordingly, especially if temperatures drop and delay flowering.

and it is possible– everything will be shifted”,”text”:”If we have a new cold spell -and it’s possible- everything will be shifted”}}”>If we have another cold snap – and it’s possible – everything will be shiftedrecalled the former garden center columnist.

With information from Benjamin Steven Lopezof CBC News