Check out Ottawa's tulip festival earlier rather than later, experts say
Horticulture experts are recommending Canadian Tulip Festival visitors go toward the start of the annual event next month rather than its end as organizers brace for an early bloom.
The festival runs May 10 to 20. Hundreds of thousands of tulips of different colours will bloom around Ottawa-Gatineau, with a hub around Dows Lake.
DON'T MISS: Take in the breathtaking blooms at Canada's largest tulip festival
Since mid-March, Ottawans have noticed tulips poking up out of the ground ahead of schedule, which experts attribute to humans warming the planet.
"If it's cold, things slow down, they come later. If it warms up, they speed up, they come earlier," said Ed Lawrence, who took calls about gardening on CBC Radio for 40 years.
His recommendation is to check out the tulips between weekends about midway through the festival.
(Submitted by Tina Liu via CBC)
Strathmore, which has a contract to maintain the tulips, said the expectation is an early bloom.
The flowers were planted as normal so they would begin blooming on Mother's Day May 12, according to Colleen Hulett, a horticulturalist who works with Strathmore.
A warm March coupled with a lack of snow is leading the tulips to pop up early, she added.
Although her team isn't sure when the tulips will bud, Hulett said they think it will happen May 1.
"Maybe the first weekend's going to be beautiful, but they might be gone by the second weekend," Hulett said.
"We're hoping that there will be some blooms on the second weekend, but it is a different year."
Plans for early bloom
Tina Liu, a senior landscape architect who has worked with the National Capital Commission for 15 years, oversees 120 flower beds in 30 different sites.
Liu said that she and her colleagues have noticed changes in Ottawa's climate and have adjusted their floral program so it's more resilient.
(Getty Images/J Duquette/1752749435-170667a)
This year, the tulips are about a week-and-a-half ahead of schedule, Liu said.
Part of solving that challenge is creating flower beds with a mix of tulips that bloom at different time so the beds stay full.
"By mixing the different groups, you would be able to extend the display time from two weeks to up to four weeks," Liu said.
Liu and her team have also tweaked the ratio of early, mid and late-season tulips.
Now, about 20 per cent of the bulbs they plant are early bloomers and the rest are late-season bulbs, Liu said. She expects the early season tulips to start blooming in the first week of May.
Lawrence also recommends people check the weather and plan accordingly if temperatures drop and delay the bloom.
"If we get another cold snap, and that's possible, then things are going to just sit there and wait."
WATCH: Enjoy this world-famous garden while it's in full bloom
Thumbnail courtesy of Getty Images/Myriad Stars/145997552-170667a.
The story was originally written by Benjamin Lopez Steven and published for CBC News. It contains files from Natalie Stechyson and Zenith Wolfe.
