Lesboek US_CAN

How do you get a new tulip variety?
Just imagine that a plant breeder has a tall yellow tulip. Everyone thinks that its color and shape are wonderful. The only problems
are that its stem is not strong enough and the plant blooms too late in the spring. But the plant breeder also has a short white tulip.
Its shape isn’t as pretty but it blooms earlier in the spring. The plant breeder then crosses these two tulips. We call this ‘hybridizing’.
He puts a little pollen from one flower onto the pistil of the other flower.
Hybridizing tulips
He then collects seed from that plant. He plants this seed to produce bulbs. About five years later, these bulbs will bloom. This is
when the plant breeder finally gets to see whether he will get what he wants: a tulip with the right characteristics of both the yellow
and the white tulips. In this case, it would be a tulip that flowers early, is short and has beautifully shaped yellow flowers. As you can
see, this is quite a long and complicated process. The plant breeder has to know exactly what he is doing and needs to have a lot of
patience, too. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get anywhere!
From growers to gardens
Where do these flower bulbs go next?
Many are sold in countries outside of the Netherlands. They could be sold directly to a company that will export them. But many
bulbs are also sold at auction. Dutch flower bulbs are bought primarily in countries where winters are cold. This generates a lot
of money for the Netherlands. The Dutch government is thus very pleased that so many flower bulbs are grown in the Netherlands.
Many of these flower bulbs are sold to people with gardens. They buy them in a shop or garden center. Many people also buy
flower bulbs from a webshop.
Flower production
Many flower bulbs are sold to flower growers. These are people who buy bulbs to force them into flower. Instead of growing the
bulbs, flower growers use the bulbs to produce flowers. Most flower bulbs bloom in the spring. So how can you see tulips for sale in
shops at Christmas? This is the work of the flower growers. In their greenhouses, they adjust the temperature and humidity to get
the bulbs to bloom earlier than they would in a garden. Some of the bulbs are planted in the greenhouse right away. Others are
planted in boxes and put into a room where the temperature is kept cold. This is because bulbs need to be exposed to cold
temperatures first. Once they have been in the cold long enough, they are placed in the greenhouse where they will quickly produce
flowers. What happens to the bulbs once the flowers are harvested? These bulbs cannot be used again. Their rapid growth has
weakened them too much, so they are thrown away.
Teacher’s guide www.bulbs4kids.com
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