Unseasonably warm weather has accelerated the scheduling of Garvan Woodland Gardens' annual Tulip Extravaganza by a full month.
The floral display, featuring more than 100,000 tulips on the botanical garden's grounds, will begin near the end of February this year after the flowers bloomed earlier than years past.
Garland County has seen above-average temperatures this month, while other areas of the state have tied or broken records, according to the National Weather Service. This caused early blooming from the tulips, which are planted after 10 weeks of cold treatment, Minnie Shelor, Garvan's garden manager, said Monday.
Shelor said in order for the bulbs to produce a healthy flower, they must spend enough time planted in cooler weather. Sherre Freeman, Garvan's marketing director, cited a temperature of 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit when planted. Otherwise, the plant could experience growth problems, Shelor said.
"There isn't anything you can do unless you just keep the bulbs in the chiller and just wait to plant them until later," Shelor said. "That's not good on the bulbs, because they don't set up a good root system. They do need some grow time in the ground when it's cooler."
Shelor said this year's new bulbs were put in the ground around Dec. 12, about two weeks later than they are usually planted. Even with the delayed planting, the first tulip opened Feb. 6. As of Monday, 90 percent of the bulbs were showing full foliage, with 5 percent showing color.
Shelor said the acceleration is a combination of early blooms and weather patterns. February's temperatures, which have consistently stayed warmer than usual in Garland County, have allowed for the tulips to bloom at a quicker rate than in years past. Shelor cited earlier blooms than that of last year, which saw a similar trend due to unseasonably warm weather.
Shelor said the tulips, which usually take on a uniform appearance, may differ in height in this year's display. She said the bulbs that have been in the ground from the year before may produce shorter stems than those that have been chilled and planted in December. This is due to not having a natural cold treatment, which would have happened had temperatures been cooler.
Though Shelor did not express any concerns about the health of the flowers themselves, she said the early and rapid pace of the blooming could potentially have a negative effect on Garvan's usual visitation trends. She said the blooms usually are at their peak during Arkansas' spring break, which leads to an increase in visitation from visitors from "all over the world." She said it appears this year's blooms will begin to lessen both in substance and color around that time, which could potentially mean fewer visitors to Garvan.
Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison said that although spring break tourists will still be able to enjoy other seasonal activities, such as live racing at Oaklawn Park, it is unfortunate the weather has negatively affected the garden this year.
"The weather some years affects Oaklawn. This year, it hasn't affected the track so far, but it's gonna affect Garvan Gardens," Arrison said.
In order to bring in as much visitation as possible, Freeman said Garvan will begin updating its social media in relation to the Tulip Extravaganza.
"We do a lot of posting on Facebook and on Instagram, and taking pictures of what it looks like each week," Freeman said. "When it gets into the peak of the bloom, we're gonna do pictures two or three times a week on our Facebook page so that people can go and see what it looks like and decide when they want to come."
Arrison said that in spite of the indirect negative effects of the weather, he sees the garden making up for the loss in other ways, including its treehouse project, which is set to begin construction within the year.
"I know that with the treehouse coming and the other great things going on at Garvan, they'll make up any business they'll lose over spring break," Arrison said.
Local on 02/21/2017