NEW DELHI: New Delhi Municipal Council has issued a tender to procure 2 lakh tulip bulbs from the Netherlands for planting at prominent places in its area this winter.
About 1.2 lakh tulip bulbs were purchased or imported in 2022 and 65,000 in 2021.
Sources suggest the tender cost to procure 2 lakh tulip bulbs is roughly Rs 80 lakh. To cut down on expenditure in the future, the council has sent bulbs from last year to an institute in Himachal Pradesh for indigenisation and reuse.
NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay said tulips will grace Central Park, NDMC headquarters, Windsor Place roundabout, Shanti Path, Talkatora Garden, the vicinity of the Vice President’s Bungalow (Akbar Road and Maulana Azad Road), and 11 Murti, among other prominent areas.
“Tulip bulbs will grow into flowers of a variety of colours – from white, yellow, red, pink, orange, purple, and even yellow-red and white-red. We will also grow yellow and white lilies in the NDMC area,” said Upadhyay.
Usually it takes two months to procure tulip bulbs. These are then kept in quarantine for 15 days. Plantation of bulbs starts in mid-December. It takes another 15-20 days for them to break dormancy and sprout.
“Tulips typically begin to bloom a week before the arrival of spring, with a blooming period extending up to 25 days, contingent upon weather conditions. Tulip bulbs need a minimum chilling temperature of 5 degrees Celsius for at least 15 days to break dormancy. Despite the challenges, NDMC has been successfully planting them in its areas for five years,” said Upadhyay.
About 50% of the tulip bulbs planted in Lutyens’ Delhi last year were preserved in cold storage after they finished flowering.
“The flowers were harvested by horticulture staff after the stems had dried. The bulbs were carefully picked after the maturation cycle in February-March,” said Upadhyay.
These were later transported to the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. Trials are being conducted here to indigenise them.
“The preserved bulbs can be replanted in the next growing season. The cost of a tulip bulb is roughly Rs 34. It is expected to drop to Rs 16 after preservation, a near 50% reduction in cost. NDMC remains committed to the continuous preservation of bulbs, diminishing the need for new acquisitions,” said Upadhyay.
About 1.2 lakh tulip bulbs were purchased or imported in 2022 and 65,000 in 2021.
Sources suggest the tender cost to procure 2 lakh tulip bulbs is roughly Rs 80 lakh. To cut down on expenditure in the future, the council has sent bulbs from last year to an institute in Himachal Pradesh for indigenisation and reuse.
NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay said tulips will grace Central Park, NDMC headquarters, Windsor Place roundabout, Shanti Path, Talkatora Garden, the vicinity of the Vice President’s Bungalow (Akbar Road and Maulana Azad Road), and 11 Murti, among other prominent areas.
“Tulip bulbs will grow into flowers of a variety of colours – from white, yellow, red, pink, orange, purple, and even yellow-red and white-red. We will also grow yellow and white lilies in the NDMC area,” said Upadhyay.
Usually it takes two months to procure tulip bulbs. These are then kept in quarantine for 15 days. Plantation of bulbs starts in mid-December. It takes another 15-20 days for them to break dormancy and sprout.
“Tulips typically begin to bloom a week before the arrival of spring, with a blooming period extending up to 25 days, contingent upon weather conditions. Tulip bulbs need a minimum chilling temperature of 5 degrees Celsius for at least 15 days to break dormancy. Despite the challenges, NDMC has been successfully planting them in its areas for five years,” said Upadhyay.
About 50% of the tulip bulbs planted in Lutyens’ Delhi last year were preserved in cold storage after they finished flowering.
“The flowers were harvested by horticulture staff after the stems had dried. The bulbs were carefully picked after the maturation cycle in February-March,” said Upadhyay.
These were later transported to the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. Trials are being conducted here to indigenise them.
“The preserved bulbs can be replanted in the next growing season. The cost of a tulip bulb is roughly Rs 34. It is expected to drop to Rs 16 after preservation, a near 50% reduction in cost. NDMC remains committed to the continuous preservation of bulbs, diminishing the need for new acquisitions,” said Upadhyay.
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