4.67 lakh tulips to bloom in NDMC, DDA parks; MCD gardens to miss out again

As many as 4.67 lakh tulips will bloom in the parks maintained by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) as the ones under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will remain without the seasonal flowers for the second consecutive year.

The NDMC has placed orders to import 467,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands for the upcoming winter season. Of these, 300,000 bulbs will be used in NDMC-maintained parks, prominent roads and other public spaces, while 167,000 bulbs have been ordered for DDA parks and other key locations across the city, senior NDMC officials said.

The bulbs are generally planted in December, with the flowers beginning to bloom towards the end of January. The flowering season typically continues until late February to early March, adding vibrant colours to the capital’s parks, roundabouts and prominent roads.

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Why MCD parks will not have tulips

According to MCD officials, maintaining tulips in public parks has proved challenging, particularly owing to damage caused by miscreants.

In 2024, the civic body planted around 25,000 tulip bulbs in its parks. However, several flowers were reportedly damaged or plucked before visitors could see them.

Following this, the MCD decided against procuring tulip bulbs last year and has maintained the same approach this season.

NDMC prepares for the season

Meanwhile, the NDMC is preparing to plant tulips across its designated locations. The process of preparing flowerbeds in parks and other public spaces is expected to begin soon.

NDMC began importing tulip bulbs in 2017 at a cost ₹25 per unit. The civic body also attempts to reuse some of the bulbs from the previous season.

An official explained that once the tulips are harvested after blooming in February-March, their bulbs are harvested and stored in a climate controlled storage chamber at temperature varying from 15-20 degree Celsius for three months till July.

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How tulip bulbs are stored and reused

“They are later kept under a low temperature of 5-6 degree Celsius for 10 weeks till the first week of October. Around the first week of October these bulbs are put in the production chain by sowing them in a growth chamber at temperature 17-20 degree Celsius with the aim to increase the size of bulbs to at least 10cm,” official explained.

The NDMC began tulip plantation in 2017, when it began with a pilot project of 17,000 bulbs. It purchased 62,800 bulbs in 2021, 1.4 lakh in 2022, 2 lakh in 2023, and 3.25 lakh in 2024.