NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Municipal Council has begun planting 1.3 lakh tulip bulbs having kept the imported bulbs in quarantine for 12-15 days. The bulbs, bought from Holland, were planted at Shanti Path on Friday and NDMC staff visited other places where the rest will be planted.NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay said that planting the flower bulbs is always a challenge as it requires 15 days of chilling temperature of 5 degrees Celsius for the bulbs to break the dormancy and sprout.“As a safety measure, we have bought pre-treated and pre-programmed flowers that are able to grow easily even in erratic conditions,” said Upadhyay. “Last year, we planted 62,800 bulbs, but this year we have increased the number to 1.26 lakh because of the events related to the G20 summit planned in the city. Tulip flowers in yellow, white, orange, purple, blue, pink and red colour shades are being planted. And if needed, the number of tulip flowers can be increased.”Besides tulip, other flower varieties will also be planted, among them petunia, salvia, cineraria, antirrhinum, poppy, verbena, dianthus, hollyhock, nasturtium, coreopsis, linum, etc.Upadhyay said that the horticulture department was working on the concept of ‘NDMC-City of Flowers’ for the beautification of the Lutyens’ Delhi. “We have plans to organise a flower festival and a 15-day tulip festival at Central Park next year,” he said.Places where the tulips will be prominently planted include Shanti Path, Talkatora Garden, Windsor Place, Central Park, Mandi House, Akbar Road, Chanakyapuri, Lodhi Garden and Nehru Park. “Till recently, the tulips were planted only at Rashtrapati Bhavan. But NDMC has been planting them in the public areas in large numbers so that people could enjoy their exotic beauty. After two months of their blooming, we will replace them with other varieties of flowers. From February, in any case entire Lutyens’ Delhi is flooded with flowers planted in geometrical designs at every roundabout,” said an official.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/season-of-bloom-plantation-of-1-3-lakh-tulip-bulbs-starts-in-delhi/articleshow/96630697.cms