Spring Bulbs for Schools

Investigation results 2006-2013

Since October 2005, school scientists across Wales have been keeping weather records and noting when their flowers open, as part of a long-term study looking at the effects of temperature on spring bulbs.

The investigation...

This year, we are continuing to work with the Edina Trust who are funding the pots and bulbs and extending the range of the project to England and Scotland!

88 schools took part this year!

They posted their results on the web.

The long term study…

Our climate is changing and so are our seasons. Over the next 10-20 years (and hopefully more) we want school scientists to show how climate change is affecting flowering times in spring bulbs.

In the short term there is plenty for schools to study.

Huge thanks!

Professor Plant would like to thank all of the school scientists that have sent in records this year!

You are all Super Scientists!

Schools to be awarded with certificates:

• Auchtertool Primary School• Cadoxton Primary School• Christchurch CP School• Duloch Primary School• Eyton Church in Wales • Primary School• Freckleton CE Primary School• Fulwood and Cadley Primary • Harwell Primary School• Holy Family RC Primary • Hywel Da Primary School• Ladybank Primary School• Ladygrove Park Primary • Lasswade Primary School• Lever House Primary School• Manor Primary School• Medlar with Wesham CE • Primary School

• Nether Kellet Primary School• Northbourne CE Primary School• Park Primary School• RAF Benson Primary School• Rishton Methodist Primary School• Sherwood Primary School• St John's Catholic Primary School• St Nicholas Primary School• Stepaside CP School• Tor View Community Special School• Weeton Primary School• Windale Primary School• Ysgol Capelulo• Ysgol Gymunedol Dolwyddelan• Ysgol Iau Hen Golwyn• Ysgol Morfa Rhianedd• Ysgol Pencae

Each to receive Super Scientist certificates and pencils.

Schools with special recognition:

• Brynhyfryd Junior School

• Bwlchgwyn CP School

• Darran Park Primary

• Gladestry CIW School

• Greyfriars RC Primary School

• Hawthornden Primary School

• Kilmaron Special School

• Lakeside Primary School

• Llangan Primary School

• Magor Church in Wales

• Primary School

• Milford Haven Junior School

• Newburgh Primary School

• Newport Primary School

• Rhydypenau Primary School• Rogiet Primary School• St Mary's Catholic Primary School

(Wales)• St Mary's RC Primary School

(England)• Stepping Stones Short Stay

School• Thorneyholme RC Primary School• Ysgol Bodafon• Ysgol Bryn Garth• Ysgol Clocaenog• Ysgol Deganwy• Ysgol Hiraddug• Ysgol Porth y Felin

Each to receive certificates, pencils & sunflower seeds.

Highly commended schools: 

Each to receive certificates, pencils, sunflower seed & herb seeds.

• Balmerino Primary School• Blaenycwm Primary School• Britannia Community Primary

School• Coed-y-Lan Primary School• Coppull Parish Primary School• Dunbog Primary School• Freuchie Primary School• Glyncollen Primary School• Henllys CIW Primary School

• Oakfield Primary School• St Athan Primary School• St Joseph's RC Primary

School (Penarth)• St Roberts Roman Cathlic

Primary School• Torbain Primary School• Tynewater Primary School• Westwood CP School• Ysgol Gynradd Talybont• Ysgol Nant y Coed• Ysgol y Ffridd

Runner's up: 

• Balcurvie Primary School in Scotland

• Sofrydd Primary School in Wales

• Stanford in the Vale Primary School in England

Runner's up: Each to receive £40 vouchers, certificates & pencils.

Winners 2013

Williamstown Primary School in Wales

SS Philip and James Primary School in England

Wormit Primary School in Scotland

Each will receive certificates, pencils and a class trip of fun-packed activities!

Summary 2005-2013

• Here is a very brief summary of the results that we have observed since 2005.

• You can download the results to study them for yourself at www.museumwales.ac.uk/scan/bulbs

UK & Welsh data

• Since 2005 Welsh schools have been collecting data.

• Since 2011 English and Scottish schools have been collecting data.

• As a result, we have produced two sets of data, one for Wales 2005-2013 and another for the UK which compares results between different countries.

UK Results Summary

Which country was the warmest / coldest?

Tymheredd cymedrig / Average temperatures 2013

Cymru / Wales Lloegr / England

Yr Alban / Scotland

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

Blwyddyn / Year

Ty

me

he

red

d /

Te

mp

era

ture

(C

)

Which country had the most / least sunshine?

Oriau o haul cymedrig / Average hours of sunshine 2013

Cymru / WalesLloegr / England

Yr Alban / Scotland

50

55

60

65

70

Blwyddyn / Year

Ori

au

/H

ou

rs

Which country had the most / least rain?

Glawiad cymedrig / Average rainfall 2013

Cymru / Wales

Lloegr / England

Yr Alban / Scotland

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Blwyddyn / Year

Gla

wia

d c

ym

ed

rig

Av

era

ge

ra

infa

ll (m

m)

Flowers will open earliest in areas where it is both warm and sunny.

Especially during the month of February.

As a result the flowers opened earlier in Wales this year.

Dyddiad blodeuo'r Gwanwyn 2013Spring flowering dates 2013

17/03

19/03

21/03

23/03

25/03

27/03

29/03

31/03

02/04

04/04

06/04

08/04

Country

Dyd

dia

d /

Dat

e

Download the results yourself to…

Visit www.museumwales.ac.uk/scan/bulbs

•Make graphs & frequency charts or calculate the mean.

•See if the flowers opened late in schools that recorded cold weather

•See how temperature, sunshine and rainfall affect the average flowering dates.

•Look for trends between different locations.

Welsh Results Summary

Our records show that spring 2013 was one of our coldest.

Blwyddyn/Year Dyddiad blodeuo'r crocws / Crocus flowering date

Dyddiad blodeuo'r cenin Pedr / Daffodil flowering date

Tymheredd / Temp (ºC)

Oriau o haul / Hours of sunshine

Glawiad cymedrig / Average rainfall (mm)

2013 19/03/2013 29/03/2013 3.96 65 154

2012 05/03/2012 10/03/2012 6.5 74 83

2011 03/03/2011 12/03/2011 3.9 81 100

2010 06/03/2010 24/03/2010 3.94 77 151

2009 13/03/2009 07/03/2009 4.68 78 97

2008 16/02/2008 14/02/2008 5.8 83 158

2007 16/02/2007 06/03/2007 6.28 79 165

2006 25/02/2006 19/03/2006 4.48 76 66

Tymheredd Y Gwanwyn Spring temperatures 2006 - 2013

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Tach / Nov Rhag / Dec Ion / Jan Chw / Feb Maw/ Mar

Mis / Month

Rh

add

/ D

egre

es(C

)

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

From November to January it just got colder. The Met Office reported March 1962 as the coldest! 

Temperatures were very low in 2013, but not the lowest overall.

Tymheredd cymedrig y gwanwyn 2006-2013 Average spring temperatures 2006 - 2013

20132006

20072008

2009

2010 2011

2012

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Blwyddyn / Year

Ty

me

he

red

d /

Te

mp

era

ture

(C

)

2013 had less sunshine than all the other years.

Oriau o haul cymedrig y gwanwyn 2006-2013Average hours of spring sunshine 2006 - 2013

2013

20062007

2008

20092010

2011

2012

60

70

80

90

Blwyddyn / Year

Ori

au /H

ou

rs

Low temperatures and very little sunshine led to 2013 being our latest flowering year yet!

Dyddiad blodeuo'r Gwanwyn 2006-2013Spring flowering dates 2006-2013

19/03/06

06/03/07

14/02/08

07/03/0924/03/10

7/3/11 7/3/12

24/03/13

27/01

06/02

16/02

26/02

08/03

18/03

28/03

Blwyddyn / Year

Dyd

dia

d /

Dat

e

Rainfall in 2013 was almost double that of 2012 .

Glawiad cymedrig y gwanwyn 2006-2013Average rainfall 2006 - 2013

2013

2006

20072008

2009

2010

20112012

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Blwyddyn / Year

Gla

wia

d c

ym

ed

rig

Av

era

ge

ra

infa

ll (m

m)

Welsh results table 2005-2013

Blwyddyn/Year

Dyddiad blodeuo'r crocws / Crocus flowering date

Dyddiad blodeuo'r cenin Pedr / Daffodil flowering date

Tymheredd / Temp (ºC)

Oriau o haul / Hours of sunshine

Glawiad cymedrig / Average rainfall (mm)

2013 19/03/2013 29/03/2013 3.96 65 154

2012 05/03/2012 10/03/2012 6.5 74 83

2011 03/03/2011 12/03/2011 3.9 81 100

2010 06/03/2010 24/03/2010 3.94 77 151

2009 13/03/2009 07/03/2009 4.68 78 97

2008 16/02/2008 14/02/2008 5.8 83 158

2007 16/02/2007 06/03/2007 6.28 79 165

2006 25/02/2006 19/03/2006 4.48 76 66

How does the weather effect flowering times in the daffodil?

The low temperature and low hours of sunshine led to a very late flowering date.

Dyddiad blodeuo cymedrig cenin pedr 2006-2013 Average daffodil flowering dates 2006-2013

19/03/06

06/03/07

14/02/08

07/03/09

24/03/10

10/3/12

29/03/13

17/01

27/01

06/02

16/02

26/02

08/03

18/03

28/03

07/04

Year

Date

12/3/11

Cymaru blodeuo yn y cenin pedr gyda tymherau cymedrigComparing daffodil flowering with average spring temperatures

2008 2007

2009

2012

2011

2006

2010 2013

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

01/Feb 06/Feb 11/Feb 16/Feb 21/Feb 26/Feb 03/Mar 08/Mar 13/Mar 18/Mar 23/Mar 28/Mar

Dyddiadau blodeuo / Flowering date

Ty

me

red

d c

ym

ed

rig

y g

wa

nw

yn

Av

era

ge

s

pri

ng

te

mp

era

ture

(C

)

The trend shows: As temperatures get lower daffodils flower later – but there are some exceptions. Can you spot them?

What years don’t fit the

trend?

Ans: 2007& 2012

Possible explanation: Although the temperature was at it’s highest in 2007 & 2012 the flowers opened quite late. This is likely to be because the hours of sunshine remained low until March that year.

Cymaru blodeuo yn y cenin pedr gyda tymherau cymedrigComparing daffodil flowering with average spring temperatures

2008 2007

2009

2012

2011

2006

2010 2013

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

01/Feb 06/Feb 11/Feb 16/Feb 21/Feb 26/Feb 03/Mar 08/Mar 13/Mar 18/Mar 23/Mar 28/Mar

Dyddiadau blodeuo / Flowering date

Ty

me

red

d c

ym

ed

rig

y g

wa

nw

yn

Av

era

ge

s

pri

ng

te

mp

era

ture

(C

)

Cymaru blodeuo yn y cenin pedr gyda tymherau Comparing daffodil flowering dates with hours of sunshine.

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

01/Feb 08/Feb 15/Feb 22/Feb 01/Mar 08/Mar 15/Mar 22/Mar 29/Mar

Dyddiad blodeuo / Flowering date

Ori

au o

hau

l H

ou

rs o

f su

nsh

ine

The trend shows: As the hours of sunshine decrease daffodils open later – but there are some exceptions. Can you spot them?

What years don’t fit the

trend?

Ans: 2011 & 2012

Possible explanations: Although there was little sunshine in 2012 the flowers didn’t open as late as 2006 & 2010. This could be because the temperatures was very high.

Cymaru blodeuo yn y cenin pedr gyda tymherau Comparing daffodil flowering dates with hours of sunshine.

2013

2010

2006

2011

2012

2009200

7200

8

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

01/Feb 08/Feb 15/Feb 22/Feb 01/Mar 08/Mar 15/Mar 22/Mar 29/Mar

Dyddiad blodeuo / Flowering date

Ori

au

o h

aul

Ho

urs

of

sun

sh

ine

How does the weather effect flowering times in the crocus?

Dyddiad blodeuo cymedrig crocws 2006-2013 Average crocus flowering dates 2006-2013

25/2/06

16/2/07 16/2/08

13/3/09

06/3/103/3/11

05/03/12

19/03/13

27/01

01/02

06/02

11/02

16/02

21/02

26/02

03/03

08/03

13/03

18/03

23/03

Blwyddyn / Year

Dy

dd

iad

/ D

ate

The low temperature and low hours of sunshine led to a very late flowering date.

Cymaru blodeuo yn y crocws gyda tymherau cymedrig Comparing crocus flowering with average spring temperatures

2012

2009

20112006

2007 & 2008

20102013

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

01/Feb 06/Feb 11/Feb 16/Feb 21/Feb 26/Feb 03/Mar 08/Mar 13/Mar 18/Mar 23/Mar 28/Mar

Dyddiad blodeuo / Flowering date

Tym

her

edd

blo

deu

o c

ymed

rig

(C) A

vera

ge

spri

ng

tem

per

atu

re (C

)

The trend shows: Generally, as temperature gets lower, crocus flowers open later – but there are some exceptions. Can you spot them? What might be the cause?

Cymaru blodeuo yn y crocws gyda tymherau cymedrig Comparing crocus flowering with average spring temperatures

2012

2009

20112006

2007 & 2008

20102013

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

01/Feb 06/Feb 11/Feb 16/Feb 21/Feb 26/Feb 03/Mar 08/Mar 13/Mar 18/Mar 23/Mar 28/Mar

Dyddiad blodeuo / Flowering date

Tym

her

edd

blo

deu

o c

ymed

rig

(C) A

vera

ge

spri

ng

tem

per

atu

re (C

)What years don’t fit the

trend?

Ans: 2012

Possible explanation: Although the temperature in 2012 was very warm the flowers didn’t open until March. This is likely to be because the hours of sunshine were in the low 60s until March.

The trend shows: Generally, when there is less sunshine the crocus flowers open later – but there are some exceptions. Can you spot them?

Cymaru blodeuo yn y cenin pedr gyda tymherau Comparing crocus flowering dates with hours of sunshine.

2007

2008

2006

2011

2012

2010

2013

2009

60

65

70

75

80

85

01/Feb 08/Feb 15/Feb 22/Feb 01/Mar 08/Mar 15/Mar 22/Mar 29/Mar

Dyddiad blodeuo / Flowering date

Ori

au o

hau

l H

ou

rs o

f su

nsh

ine

What years don’t fit the

trend?

Ans: 2009,2011 & 13

Possible explanations:

Temperatures were very low in 2011 and 2013.

Temperatures were fairly low in 2009.

Cymaru blodeuo yn y cenin pedr gyda tymherau Comparing crocus flowering dates with hours of sunshine.

2007

2008

2006

2011

2012

2010

2013

2009

60

65

70

75

80

85

01/Feb 08/Feb 15/Feb 22/Feb 01/Mar 08/Mar 15/Mar 22/Mar 29/Mar

Dyddiad blodeuo / Flowering date

Ori

au o

hau

l H

ou

rs o

f su

nsh

ine

Finding a trend is quite difficult but some things are clear…

The bulbs rely on both sunshine and warmth in order to flower.

Our seasons are becoming more unpredictable as our world is getting warmer.

Download the results yourself to…

Visit www.museumwales.ac.uk/scan/bulbs

•Make graphs & frequency charts or calculate the mean.

•See if the flowers opened late in schools that recorded cold weather

•See how temperature, sunshine and rainfall affect the average flowering dates.

•Look for trends between different locations.