NDMC to expand tulip chamber at Lodhi Garden to boost local bulb yield

According to officials, the new chamber will be spread over 540 square feet (sq ft) and will have the capacity to store over 200,000 tulip bulbs.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will expand the climate-controlled storage-cum-propagation chamber at its high-tech nursery in Lodhi Garden in a bid to boost the proportion of locally propagated tulip bulbs, senior civic officials said. 

The tulip facility at the nursery was launched in 2023. (HT Archive)

According to officials, the new chamber will be spread over 540 square feet (sq ft) and will have the capacity to store over 200,000 tulip bulbs or other exotic bulbous species. The facility will regulate humidity, temperature, and ethylene exposure for plant storage. NDMC has invited bids for the project, estimated to cost ₹50 lakh, with a construction timeline of two months. 

The civic body had developed its first such chamber in 2023 to promote the indigenisation and reuse of harvested tulip bulbs. “The harvested tulips are propagated in a controlled environment by altering relative humidity, temperature, light, and exposure to ethylene,” an official said. 

Tulip plantation in the NDMC area generally begins in the second week of December, and it takes 30–40 days for the flowers to bloom. “It is observed that the flowers bloom fully in the month of February, sometimes by early March. After the blooming cycle is complete, the plant is allowed to dry up for several weeks,” the official added. 

Since the start of the indigenisation project in 2023 to reduce reliance on imported bulbs and promote indigenisation, NDMC has been working to increase the share of locally propagated bulbs. During the upcoming winter season, it aims to plant 50,000 locally grown tulips, accounting for nearly 10% of the approximately 513,000 tulips planned across Delhi.

Of these, 29,000 bulbs have been developed at the Lodhi Garden propagation chamber and 21,000 bulbs by the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT–CSIR) in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, using bulbs harvested earlier in Delhi. The Tulip growth-cum-storage chamber was inspected by lieutenant governor VK Saxena on October 14, who directed NDMC to enhance its production capacity. 

Tulips were first introduced in the NDMC area in 2017–18, when 17,000 plants were planted. This number rose to around 130,000 in 2022, about 200,000 in 2023, and roughly 325,000 in 2024. “This year we have planned to import about 517,000 bulbs for NDMC and DDA areas, of which around 325,000 will be used by NDMC and roughly 192,000 by DDA,” an official said. The flowers will be planted at Shanti Path Lawns, Gyarah Murti, Mandi House roundabout, VP House roundabout, Lodhi Garden, and Talkatora Garden, among others.