Other forms: vernalized; vernalizing; vernalizes
To vernalize is to expose a seed or plant to cold temperatures so that it will blossom. To grow tulip bulbs in warm places like South Florida, you have to vernalize them first.
Plants that require a cold period in order to germinate will naturally grow in places with cold winters — the freezing temperatures vernalize them. This can be done artificially too, if you're in a very warm region trying to grow plants that need the cold and dark in order to recharge before flowering in the spring. Botanists and farmers sometimes vernalize crops in order to grow them outside their usual season. Vernalize is from vernal, "of the spring."