Gardening with Chesco Mom Carrie

Forcing Flowering Branches….

Well if you live anywhere near Philly you are probably ready to pull your hair out, just like me! The amount of snow we have been getting is outrageous! I feel like I am a prisoner in my own home! But no worries, I have a way to brighten up your indoors, without a trip to the florist. It’s called forcing flowering branches! You can pretty much do it to any woody flowering branch about 1 ½ to 2 months BEFORE their outside blooming time. So right now, I have my eyes on some forsythia in the back yard, and will be headed to my mother’s for some pussy willows later this week. Here’s what you do. After swiping no swiping, (sorry Dora episode flashback; I have been stuck inside for way too long with my 2 ½ year old), some forsythia; cut branches off with the biggest and most abundant buds. Try to pick a day when the weather is above freezing. Once you truck threw your 18 inches of snow and head back into the house, recut the ends of the branches. Since these are woody plants, remove about an inch of the bark from the bottom end of the branch; this will help it absorb more water. Stand them in your favorite tall vase filled with room temperature water. Then place the vase in a room that gets plenty of light, but not into direct sunlight. The room needs to be above 60 degrees, and they should bloom in 2 ½ to 3 weeks. (Oh and make sure you change the water occasionally.) Enjoy!

February Gardening To Do List

Get Lawn Equipment serviced
Prune fruit trees:
Remove damaged branches
Remove dead branches
Shape trees
Thin out branches
Leave jewelry advertisements haphazardly around
the house for the husband to find…hehehe
Order replacement gardening gloves
Paint/repair/replace garden furniture and décor
Sharpen gardening tools, pruners especially

Carrie Longacre is a Mommy to a very active toddler, Hannah, and wife to her Landscaper husband, Marc. Carrie has been gardening ever since she could walk and has a degree in Horticultural Business from Penn State University.