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Outwitting Winter
| Article
# : |
10805 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
3 / 1993 |
2,049 Words |
| Author
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Virginia Greiner
Virginia Greiner writes a weekly gardening column for the
Washington Times. |
Flowers in the house during winter are vitamins for the soul. There's nothing like a bowl of pink tulips on the breakfast table to cheer up a drab March morning, or the scent of a spray of witch hazel in the bedroom to warm up the sight of snow drifts outside the window. There are many ways to bring spring indoors ahead of time. All it takes is a little effort and some planning.
FORCING BRANCHES
One of the easiest ways is to force plants to blossom early, no matter what the clock or the weather says.
Forsythia is a harbinger of spring as it blooms like a brilliant yellow rash across many parts of the country. But smart gardeners bring branches of this small shrub indoors to force them into golden bloom weeks early.
It is easy to do the same with branches of many flowering trees and shrubs. Good spring candidates include cherry, pussy willow, peach, pear, plum, dogwood, azalea, rhododendron, lilac, saucer magnolia, spires, wisteria, mock orange, and crab apple. Many, especially lilac, witch hazel, and mock orange, will fill dreary winter rooms with heavenly fragrance.
The right time to bring in the branches depends on the climate in your area. Look for buds just beginning to swell or show the least bit of color. Cut a branch off cleanly, without leaving a stub that could allow disease to enter the shrub or tree. Smash the stem with a hammer or slit it up a few inches to increase its ability to absorb water. Submerge the whole thing, or as much as you can, in hot water (try the laundry tub or the bathtub) and leave it overnight. Then put it in a jug of water in a sunny, warm room and wait a few weeks for the thrill of manipulated blooms.
Beware of one lovely flowering tree, however, the popular Bradford pear. Those who have tried to force it to bloom indoors complain that the beautiful white blooms somehow produce a terrible stink indoors.
INDOOR BULBS
Forcing bulbs is another way to outwit nature's timetable. Some bulbs need a preliminary chilling period of cold temperatures before they can be forced, but others cheerfully break into bloom without the big chill.
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