Can't Wait for Spring?

Me neither...that's why on the last day of January I grabbed my pruners and made a beeline for the forsythia bush that I started years ago from a cutting stuck in the ground. Never mind it was 20 degrees with a foot of snow on the ground, the sun was shining and that was enough for me. First, I'll tell you what I did (not necessarily what I'd tell anyone to do if I had my horticulturist hat on)...then, I'll tell you what I should have done.

I cut about 5 or 6 long branches with nice buds near the ends. I laid them down on the plowed farm lane while I took pics of a deer-damaged rhododendron and 4 depressions in the snow nearby (where the deer had retired after dinner). Eventually I went inside...branches & camera in tow. Since I had a busy day ahead, I cut each stem at a steep angle, put them in a bucket of tap water, and left them in a corner of the laundry room (a cool, well-lit room without direct sun). That evening, I did some online research to see if these branches had a chance of blooming and was so discouraged that I just let them sit in the bucket...for two weeks!

The water was starting to get cloudy by the second weekend, so I knew I had a decision to make. The buds weren't shriveled, so I cut each stem (under water) to the length I wanted and immediately put them in a large glass jar with about an inch of water in the bottom. I brought the level of water up to a quart and added lemon juice, bleach and sugar (see recipe below) as a floral preservative. I swizzled it around and set the whole "arrangement" on the counter, not far from where they were before.

I continued on with life until I returned home one evening later that week to find my laundry room in bloom! It took 23 days from cut to bloom. It's been another 5 days and if possible, there are even more blooms and the water is still clear.

Here's what I should have done according to my research.

• Waited for outside temps to warm up to at least 35 degrees F for about 3 days in a row.
  
• Mixed up the preservative water separately, letting the water sit first to allow any chlorine to evaporate. (Commercial flower preservative works as well.)
  
• Immediately put the cuttings in a bucket of warm water (not giving them a chance to dry out on the lane).
  
• Cut the stems to length (under water & at a steep angle) ASAP.
  
• Cut vertical slits in the bottom of each stem (or smashed them with a hammer) - to enhance water uptake.
  
• Removed the buds that would be under water with a thumbnail. (I got this right!)
  
• Quickly put each stem in the jar with the preservative water.

Why did I have success? First of all, forsythia is very forgiving. Perhaps the cold temps worked in my favor? Too cold to dry out in the time between when I cut them & placed them in water. Why didn't the stems rot without the preservative during the 2 weeks they were in a bucket of water? It was relatively cool, around 60 degrees. There was no direct sunlight. My water (which comes from a spring) is zapped by UV light destroying any bacteria. I did cut the stems properly, as I knew to cut at an angle to allow the most surface area to take up water. I took 'soft' cuttings rather than more woody ones (think apple trees). Plus, I may just have been lucky. I'm not saying not to follow the rules, but if you can't do them all perfectly, just do your best and see what happens. You may have to wait a bit longer for flowers or change the water more often, but hopefully you'll be well rewarded. I've just inspected the apple and magnolia trees in my yard and need to wait for their buds to swell a bit more, but will be trying them next. Meanwhile, I've cut more forsythia and am hoping they'll bloom sooner if I follow my advice.

A couple more tips:

• Select stems that shoot straight up to the sky rather than ones with side shoots. These are more green to red than the woodier branches. (Don't worry that the buds at the bottom are small, you'll cut that off unless you're creating a floor-to-ceiling arrangement.)
  
• Remember that what you prune off isn't going to grow back in that spot. Not a problem with a large forsythia, but if you're pruning a young crab apple, start by just pruning out the branches you want to remove, then take your cuttings from what's on the ground.
  
• Try forcing blooms on any spring-flowering tree or shrub. Lilacs, citrus, plums, peaches, almonds...the list goes on. It's a good way to thin things out at a time when there's not a lot else you can do outside if you live in a cooler climate.
  
• Take more cuttings than you'll think you need. Sometimes "more" is better.

Recipe for preservative water: (this works for cut flowers, too)

1 quart lukewarm tap water - let it stand for a few hours if it's chlorinated
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
1 teaspoon household bleach

Starting forsythias from cuttings:

If you're wondering if you can start a forsythia bush by sticking a cutting in the ground, the short answer is "yes". The longer answer is that you need to wait until the ground thaws enough that you can get the cutting in the soil. (Remember the air temperature warms faster than the soil in the spring, so be patient.) If you wait until the branches leaf out, there's less chance of success. Select young stems rather than old woody ones. Remove the buds that will be in the ground w/ your thumb before "planting". You can cut one long branch & make smaller cuttings by cutting it into pieces. Be sure to stick them in the ground right side up by comparing the direction of the buds on your cutting to the buds still on the parent plant. How long should each cutting be? You'll need a few buds below ground & several above. I'd not make it so long that it falls over, but long enough that you won't step on it or mow over it either. It's your choice. Finally, don't use the same cuttings you forced into bloom in the house. Get new ones in the spring while it's still cool outside, but after the frost has left the ground.

Linda Grotzinger