It can get addictive--bringing dormant branches into the house so they can flower early is one way to get the jump on spring. Click the link to find out how!
Forsythia
Why Won’t My Forsythia Bloom?
May 25, 2014 – Posted in: ForsythiaThe forsythias bloomed later than usual this year, sometimes overlapping with the earliest lilacs--but they did bloom. If yours didn't bloom, here are some things to consider: The flowers for forsythia are set the year before they bloom. That means if you prune your shrub too late in the season, you will cut off the [...]
Climate is What We Expect;
Weather is What We Get*
April 10, 2010
– Posted in:
Garden chores,
Weather,
What's up/blooming
The weather has been unseasonably warm here. It's a great cure for cabin fever, but a worry to the true gardener. If it's this warm and dry in early spring, what will July be like? It also incites the gambling tendencies inherent in our noble profession. I wonder if we've had our last frost? (Not [...]
Pruning with a Reciprocating Saw
May 12, 2009 – Posted in: Garden chores, Tools and EquipmentCarol's done it. Mary Ann, the Idaho Gardener's done it. So has Mr. McGregor's Daughter and Cindy from My Corner of Katy and M Sinclair Stevens from Zanthan Gardens. They've all used a reciprocating saw to prune woody plants. Not only have they pruned with a recip saw, they raved about how easy it made [...]
Forsythia Pruning: Before and After
July 10, 2007 – Posted in: ForsythiaForsythia before pruning beganBack in April, I discussed my upcoming plans to prune my forsythia bush. It wasn't flowering very much, and my commenters agreed with me that it needed a heavy pruning. Some even suggested cutting the whole thing down to the ground. But I felt a little too nervous to do that. On [...]
Pruning strategy for forsythia
April 27, 2007 – Posted in: Forsythia, How-to, Plant infoRemember the forsythia I pruned so that I could force some branches? It doesn't look so floriferous out in the open, does it? (For comparison, check out the forsythias here.) When I'm faced with a plant that's not doing as well as expected, I try to analyze the situation before taking action. In the case [...]
Pruning forsythia in mud season
April 10, 2007 – Posted in: Forsythia, Mud Season, Plant infoThe standard advice for pruning spring-blooming shrubs is to prune them no later than two weeks after they're done blooming. This is because most spring-flowering shrubs, at least, all those commonly grown, develop their flower buds on the previous year's wood. So if you prune them in high summer, or autumn, you are cutting off [...]
Huh?
September 15, 2004 – Posted in: ForsythiaThis is a photo of my Forsythia 'Meadowlark' blooming--sparsely, I grant you, but nevertheless blooming--in September. If I hadn't been checking for signs of the colchicums recently planted in this area, I'm sure I never would have noticed the yellow blossoms, so it is entirely possible this shrub has done this other years without my [...]
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