March 20 was the first day of spring.
Finally the days are longer and there’s more sunshine and warmth. Still the garden is hesitant to unfurl its leaves and flowers. But rather than wait any longer, force indoors branches of forsythia, cherry, and pussy willow.
For many, the fuzzy silvery grey catkins of the pussy willow (Salix discolor) are a harbinger of spring. It is one of the easiest plants to force, which is the process of coaxing a plant to grow ahead of its normal season. My sister Jennifer Swain, known for her floral design work with Martha Stewart and for filling Sotheby’s Auction House with her floral displays, recommends that just before you submerge stems in a water-filled vase, you cut the bases for water uptake. Jennifer recommends changing the water weekly and freshly cutting bases ½ inch to allow for continued water uptake and to extend blooms.
Pussy willow is dioecious, meaning it has separate male and female plants and flowers. The flowers are known as catkins, a botanical term for modified flowers. Appearing in early spring, it is the fuzzy one-inch-long silvery gray male catkins that are showy. Oh, so typical. Whether it is a strutting peacock, flashy red cardinal, or showy catkins, males desire to be noticed.
Then again, in their own way, women get it done without all the glitz and glam. As this is Women’s History Month, it’s worth recalling that Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Women are like tea bags, you never know how strong they are until you put them in hot water.”
Pussy willow are often found along stream beds, tolerating wet soils. They provide winter interest and are loved by birds and other wildlife. They prefer full sun to partial shade, respond well to pruning, and can be trained into thick vertical hedges. They’re perfect for rain gardens, native plantings, and natural settings, as well as backdrops to ornamental planting. Plus, they are deer and rabbit resistant.
They are one of the best large shrubs for bees, because they bloom early in the year. Beekeepers often plant them close to apiaries to help bees through the scarce pollen months of March and April. Birds are attracted to pussy willow, which host many insects such as flies, leaf hoppers, cicadas, and aphids.
Pussy willow grows rapidly into thick multistem tall shrubs that provide protection, nesting, and food for a variety of birds. Goldfinches often make nests in their branches. The ruby-throated hummingbird uses the fuzz on Willow seeds for nesting material.
When forcing them indoors, Ms. Swain reminds us, we will be surprised at how quickly they sprout roots. When the weather warms up, cut the top back by half, and plant. In a few short years they will grow into a sizeable shrub that provides you with branches for forcing and spring color in the garden while offering a home to birds and a host to insects and caterpillars.
