Friday, March 1, 2013

Forcing Spring





I cut these branches from an ornamental cherry (or at least- that's what I think it is...but I'm just guessing) that is really full of blooms in the spring, to see if I could force them inside. That was about two weeks ago- and they have finally started blooming! This was a nice thing to do with N as well, and very easy- just cut the branches and bash up the stems a bit around the bottom- to help with water absorption, and then sit patiently and watch the buds start to swell and burst into bloom. We had some good talks about dormancy, and how the tree will 'wake up' in the warmth of the house, just like it will outside in spring. Also bashing the stem of the branch makes the green cambium layer visible- so I used that to show her that the tree is still alive, even though it looks dead. It was a good easy seasonal garden activity, that only required minimal attention from the 3 yr old, and was easy for her to understand.

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