Pruning Spring Flowering Branches

This is the time of year when garden pundits tell their disciples to bring in branches of forsythia, pussy willow or flowering quince for indoor bloom.

A minority of those disciples will follow orders; the rest (and I am one of them) will wish they had actually planted some of those spring flowering shrubs last year or the year before so they could reap the rewards.

So this year I vow to make it my business to order flowering shrubs. They add to the beauty of the garden, and require less maintenance than most mixed borders. And, as far as maintenance goes, flowering branches help maintain human mental health in late winter and early spring. That alone makes them worth a little forethought.

But suppose you, like my husband, just can’t stand the chromium yellow color of the average forsythia. The answer is, of course, White Forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum). This native of Korea sports flowers that are shaped just like those of a conventional yellow forsysthia, but they are pink in bud and white once the buds have opened. The flowers are slightly fragrant, and cut branches respond to forcing in the same way as other forsythias.

If pastel colors leave you cold at the end of winter, the answer just may be Flowering Quince. Known to the botanists as Chaenomeles speciosa, Flowering Quince is a relatively small shrub that shines in the early spring. The ‘Texas Scarlet’ cultivar has bright red flowers and long branches that are perfect for cutting. Eventually the plant also produces tart fruit, which is nice if you or a relative like to make quince jelly.

Everyone talks about witch hazel, but I know few people who actually grow it. This may be because while the fragrance is wonderful, the flowers look rather ragged. For something a