GET GROWING!
MAKE YOUR MOTHER’S DAY BOUQUETS LAST FOREVER
I come from the school that believes something one has paid so much for should last a lot longer than these bouquets did, writes Ladybug. Image credit: BROOKE BALENTINE on Unsplash.
By LADYBUG
Family and friends know not to bring me bouquets for Mother’s Day, birthdays or anniversaries. Not the expensive ones with exotic blooms, that is – ones from their gardens are greeted with much joy.
It’s now such a long-standing “rule” that no one even asks why, but I remember having to explain in the early days. I felt awful throwing the spent blooms after valiant attempts to make them last longer, I would say.
I’d take them all out every couple of days, snip the stems just a wee bit, put them in fresh water (after the first one in which I dissolved the packet of preservatives the flowers came with became murky and stale), along with whatever it is that I’d read would make them last a few more days – aspirin tablets, or sugar, or something else. The bouquet would steadily diminish in size, the blooms giving way to the remaining hardy foliage, but I would persist, loth to just dump the lot on the compost heap.
I come from the school that believes something one has paid so much for should last a lot longer than these bouquets did.
And then it struck me, perhaps there was a way to make them last longer. Maybe forever!
After all, I’d successfully rooted roses from my existing shrubs, hadn’t I?
Better late than never, I reminded myself when I found myself in danger of slipping into mourning for all the opportunities lost, and thus began my Project Rescue Bouquets.
First, I made a list of flowers one can root (or attempt to) successfully, starting with ones I’ve rooted from plants in my garden, and found there are quite a few.
Roses
Honeysuckle
Lilac
Forsythia
Oleanders
Hydrangeas
Asters
Chrysanthemums
All of them can be grown from cuttings, with a slight variation in process.
For roses, as I’ve shared in earlier columns, cut a sturdy stem, about 8-10 inches long. Strip it of leaves except a few on top. Dig a hole in a garden bed, plunk it in, cover with a 2-litre pop bottle from which you’ve cut the bottom with a heated knife. Remove the lid, pour in some water, put the lid back and forget about it for a few weeks. The bottle will work like a greenhouse and the stem will root. When you see new leaves sprouting, it’s time to remove the bottle and enjoy your new rose baby! This actually works like magic if started in fall, when the bottle greenhouses sit under mounds of snow and then voila! come spring, reward you with new plants.
For forsythia, lilac, honeysuckle, hydrangeas or oleanders, just cut a couple of branches or stems with nodes – you’ll see them below a leaf – peel off thin strips from the base to encourage rooting and place in water and again, basically, forget about them other than periodically changing the water. And perhaps saying a few encouraging words. Soon little roots will form, which will then develop into a healthy tangle, ready to plant. Some gardening experts recommend dipping the stems in rooting hormones and placing them in potting soil, but I’ve found that plain old water works just as well with these plants.
Asters and chrysanthemums need even less effort. Just stick stems in the soil. No fuss, no prepping. These generous plants will soon root and give you more plants.
Of course, those fancy bouquets come with blooms that may or may not root – but it’s always fun trying! And those bouquets you receive on Mother’s Day might get a new life.