Pussy Willow Time

Get ready, because it’s coming fast. Of course I refer to the rapidly advancing approach of spring.

Already, some plants have evidenced signs of growth. The dame’s rocket growing in front of my house has turned from a dead-looking, drab, graysih plant into a green, growing, vibrant one.

And, of course, pussy willows should soon enliven the scene along country roads. These fuzzy, silver catkins make wonderful dried arrangements. The key word here is “dried.” Let me digress a bit regarding how to get a full year out of the current crop of pussy willows.

As a child (I suspect that most every country kid had the same or similar experience), my grandma would loan me her Barlow knife with the instructions to go out and get her a bunch of pussy willows. This grown-up charge did lots to inflate my young ego and I dutifully went back in the woodlot to where some pussy willows grew in an opening.

Somehow, grandma always knew just when the pussy willows were at their peak for cutting. I wonder now if she didn’t go out back first, just to make sure of my success. She was crafty and filled with wisdom, although I didn’t realize it at the time.

Anyway, I would come home with an armload of long-stemmed pussy willows, the catkins plump and silvery-white.

Then grandma would select the best of the best and place them in a tall vase. And then she filled the vase with water, a mistake as I see it now.

Pussy willows and indeed most willows, readily set roots when cuttings are placed in water. This means that the ornamental pussy willows we cut and place in water will continue to grow. Eventually, the catkins become covered with yellow pollen, the leaves begin to fill out and the cuttings no longer resemble the original product. There is a way around this.

Cut the willows and place them in a vase, minus water. That’s it. They will dry in only a week or perhaps less. And they retain their appearance for as long as we wish for them to. The only problem is that dust accumulates on them after about a year and it is hard to dust pussy willows without breaking off the catkins.

But that’s no problem, because by the time the old ones have become dilapidated looking, the next year’s crop is ready for cutting.

So keep your eyes peeled for that favorite stand of pussy willows and if you want a long-lasting bouquet, just hold the water, please.