Spring can come early to your home. How? Just snip some branches from your flowering shrubs and force them into bloom. By now, many shrubs have flower buds that are formed and ready to bloom. There has been sufficient cold weather to break dormancy, so the buds just need warmth and moisture to burst open. This procedure is quite simple. Anyone, even apartment dwellers, can succeed with this project.

Start by selecting branches loaded with flower buds. You can identify the flower buds because they are plumper and more round than leaf buds. Choose branches that have curves or bends that will create interesting blooming arrangements. There's no need for slanted cuts or shredded stems. Ordinary cuts work fine.

Submerge the branches overnight in a deep pail or tub of water, or wrap them in a damp cloth, and put them in a plastic bag for a few days. This moistening and soaking loosens the bud scales and helps them to readily fall away as the flowers expand.

After the moistening is completed, stand the branches in a pail of water in a place where you can control the temperature, ideally 60 to 70 degrees F. Although the branches will force at higher temperatures, the color, size, and keeping quality of the blooms will be reduced. For this reason, it is also best to keep the branches out of direct sun.

Plants that bloom early are often easiest to force indoors. Also, the closer to the natural bloom time you cut the branches, the faster they will open.

In addition to the old stand-bys of forsythia and pussy willow, try some other plants. Red maple has beautiful, red flowers. Catkins are flowers too, so try alder, birch, or hazel. Foliage of some trees is spectacular when forced indoors. Try horse chestnut, birch, or oak.

Time Required to Force Plants into Bloom
Spicebush - 2 weeks
Magnolia - 3 weeks
Deutzia - 3 weeks
Forsythia - 1 week
Redbud - 2 weeks
Honeysuckle - 3 weeks
Pussy Willow - 2 weeks
Shadblow (Amelanchier) - 1 week
Privet (unpruned bush) - 2 weeks
Flowering Almond - 3 weeks
Bridal Wreath Spirea - 4 weeks

It's a good idea to buy seed and plants from local businesses when you can. But, sometimes you just can't find the variety or plant that you want. If you need to look further than your local area, here are some online and catalog sources for quality vegetable seed and fruit plants:

Vegetable Seed
Nichols Garden Nursery: Albany, Oregon
1-800-422-3985, www.nicholsgardennursery.com

Territorial Seed Company: Cottage Grove Oregon
1-800-626-0866, www.territorialseed.com

Johnnys Selected Seed: Winslow, Maine
1-877-564-6697, www.johnnyseeds.com

Harris Seeds: Rochester, New York. 1-800-544-7939, www.harrisseeds.com

Stokes Seeds: Buffalo, New York. 1-800-396-9238, www.stokeseeds.com

Totally Tomatoes: Randolph, Wisconsin
1-800-345-5977, www.totallytomato.com

Vermont Bean Seed Company: Randolph, Wisconsin
1-800-349-1071, www.vermontbean.com

Jung Seeds and Plants: Randolph, Wisconsin
1-800-247-5864, www.jungseed.com

R.H.Shumway: Randolph, Wisconsin
1-800-342-9461, www.rhshumway.com

Nurseries Specializing in Tree and Small Fruit
Nourse Farms: Deerfield, Massachusetts
1-413-665-2658, www.noursefarms.com

Miller Nurseries: Canandaiga, New York
1-800-836-9630, www.millernurseries.com

Stark Bros: Lousiana, Missouri.
1-800-325-4180, www.starkbros.com

Indiana Berry: Plymouth, Indiana
1-800-295-2226, www.inberry.com

One Green World: Molalla, Oregon
1-877-353-4028, www.onegreenworld.com

German cockroaches are the most common indoor pest, and they live primarily in the kitchen, dining room, and any area where food is prepared or served. Control requires a 3-part approach.

#1: Sanitation
Store food in insect-proof containers, wash dirty dishes, keep floors and counters clean of crumbs of food, and don't leave pet food out overnight. Without sanitation, the roaches will have a steady supply of food, and their numbers will increase despite insecticide use.

#2: Caulking
Caulking cracks and crevices, particularly in food preparation areas, removes hiding places for the roaches—making them more likely to crawl into an area that has been sprayed with insecticide. Caulking these cracks and crevices also eliminates places where food might collect in hard-to-clean areas. If you live in an apartment, caulk around water and drain pipes where they come into the apartment—this helps reduce the entrance of roaches from other apartments.

#3: Insecticide Use
Since it is almost impossible to starve a roach to death, monthly use of an insecticide recommended by your local Extension office may also be needed. Spray insecticide into cracks and crevices, along baseboards, and around cabinets, appliances, and pipes where cockroaches enter. Read and follow the directions on the label. Keep insecticide applications away from pets and children.

You'll find a German Cockroach fact sheet on the SI Gardening website, http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/regions/hort

Many vegetables classified as "very hardy" cool-season crops can be set in the garden in early spring,
provided your soil is workable. These plants can be seeded or set into the ground as plants, 4 to 6 weeks before the average frost free date, which for the southern half of Illinois ranges from April 10 to 20.

This means that as early as the first of March you could direct seed kale, leaf lettuce, onions, peas,
spinach, turnips, radish, salsify, and kohlrabi. By that same date, transplants of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, onion, and parsley can be set out, as well as asparagus and rhubarb crowns.

If you want to set out transplants early, now is the time to start these crops indoors. On average, it takes 6 to 8 weeks for cole crops such as broccoli and cabbage to be ready for setting out. Lettuce is similar, while onions take even longer, from 8 to 10 weeks. Pea transplants need only 4 to 6 weeks.

Attempts at growing seedlings often fail because of problems related to light, temperature, moisture,
growing medium, seeding depth, and spacing.

The most common problem is often lack of light. Most seedlings need 12 to 16 hours per day of bright light. A sunroom or attached greenhouse is ideal. A window, even south facing, is inadequate to grow a quality seedling. Thus, supplemental lighting is needed in most settings.

For seedling growth, a florescent (blue light) source is all that is needed. Expensive plant "grow lights" are only recommended for flowering houseplants, not for starting seedlings.

Temperature is also important—not only the air, but especially the temperature of the germinating
media. Air temperature for cool-season crops should be 60 to 70 degrees. However, initial soil temperatures should be 70 to 80 degrees for optimum germination of seeds. To increase soil temperature for germination, you can place a heating mat under the seedling flat or pots. These mats are widely available through garden supply companies. Once seeds germinate, they should be removed from the heat source to keep them from growing too quickly.

Make sure the growing media is sterile and well-drained. You can sterilize your own mix by placing the moist mixture in the oven and maintaining a 180-degree soil temperature for 30 minutes. A good, basic homemade mix is 1 part soil, 1 part compost or peatmoss, and 1 part sand, vermiculite, or perlite.

Many people buy a soil mix that is pre-sterilized. But, avoid potting soil because it can be heavy, and use a mixture that has been specifically designed for starting/growing seedlings. A good mix does not waterlog and drains easily. Sterilize containers and pots using a 1:9 ratio of bleach to water. Dip the containers and thoroughly rinse.

For seeds to germinate, uniform soil moisture is needed. Plant loss is often due to over-watering versus drying out. The soil mix, seedling growth rate, air temperature, and humidity determine how often you water. Good judgment is essential.

Never allow pots or flats to dry out or sit in water, and always water from the top to "flush" excess fertilizers from the soil. After three to four weeks, a low rate of a soluble fertilizer such as Miracle Gro^TM can be added to water to help promote new seedling growth. A quarter to half teaspoon per gallon of water is generally sufficient. Avoid over-fertilization and rank growth of the seedlings.

When planting, do not over-seed a container or thin out extra plants if you intentionally over-seeded. Young seedlings can be teased out of a "germinating flat" and transplanted to individual "cell-pack" growing trays, or you can seed directly into cell trays or individual plastic or peat pots. Plant at a correct depth, generally 2 to 3 times the seed diameter, and leave some growing room between transplants for light and air movement. For most species, a 1½- to 3-inch pot size is adequate.

The last major consideration is to allow time for "hardening off" prior to setting plants out in the weather. This process gradually acclimates the seedling from your warm home or greenhouse to the cool March weather. Without this transition time, transplants may experience growth setback. An outdoor,
unheated cold frame/greenhouse is ideal for this, or you can set flats out during the day and bring them in at night to a cool part of your house. It takes about 7 to 10 days for plants to get used to the
different environment.

Leaf and stem thickening are clues that the plants are ready to be put in the garden.

If you haven't checked out Extension gardening websites lately, it would be time well spent. Several new sites are now available, and some of the older popular websites have been revised and updated with current information. You'll find links to all of these sites on the SI Gardening website,
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/regions/hort.

Lawn Talk: The New York Times calls Lawn Talk "among the most valuable grassy reference sources on the web." The site includes information on selecting grasses, planting and maintenance issues, weeds and other pest and disease problems, and common lawn
care mistakes.

Wildflowers: This website can help gardeners incorporate wildflowers in their gardens. The wildflower directory features 144 different Illinois native wildflowers.

Annuals Evaluation Garden: See the "best of the best" annuals that were grown and evaluated right here in Illinois during 2009. You'll want to add some of these exceptional performers to your list of "must have" flowers this year.

Herb Gardening: This site contains a directory of 20 favorite herbs with planting and care information. In addition, the site contains helpful information about preserving herbs.

A Taste of Gardening: With the increased interest in vegetable gardening, this site offers new gardeners the essential information for planning, planting, maintaining, harvesting, and storing vegetables.

Illinois Manure Share: This unique website is for livestock owners, gardeners, and landscapers. The site is a manure exchange program that brings gardeners and landscapers searching for organic materials in contact with livestock owners who have excess manure. The site includes registration forms for both livestock producers and for gardeners and landscapers. There are also links to federal and state rules and regulations.

University of Illinois~U.S. Department of Agriculture~Local Extension Councils Cooperating
University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment.

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The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only.
References to commercial products, trade names, and vendors do not constitute endorsement by the
University of Illinois and do not imply discrimination against other similar products that are not listed.