Early-Blooming Woody Plants

     Every February, I look forward to the blooming of pussy willow shrubs and silver maple trees as early signs of spring's arrival in southeastern Pennsylvania.  Both these woody plants have lovely flowers by the end of February or into early March, depending on prevailing temperatures.  They are two of the earliest plants with bark to commonly blossom in this area. 
     Lengthening amounts of daylight each succeeding day in January and February and higher average temperatures toward the end of February are the stimuli to awaken the flower buds of these species.  Those buds swell and open within a few days, lifting many a human spirit weary of winter.
     The beautiful and decorative "furry", gray catkins we see annually on pussy willows are male flowers on male plants.  Eventually those striking catkins produce yellow pollen that spreads by wind to female flowers.  Female pussy willows, incidentally, don't bear those popular catkins and are not introduced to lawns. 
     Most pussy willows I see here have been planted on lawns.  They can either be bought as complete plants from tree nurseries, or twigs can be cut from bushes before their leaves grow and placed in water.  Bunches of pussy willow stems can be bought for home decorations.  But placed in water, those still-living twigs grow roots below the water line and leaves above the water.  How do the twigs know where the water line is?  As roots grow on the twigs, add soil to the water, little by little, until the container has mud in it.  Then plant the twigs with leaves, and roots in the mud, outdoors and water until the plant is established and develops on its own.  Pussy willows grow rapidly, with many slender limbs and twigs, and need to be trimmed back at times.
     Silver maples are native trees in eastern North America.  They grow best on floodplains along creeks and rivers.  Their clusters of small flowers late in February and into early March are reddish and yellow, making silver maples decorative for a couple of weeks on their native floodplains where they tolerate occasional flooding, and lawns where they were planted.  This species can make canopies of floodplains dull-red with their blossoms, and help indicate that the vernal season has arrived.   
     Silver maples can become huge and riddled with cavities where wind ripped limbs off the trees, exposing the wood beneath to agents of decay.  Those hollows offer homes and nurseries to a variety of wildlife, including barred owls, screech owls, wood ducks, raccoons, gray squirrels and others.   
     Silver maples have deeply-lobed leaves that are silvery underneath, giving this species its common name.  Large specimens have shaggy bark; long, thin strips of bark that are loose at the ends.
     This species grows quickly, but breaks down easily, especially in wind, scattering limbs and twigs everywhere.  It is not suited for lawns.  But the sap of silver maples can be boiled down to make pure maple syrup.  Unfortunately, it takes at least 80 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, twice what it takes to make syrup from sugar maple trees.        
     Look for pussy willow catkins and silver maple flowers this spring.  They help give an emotional lift to human souls tired of the hardships of winter.