These muscles often become tight along with your neck, especially if the problem is related to bad posture. If these areas feel stiff, try this quick exercise to loosen up before the other stretches:  Stand with your feet together about two feet (0.6 meters) from a corner. Raise your elbows to shoulder height, with your forearms straight above them. Lean your forearms against the two walls. Lean forward until you feel a stretch in your chest and shoulders, but do not feel pain. Support your weight mostly with your legs, not your arms. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds. These muscles extend along the side of your neck, down to your collarbone. Besides improving neck flexibility, strengthening these muscles can aid with breathing problems, since they lift the rib cage. Here's one exercise to target your scalene muscles:  Sit up straight at the edge of a chair, with your chin pulled back to center your ears over your shoulders. Grip the edge of the chair with your right hand to stabilize yourself. If you need to, place your left hand over your right collarbone to keep it flat. Tilt your ear toward your left shoulder. Optionally, stretch further by raising your chin slightly, and turning your head toward your left shoulder. Hold for 30–60 seconds, then repeat with the other side. The trapezius muscles over your shoulder blades are important for controlling head movements. Constant tension here may cause headaches. You can stay right in your chair to exercise these:  Grip the edge of the chair again with your right hand. Rotate your head toward your left shoulder. (It's important to do this first.)  Bring your chin down toward your chest. Place your left hand on top of your head and gently press toward the left shoulder. For a greater stretch, lean your torso slightly to the left as well. Hold for up to a minute, and repeat for the other side. The name of this muscles sounds like "levitate the scapula" (shoulder blade) because that's exactly what it does. Tension here is often the cause of neck pain from sitting in one position, especially if you feel a tender spot at the top of your shoulder blade. Here's how to stretch it:  Stand or sit with a wall on one side. Bring the elbow nearest to the wall up above your shoulder. Rest it against the wall. Turn your head away from the wall and tuck your chin down. You should feel the back of your neck stretch. Use your free hand to pull your head slightly further in the same direction. As always, stay here for 30–60 seconds before trying the other side.

Summary: Stretch your chest and shoulder muscles. Exercise the scalene muscles. Focus on your traps to treat chronic headaches. Stretch your levator scapula after long periods of immobility.


If you have gone a few days to a week without rain, your forsythia could use a drink. Spray it down with a garden hose until the soil feels and looks damp. The shrub does not like frequent drenching, but it can tolerate a little excess water better than it can tolerate a long period of dryness. Note that extra watering may not be necessary during spring, autumn, and winter, when you are likely to receive precipitation regularly. If you have a particularly dry summer, though, extra watering will likely be needed.    {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/16\/Grow-Forsythia-Step-13Bullet1.jpg\/v4-459px-Grow-Forsythia-Step-13Bullet1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/16\/Grow-Forsythia-Step-13Bullet1.jpg\/aid2321458-v4-728px-Grow-Forsythia-Step-13Bullet1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":334,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"529","licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"} To promote all-around strength, use a light fertilizer with a 10-10-10 formula, meaning that it has equal parts nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Alternatively, you can use a 10-20-10 fertilizer, which contains a higher dose of phosphorus, to encourage brighter, more vibrant flowers. . Forsythia is fast-growing, so even if you prune a lot at once, the foliage and blooms grow back quickly. New flowers grow on old growth, rather than new, so you should cut the branches down as soon as the flowers begin to wither. Cut at least 1/3 of the oldest branches down until they are about 4 inches (10 cm) from the ground. Try to prune according to the shrub's natural shape to keep the forsythia looking its best and fullest. Forsythia plants are not prone to many problems, but a wayward pest or fungal disease can strike if the conditions are right. Treat the plant with pesticides and fungicides only when needed, however, since you do not need to worry about taking preventative measures.

Summary: Water the forsythia during periods of drought. Fertilizer the plant every year in early spring. Prune the shrub aggressively Watch out for pests and disease.


Finger limes are ripe when they fall easily from the branch. If you tug at a fruit and it resists coming off, leave it for another week before checking again.   You will notice small white or pale pink flowers in later summer and autumn. These will turn into your finger limes. Don’t pick them, or you will kill off the future fruit.   Ripe fruits won’t fall off the tree, so you will need to pull them off the branches.   The ripe fruits will range anywhere from 1–5 inches (25–127 mm) long. Size doesn’t necessarily indicate ripeness, so if your fruits aren’t growing very long, don’t worry! Prune from April to June, before it begins to flower again. Cultivate an open shape with 4 to 6 branches. Too many branches will make it hard for you to harvest fruit.   Use clean pruning shears and wear gloves to protect your hands from thorns. Cut back excess branches to where they start on the trunk.   Cut each remaining shoot of the tree back to less than half its length. Make the cut just above a leaf. This will keep the tree from getting unwieldy. Temperatures of 10–20 °C (50–68 °F) will keep finger limes fresh. Make sure they are dry before you put them in the refrigerator to reduce risk of rind damage. This is also a great way to have finger limes available to use all year long. Put them in a freezer-safe, resealable bag. Your frozen fruit should be good for 6 months.
Summary: Pull ripe fruit off the tree from December to May. Prune back the branches after you harvest the fruit. Refrigerate the limes to use them within 3 weeks. Freeze your finger lime fruits whole if you won’t be using them quickly.