By Rachel Link
As winter trudges on, many of us are already yearning for the next growing season. If you’re looking to sneak some blooms a little early, forcing branches might be your solution! Many species of shrubs and trees can be tricked into providing armfuls of flowering branches to admire indoors weeks before they would bloom outdoors. Here are our recommendations to trick spring into an early return – no searching for a groundhog’s shadow required!
You can begin forcing some types of plants indoors in midwinter, while others should be forced in late winter or very early spring. Feel free to experiment, as indoor temperatures, light, and humidity levels will also affect your success with forcing. This is a relatively low-effort task since you don’t need a lot of equipment to get the job done — just a pair of pruning shears, water, and containers for your branches.
It’s important to note that this technique won’t work for every spring-flowering shrub or tree, but here are some guidelines about what branches can be forced, and when to attempt to bring them indoors. Generally, any cultivar or species of the following plants will work, with double flowering or later types sometimes being more difficult to force than single blossoms that bloom earlier.
Mid-late January
- Cornus mas (cornelian cherry dogwood)
- Abeliophyllum distichum (white forsythia)
- Corylopsis (winterhazel)
- Hammemelis (witch hazel)
- Forsythia
Mid-late February
- Prunus (ornamental cherry, especially early blooming cultivars such as ‘Okame’)
- Chaenomeles (ornamental quince)
- Salix (willow)
- Cercis (redbud)
- Magnolia
Step 1: Acquire Your Branches
A key part of successfully forcing branches indoors is getting the timing right, also bearing in mind that most plants won’t force well unless there have been at least 6 weeks of continuously cold weather. The earlier a plant blooms outside, the earlier you can try to force it. On a day above freezing, use pruning shears to cut branches between 18”-36” in length (this is a good excuse to accomplish winter pruning as well)! When looking for the right branches to force indoors, you’ll want to choose the branches with the most flower buds. Place your selection of cut branches into a container of water and bring them inside.
