We have forced bulbs to bloom before they naturally would and now and early spring is the perfect time to force those shrub and tree blossoms to enjoy in the house. I believe we do these things to satisfy our need for fresh flowers in times when nature is still either dormant or slowly waking up. I suppose this is one of the reasons someone invented plastic or fabric flowers. I’m afraid I do not like either and always feel a room is dead without a living plant or flowers so, however we can obtain them is important to me!

The last two weeks have been a mad scramble to dig up and move my deer (yes, deer) depleted roses and clean up the remnants of winter. We are no longer strong enough to spring prune the apple trees so Caleb came to take care of that job and in so doing there were many branches with blossom buds that could be salvaged for early bloom. That got me thinking about how many hardwood flowers can be encouraged to bloom in April or earlier. Once it is possible to identify the flower buds, a twig or two can be cut and placed in water in a cool light location indoors, for however long it takes the buds to swell and open. Flower buds are generally clustered but not always. By studying a branch as buds appear it is possible to notice two kinds of buds many of which were formed in the fall of the year prior. This is the reason we prune many shrubs immediately after flowering, not before, in order to avoid cutting off the blossom, a common mistake especially with Lilacs.

Early in February I cut a twig of Forsythia just to see if forcing would work that early and it did. I have usually left it much later but knowing I can do this as my indoor bulbs start to wane, is a bonus.

In cleaning up my largest perennial border I found several branches off my Magnolia stellata, Star Magnolia had broken off under the weight of snow and ice. I trimmed them up, brought them and placed in water. They rewarded me with a few ragged but pretty white blooms.

After the apple trees and cherry tree were pruned I gathered up some branches and they too are in water fattening up their flower buds a month before they would naturally burst open.

It is possible to try doing this with many trees and shrubs. It is a matter of just thinking about it and doing it. Even without blossom many leaves are beautiful to watch open inside the house. Horse chestnut leaves are especially beautiful. Willow is a no fail option and the branches will form roots in a very short time giving you more plants if you have room for more willow plants!

When pruning in the spring, have fun bringing some of those branches inside to see what surprises they will give you.