Flowering Branches: Forcing Forsythia and More

Did you know you can cut flowering branches from dormant flowering shrubs–then bring them indoors for winter flowers? It’s easy and fun–instructions here!

I love winter.  But I still miss having fresh flowers regularly to cheer up the house.  So as soon as the Christmas poinsettia has dropped its last leaf (I am a notorious poinsettia killer), I’m looking for new winter flower options.

Of course most people know that you can pot up bulbs like tulips and hyacinths in the fall to get a Winter Bulb Garden in winter.  But another option is to cut flowering branches and bring them indoors.

Yes, many spring flowering trees and shrubs can be encouraged to flower indoors long before real spring arrives.  Forsythia, flowering crab, magnolia, plum, pear, red twig dogwood and spirea are all good candidates.

How fun is that! 

Why You’ll Love This!

Pretty.  It’s a special treat to have flowers from your yard in winter or early spring!  Yes, how great is a spray of fresh blooms when there is snow in the forecast! 

Easy.  Just head out into your yard with a pruning shears, cut a few branches and drop them in water.  Easiest flower gardening ever!

Economical.  Assuming you have an appropriate flowering bush or tree, you can get flowers for free!  And even if you’re in an apartment, you may be able to purchase them at a florist or grocery store or online. 

How to Force Branches Step by Step

Pick a reasonably nice late winter day (not like the day below), grab a garden pruner, then head out into your yard to locate your favorite flowering trees and shrubs. 

Look for branches that have flower bud swellings in addition to leaf buds (more detail on this below).  Cut a branch off at the base where it sprouts from another branch.  Check for a thin ring of green inside the bark to confirms you didn’t get a branch that died over the winter.

Bring your cuttings back into the house and fill a vase with water.  Remove anything that will be under the water to help keep the water fresher.  

Now at this point some people will give you all kinds of instructions about re-cutting under water, using water additives, and the proper environment for your cuttings. I don’t do any of this and still have success.

After this, change the water weekly–or more often if it’s getting cloudy or starts to smell bad.  Then wait for the flowers to appear.  This takes approximately three weeks, though this can vary.

Plant/Branch Selection

Most plants that flower in the spring are candidates for forcing.  This includes flowering shrubs like forsythia, decorative flowering trees like magnolias, and fruit trees like plum and pear trees. 

While many plants will flower, I think my favorites are forsythia and plums.  They’re effusive and reliable, though the magnolia, when it actually flowers, gives a stunning display.

Just remember a couple things.   First, cutting a lot of branches from a fruit tree is going to reduce your harvest.  And second, you want to enjoy the natural beauty of your flowering plants come spring, so don’t scalp them! 

It may be a good time to prune out branches you’d prune anyway, like some that are crossing other branches, are overcrowded, or are otherwise out of place.

When Can I Force Branches?

I have cut branches as early as the second week of February in Wisconsin and had success getting blossoms.  But for some types of flowers, you may have better luck cutting in early March.  When I venture out, I usually cut a variety of types to increase my chances.

Here are some notes I made about timing one year:

Feb13 (Week 0):  Made cuttings from the following trees and shrubs: red twig dogwood, magnolia, pear, crabapple and spirea.  

Feb 20 (After 1 week):  The buds are swelling slightly and turning green.  Even the tiny bits of green are cheery.

Feb 28 (After 2 weeks):  The buds have sprouted tiny leaflets and there is one notable magnolia flower bud

Mar 2 (after 2 1/2 weeks):  First full blown flower with others to follow!

Why didn’t my branches flower?

If your cut branches didn’t flower, there are a number of possible reasons.

First, you may have gotten a branch that only has leaf buds and no flower buds.  You can see the difference in the picture below where the bottom branch just has leaf buds.  The flower buds tend to be larger and “shaggier” than the leaf buds (though the leaves can be pretty too).

Second, they may have been cut too early in the season.  Most spring flowering plants have a chill requirement, where they don’t flower if there hasn’t been enough cold weather yet.  This is to protect plants from starting to flower during an early thaw then having a frost kill off the young buds.  So, you might try a new cutting later in the season.

Third some plants form flower buds in late spring rather than the fall before.  In that case, these plants aren’t suitable for winter forcing.

Final Thoughts

After my first time forcing flowering branches I wrote the following.

“This was far quicker and easier than I ever expected. Even the husband and kids were impressed. We may even plant some more flowering shrubs just to cut for winter!”

And I’ve continued to brighten my winters almost every spring since then!

Updated from the original, published Mar 3, 2012.

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