While the garden is in the grip of winter there will be no flowers to cut and bring indoors, but there is a way that we can anticipate the arrival of spring. Stems from plants that have set their buds during the autumn can be brought indoors and forced to produce their blooms. This article by Julie Falk which I found on The Master Gardeners website explains how it’s done.
One of the joys of spring and summer gardening is bringing fresh flowers into the house. They add beautiful color to the indoors, and help us feel rewarded for our labors. During the cold weather months, we often feel the lack of blooms in the home. There is an easy way, however, for the dormant trees and shrubs of winter to provide fresh blossoms. It?s called ?forcing? branches.
The spring-blooming trees and shrubs set their flower buds in the autumn. They require at least eight weeks of cold outdoor temperatures under 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
So beginning in January, depending on the mildness of the particular winter, we can gather branches and follow the process that forces them to bloom indoors. The basic procedure is the same for all the spring-blooming species.
Prune out the branches you have selected for forcing. These will generally be young branches with lots of large flower buds, and they are cut at least 12 inches long. Make a few slits in the bottom of the stem, perhaps in a cross or star pattern, to enhance water absorption. Then place the branches in a bucket of lukewarm water immediately, and bring them into the house. The branches should be kept at about 60-65 degrees so they don?t warm up too quickly. Also, indoor heating may be too drying for the branches, so misting can be helpful. Dr. Leonard Perry at the University of Vermont Extension recommends soaking the branches in a tub overnight for overall water absorption, which encourages emergence from dormancy.
See more at The Master Gardeners
