A vase of glowing, golden forsythia is just the thing to alleviate any hint of winter dullness in the house. You can cut the branches in late December or early January, and they will bloom for you just 2 or 3 weeks later. And other common garden shrubs can be forced as easily. Of course their branches at this time will appear to be only a bunch of brown twigs. But the blossoms are there, just waiting for the warmth and light your windows can provide. Here is my "smash-and-soak" forcing-routine, and also a list of other flowers and foliage which you can trick into early bloom:
On a sunny afternoon, go out with sharp pruners and gather bouquets. Try to choose branches of varying lengths and shapes to achieve the most sculptural vase-display.
Indoors, cut your material to attractive bouquet lengths. Then smash the ends with a hammer, and set them in a bucket of warm water. If branches are cloaked with ice, simply submerge them, as I do, in a bathtub of warm water. A one-hour soak will thoroughly hydrate the branches and snap them out of dormancy.
After soaking, arrange the branches in a vase of warm water. My forsythia goes in the sun on the parlor plant-stand. To my eyes, they make a pleasing picture when combined with pots of pink wax begonias and fragrant purple and white Primula malacoides.
Here, as a handy reference, is a list of colorful possibilities for winter flowers and foliage. The suggestions for timing are based on my own, zone 5-b experience:
Forsythia. Cut late-December or early-January; 3 weeks to bloom.
Honeysuckle Bush. Cut mid-January; 2 weeks to bloom.
Crab Apple. Cut early February; 3 weeks to bloom.
Flowering Cherry. Cut early February; 2-4 weeks to bloom.
Flowering Quince. Cut mid-February; 4 weeks to bloom.
Willow. Cut any time in February; 2 weeks to bloom.
Red Maple. Cut late February; 2 weeks to bloom.
Apple. Cut mid-March; 2-3 weeks to bloom.
Flowering Dogwood. Cut mid-March; 3 weeks to bloom.
(If I've missed any branches that you've successfully forced, please mention them in the comments.)
If I were you, I'd go collect an armful of "dead" twigs today. For these, in very short order, will produce at your January window a most splendid spring portrait.
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Related Posts:
A Winter Fling with Primroses
Snowdrops - A Prelude to Spring
How to Force Freesia Bulbs
Flowering Bulbs for Winter Windows
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Forcing Forsythia & Other Branches
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Beautiful arrangement, Kevin. I'm going to trudge through the slushy snow today and cut some of my forsythia. It needs this pruning, anyway.
That's good news! Someone told me that forsythia couldn't be forced until March, when the weather turns warmer. I guess your own flowering branches prove otherwise!
Kevin, just curious if you have ever tried to force lilac.
Samantha - forsythia requires only a brief chilling period outdoors -- 30 hours of below 40-degree weather. And the hours can be cumulative. That's why we can cut and force its branches so early.
Andrew - I have tried and tried to force lilac, but my efforts were in vain. If anyone reading this has had success, by all means tell us your secret!
I am fascinated by the picture of flowers on your blog. Everything looks so perfect on your blog. Keep up the good work.
Welcome, Rose! Thank you for your kind words.
That is a gorgeous, gorgeous arrangement. Think I'll do something similar, using African violets instead of wax begonias (which I don't have) to surround the forsythia vase. What do you think?
Gardenlady - I think a colorful crowd of African violets, set at the base of your forsythia vase, would look stunning! Go for it!
Kevin: I don't know which is lovelier, the forsythia, the wax begonias, or the primroses.
Anyway, I feel really inspired to cut some forsythia branches now!
Hi Kevin,
The flowers are lovely but where did you find that gorgeous table and drapes? I am trying to decorate my 1863 home that we bought last year. :-)
also, how do you manage to keep water off your hardwoods? I have a beautiful sunporch with all these hooks in the cieling. I wanted to hang furns last year but I was worried about the water dripping onto the hardwood floors.
Lisa - the table (actually it is a wrought-iron plant-stand), was purchased several years ago at an antiques market in Ipswich, MA.
Regarding the drapes. We had these made by a local decorator, who, in a previous career, worked as a costumer on Broadway. I wanted all hangings for this old house to be historically appropriate. So glad you like them.
Concerning your ferns, simply water them with ice cubes. Don't worry - the coldness won't harm your plants. As the ice melts, it will be absorbed slowly by thirsty root systems. Thus you will not encounter moisture dripping onto your floors.
And lucky you are to have a sun porch!
It will be nice to have something that makes it feel like an early spring.
I trudged through mud this morning to snip 2 dozen forsythia branches. They are soaking in a bucket now. When I get home from work I'll put them in my big cobalt-blue vase. Can't wait for the yellow flowers to sprout! I think the yellow with the blue will look stunning.
GothamDan - you probably have all kinds of twigs and branches on your property that can be forced. Why not give it a try?
Erika - Good for you! And, I think forsythia's golden flowers in your cobalt-blue vase will look nothing short of divine. Send me a picture, if you wish!