Forcing spring flowering trees and shrubs is an easy three step process. Just because cherry trees bloom in the spring doesn't mean you can't benefit from their beauty earlier. In fact, if you have forsythia, cornelian cherries, flowering quince, magnolia, azaleas, crabapple, pear, pussy willow or any other early blooming woody plants you can take advantage of these tricks to force them to bloom early indoors.

The ideal time to prune them is when the buds are nice and swollen and there is color showing. If you don't see any color yet, but the buds are very swollen, take a chance and cut a few branches while you wait for the perfect time. Cut branches of a variety of sizes in order to make a well balanced arrangement later. For a large arrangement using forsythia, you can cut lengths anywhere from one to four feet long. You can also take shorter cutting for use in small, tabletop vases.

Once you have enough cuttings, bring them inside to a cool place such as your garage or basement. Fill your vase with water. Cut or smash the bottom of the branches to expose more open areas to the water to maximize the amount of water they can absorb. Depending on how close the buds were to naturally opening it may take a couple of days to a week or two for them to blossom.

In the meantime, change the water every day or two and mist the branches if they look like they are drying out. When the buds are opening, it's time to bring them inside and enjoy with the family. If you have an abundant source of branches to force use them instead of buying flowers during the winter.

Most trees and shrubs should bloom for a few days to a couple of weeks. Make sure to change the water regularly and to sweep up fallen blossoms.

Have fun!

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