Every year, around late winter or early spring, there comes a point where I’m longing for flowers and greenery to break up the greyness outside. Forcing forsythia branches is one of my easy to-dos. I simply select a few branches brimming with buds, and in a few days, flowers appear. This technique allows me to bring a little bit of spring indoors to enjoy on my mantle or dining room table.

Forsythia isn’t the only spring-flowering shrub that can be used to encouraged to bloom indoors. You can use this technique with any early-spring deciduous bloomer, like dogwood, cherry, and magnolia.

What is meant by saying “forcing forsythia?”

The term “forcing forsythia” (or any other tree or shrub) means cut branches are brought into a warm environment, prompting them to bloom. After a spring-flowering tree or shrub has bloomed, they will form their flower buds for the following year before the plant goes dormant over the winter.

In late winter, you’ll likely see your spring-flowering trees and shrubs covered in flower buds, just waiting for the warmth of spring to open. You can sacrifice a few by bringing some of those branches indoors and placing them in water.

It’s important to note that if you’re going to prune these spring-flowering trees and shrubs, it’s important to do so right after they’ve finished blooming. That way you won’t be inadvertently removing next year’s branches and buds if you were to do this task later in the growing season.

How to cut forsythia branches to bloom indoors

Gathering branches is quite simple. Preferably on a day that’s above freezing, head outside with a pair of sharp hand pruners and select your branches. Be sure not to take them all from one spot. You don’t want to remove all the lovely soon-to-be blooms from your shrub.

Be selective. I like to snip branches that seem to be out of place, maybe they’re lower on the shrub and need to be pruned anyhow, or they’re a bit wonky and stick out in a weird way from the others. I have a few forsythia bushes on my property, so I take a little bit from each.

Cut the branches longer than you need and bring them inside. Fill a vase with warm water, and trim the branches to size. Before arranging them in the vase, make some small cuts up the ends of the branches. Or, give the bottom of the branch a little smush with a hammer.

Place the vase in indirect sunlight. Remember to change the water occasionally. It will take anywhere from one to three weeks for the wee buds to bloom.

I’ve also used this technique for a spring-themed outdoor container. I’ll place my cut forsythia branches that are very close to blooming in the soil of my urn. It doesn’t take long before the branches flower and grow leaves. While the effect is rather fleeting, once the flowers fade, usually there a still leaves on the branches. This provides a nice effect around a planted arrangements of pansies or tulips.

More spring-flowering trees and shrubs

• The best early-spring flowering shrubs
• Weeping trees that bloom in spring
• 21 flowering trees for home gardens
• When to prune forsythia
• How to prune lilacs