{"id":1886,"date":"2024-01-10T15:41:01","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T20:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shawnlvieth.com\/?p=1886"},"modified":"2024-01-10T16:19:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T21:19:24","slug":"forcingblooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shawnlvieth.com\/forcingblooms\/","title":{"rendered":"Bring on Spring! (indoors)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Once the holiday lights are down, my house really starts to look a bit dark and boring. I miss having flowers in the house during the dark days of winter. One of the little things that brings cheerful beauty inside is to bring in some cut branches. Plus, there are benefits besides the obvious. Winter pruning helps me to find a productive excuse to get outside on days when the temperatures are above freezing. Added bonus, most established shrubs can use a little yearly pruning and in most specimens, the best time to do that is during the dormant season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ll give you the basics for cutting branches for forcing. However, have fun with it. It\u2019s interesting to see how many different types of branches can be forced. You won\u2019t be hurting anything if it doesn\u2019t work so just give it a try. You will be surprised how excited you will get when the first bloom starts to open!!!! When it does, take a picture and send it to me. I will be just as excited as you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*** If the branches have not bloomed within a month, it is likely they did have enough cold weather to set their blooms. Try again! It\u2019s all about experimentation. The easiest blooms to force are forsythia and pussy willow. While trees tend to be the most uncertain. You can force blooms all the way up to the time they will naturally be blooming outside. The closer you get to their natural outdoor bloom time, the more likely and more quickly they will bloom indoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n