Gardens by Design

A Landscape should be Stimulating all Four Seasons:
flowering perennials and ornamental grasses on a warm summer day, colorful foliage in the fall, and berries, seed heads, and evergreens in the winter.

Connecticut Gardening Columns for 2009 > Spring Blooms in Winter

Spring Blooms in Winter

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold:  when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. -- Charles Dickens

Now that the snow covering is gone for the first time in months many of us are starting to think about our spring gardening plans.  Others may just be feeling that winter seems to dragging on for what seems like an eternity.  The perfect remedy is to bring some spring color into your home by forcing some branches from your favorite spring-blooming shrubs.  Almost any shrub that blooms in the spring is a candidate to force in the home. Try experimenting with the types of shrubs planted in your yard. After a couple of weeks, the branches will burst into bloom and this is a sure way to get your spring fever in full swing. It is very satisfying to sit in your breakfast room in the morning and observe the daily progress of forsythia buds as they swell and burst open. It would be hard to find a more economical way to raise your spirits. 

Early spring flowering trees and shrubs form their flower buds in the fall before the plants go dormant. After a period of at least 8 weeks of temperatures below 40 F (usually the beginning of February in  Fairfield county) branches can be cut and forced into bloom. Most flowering shrubs are fairly easy to force, while trees are more difficult. The later in winter you cut the branches, the shorter the forcing time becomes.

Gathering Branches

It's best if you cut the branches when the temperatures are above freezing which will keep the buds from bursting prematurely after you bring them inside.  Select healthy young branches with numerous flower buds. Flower buds are round and fat, whereas leaf buds are smaller and pointed. When cutting fruit tree branches, choose those that have many spurs, the short compact side shoots which bear the flowers. Choose branches from crowded areas of the plant when possible, since you will be removing some of the plant's natural spring display. Follow good pruning principles when cutting the branches. Cut about 1/4 inch above a side bud or branch so that no stub is left behind. Cut the branches about 6-18 inches long; longer branches are easiest to use in floral arrangements.

Getting Branches to Bloom

After bringing the branches indoors, fill a sink with very warm water-as hot as you can stand it without scalding your hands. Very warm water is important because it contains the least amount of oxygen. If oxygen gets into the stems it can block water from being taken up, thus preventing hydration. Hold the stems underwater and recut them at a severe angle an inch or two above the original cut.  Then place the branches in a bucket or large vase of room temperature water. Beautiful blooms will begin to appear within a few weeks. Place the container in a cool location but don't put them in direct sunlight. Be sure the arrangement has an ample water supply at all times. To prolong its beauty, place the arrangement in a cool location, particularly during the evening.

By cutting several branches each week as winter turns to spring, you can have a continuous show of color during February and March and right into spring.

 

Common Name	Latin Name	Bloom Color	Time to Cut	Time to Bloom
Serviceberry	Amelanchier	White	Feb-Mar	1-3 wks
Eastern redbud	Cercis canadensis	Pink - purple	Mar	2-3 wks
Flowering quince	Chaenomeles	Org, red, or white	Feb-Mar	4 wks
Flowering Dogwood	Cornus florida	Yellow	Mid-Mar	2 wks
Cornelian Dogwood	Cornus mas	Yellow	Jan-Mar	2 wks
Forsythia	Forsythia	Yellow	Jan -Mar	1-3 wks
Fothergilla	Fothergilla	white	Feb	2-3 wks
Vernal witch hazel	Hamamelis vernalis	Red or yellow	Jan-Feb	1 wks
Mountain laurel	Kalmia latifolia	White/pink/rose	Mar	5 wks
Beautybush	Kolkwitzia amabilis	pink	Mar	6 wks
Honeysuckle	Lonerica	White or pink	Mar	1-3 wks
Saucer magnolia	Magnolia/soulangeana	White to rose	Mar	3-5 wks
Star magnolia	Magnolia stellata	White	Mar	3-5 wks
Apple, crab apple	Malus	White to pink	Feb-Mar	2-5 wks
Mock orange	Philadelphus	White	Mar	4-6 wks
Flowering almond/plum/cherry	Prunus	White or pink	Feb	2-5 wks
Pear	Pyrus	White	Jan-Feb	4-5 wks
Rhododendron, azalea	Rhododendron	All colors	Jan-Feb	4-5 wks
Pussy willow	Salix discolor	silvery catkins	Feb-Mar	1-3 wks

All Articles

2010

• Aesthetics for the Winter Garden
• Toxic Lawns
• A Vital, Safe, and Living Yard
• Enjoy the Splendor of Early Spring
• Good Vibrations from Bugs
• Grow Your Garden with Beneficial Insects

2009

• Spring Blooms in Winter
• Start the New Gardening Season Organically
• Spring Cleaning in the Sustainable Garden
• State of the Birds
• Uncommon Native Flowering Trees for Spring Planting
• Design Principles
• How to Make a Wildlife-Friendly Property
• Creating a Butterfly Garden
• Bees and Beneficial Insects in the Garden
• Questions and Answers
• Blooms and Weeds
• Zen Weeding, then Mulching
• The Manhattan Highline
• Catching the Fall Color Wave with Native Shrubs and Grasses
• The Year of the Acorn
• Why We Need Sustainable Gardening
• Fall Foliage Below the Sugar Maples
• Creating a Spirit of Place in the Home Landscape
• Garden Books for Yourself and Others

2008

• Native Plants in Connecticut
• How to Create a Wildlife Friendly Backyard
• The Natural Shade Garden
• August in the Garden
• Native Shrubs for Bright Fall Foliage
• Gardening Questions and Answers
• Stranger in the Night: Flying Squirrel
• Gardening with Ornamental Grasses
• Fall: Putting the Organic Garden to Bed
• Last Chance to Get a Jump on the 2009 Garden