forcing forsythia

The most recent issue of Garden Design featured an article on forcing Spring-flowering trees and shrubs such as dogwood, pear, plum, magnolia, quince, pussy willow -- and forsythia. From my additional online reading, it sounds like forsythia is one of the easiest to force, and it's also one of my personal favorites -- such happy yellow blooms to announce the start of Spring!

 

Garden Design didn't provide detailed instructions on how to force the blooms, but here are a few tips I picked up online from various sources (About.com, Grandpa Cliff, ArtHouse Gardens):

1. When to cut? Pick a day that is above freezing, up to about 2 months before they would normally bloom in your area. So here in Virginia, this would be a great project for February or even late January.
2. With pruning shears, cut the forsythia stems on the diagonal into lengths of less than 3 feet.
3. Bring your stems indoors and put them in a bucket of warm water.
4. While the stems are in the water, cut another inch off the bottoms of the stems.
5. Leave the forsythia stems to soak for several hours.
6. Prepare the vase your stems will go in, filling it with water with floral preservative in it.
7. Cut your branches to the length you want for your arrangement and then, before putting them into the vase, hit the end of the stem with a hammer to split it. Then put it quickly into the vase. (The splits in the end of the stem will promote water intake.)
8. Keep the branches moist for several days by wrapping them in paper towels and misting them with water periodically.
9. Remove the paper towels and enjoy as your branches are slowly transformed over the next few weeks!