Forcing Branches to Bloom

Here is an oldy but a goody from February of last year.  It is that time of year again to head out into your yard and cut some branches!
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Am I the only one who gets serious spring fever about now? It doesn't help that we keep having warm days only to head right back down into the twenties the very next day. Teaser! I love more than anything to have fresh flowers in my house and about this time of year it is easier than you might think to achieve that Pottery Barn blooming branch look for absolutely free! Just head outside and get to clipping.

Faux Plum Blossom Branch from Pottery Barn.
Faux branches have their place but why use them when you can have the real thing!!

February and March are the perfect time of year to start forcing branches. It can take from a couple days to up to 8 weeks to see blooms on your branches. Here is the process I use.

1. Find your tree or bush that blooms in spring. Forsythia, Dogwood, Crabapple, and Cherry are my favorite and all force easily. I used forsythia here and am cutting my Dogwoods to force into bloom next week. The forsythia took me about 3 weeks ( I cut the beginning of February).

2. Look for branches around dime size diameter with beginning buds and lots of them. Cut more than you think you'll need because some of them will not work.

3. Cut and put straight into a bucket of water.

4. I bring mine to the rarely used downstairs shower and give them a good bath in tepid water.

5. Cover with a trash bag and close the curtain. If you can't put them in a dark area then use a dark trash bag. The trash bag keeps the humidity up and moves them along quicker. Change your water every few days. A 65-70 degree area works best.

6. In one to eight weeks depending on the branch and how close they were to bloom at the time of cut, you will have your beautiful flowering branches!

It really is that easy. Step 7... show them off! Change your water every few days and they'll last from 1 to 3 weeks depending on the type of branch.

These shots were taken in my entry. Here are some things you should know....

1. We can't pick a wall color. Ever. Recurring problem.

2. There is another mirror in the garge with much better scale for this spot. I've been too lazy to hang it.

3. I've had this fabric draped over the dining room chair for 3 months. I'm going to use it very "soon".

4. The bookcase is going to get painted very "soon" as well. (Your "soon" and my "soon" might mean entirely different things :-)

Now, go cut some branches! Think how beautiful they are going to look on your Easter table and without spending a penny!

**UPDATE**
Re-reading this post actually made me feel good!  I got ALL of those things done in 2012!

See the painted bookshelf and new hall color here.
See the new mirror (and new entry bench) here.
See the dining room reveal here.

Kandi