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Early blooms

When it comes to preseason blossoms, it's nice to fool Mother Nature.

No matter how dormant the outdoor garden looks in February, many a bare branch can be persuaded to bloom if given a heated room and plenty of water. By bringing twigs of flowering woody plants indoors, the winter-weary gardener can jump-start spring by a month or more.

A wide variety of plants can be forced indoors. The key is to bring the plant materials into warm temperatures at the right time and watch them closely.

"It's difficult to force plants more than a month before their normal bloom time," says Warren Leach, garden landscape designer and co-owner of Tranquil Lake Nursery Inc. in Rehoboth. A greenhouse makes forcing easier, as the gardener has more control over temperature and the amount of light. Still, if a plant's dormant period is shortened too much, he says, buds just won't open.

Early-blooming plants are the quickest and easiest to force. Witch hazel (which in some local areas starts to bloom as early as mid-February), forsythia, pussy willows, and flowering cherries can all be picked now for indoor bloom. The colorful stems of red twig dogwoods add interest to arrangements and can be forced into leaf in February, and witch hazel is likely to open within hours of being brought inside at this time of year. Most other plants will unfold in about a week.

In March, cuttings of quince, Scotch broom, early rhododendrons, and trees such as redbuds can be forced into early bloom. Magnolias such as the M. soulangiana that transforms Commonwealth Avenue in Boston into a cloud of pink every April also force well, as do Kerria japonica and Viburnum carlesii. For best results, choose branches with the fattest buds, because smaller buds yield leaves, not flowers.

A plain glass vase is all you need to display these enticing hints of spring, but an unusual container - a basket, antique crock, or vintage glassware, for example - can turn even the simplest flowering branches into a stunning centerpiece.

Ordinary forsythia, the old standby of forcing, appears refreshingly wild rather than cultivated when placed in a country basket. Stems can be placed in a jar of water or stuck into florist's foam resting in a bowl of water. Both are easily hidden in a basket, especially with a bit of Spanish moss.

Pussy willows are an exception to the watering rule. Closed buds need water to develop, but once the small, gray catkins have formed, the branches should be removed from water or they will develop fuzzy yellow blooms. Many floral arrangers recommend that pussy willow branches be picked when the buds are small and that they be displayed dry. A spritz of hair spray helps preserve the just-picked look. Placed in an antique firkin, a small wooden storage container popular with Colonial housewives, the pussy willows are transformed into a living work of art. Dry branches last for many weeks and, depending on the shape of the container, can be held in place with dry foam or a stem holder.

Pussy willow branches also make fine spring wreaths. You can bind short stems together in bunches of 12 using floral wire. Then attach the bunches to a wire wreath frame so that they overlap. An 8-inch frame will yield a wreath about 12 to 16 inches in diameter.

Sometimes, the simplest arrangements are the most stunning. A few entwined stems of dogwood or quince slipped into a hanging willow-branch basket make a delicate door decoration. To keep the flowers alive, pop each stem into a small florist's vial filled with water that can be hidden among the twigs.

Forcing large flowers such as June-blooming rhododendrons is extremely difficult, especially without a greenhouse, says Leach. The plant has to generate an enormous amount of energy to push open the bud scales of the huge blooms. Home gardeners will have better luck forcing early, small-leafed varieties such as R. mucronulatum, PJM hybrids, whose bright purple flowers you see everywhere in April, and early azaleas.

Once cut (woody branches such as cherry or crabapple should be split at the bottom about an inch), branches drink a lot of water. Place your cuttings in containers filled with warm (80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit) water and then check them frequently to assure that the plants don't suck up all the liquid. Any water you add should be at least room temperature.

Leach advises that the water be changed daily to help prevent mold growth. Adding a packet of floral preservative or a bit of Sprite, which contains citric acid, also will keep bacteria from fouling the water. Leach also notes that the plants will do best if kept in a humid environment.

The branches do not need light until buds begin to grow. Leach recommends wrapping the tops of the twigs in plastic or damp newspaper fastened loosely with string or tape. "You need to be careful the buds don't dry out before they bloom," he says. When buds start expanding, usually within a few days to a week after cutting, these wrappings should be removed. At this point, the stems should be recut, placed in cool water (40 to 50 degrees), and moved to a lighted location.

Forced blossoms do not last as long as those that bloom naturally out of doors. Forsythia fades after about a week indoors, and flowering cherries and PJM rhododendrons will likely droop within five days. Blossoms will last longer if displayed in a cool room.

Such fleeting vernal displays tempt the gardener to force a succession of blooms until real spring arrives outdoors.