Forced blossom is one of my absolute highlights of February – a taste of spring when you are so so bored of the dreariness of winter. This forced Magnolia stellata made me giddy with joy, even though it is my least favourite magnolia of all time.

What does forcing mean?

All it means is that you have brought the natural flowering time of a plant forward by using unnatural conditions. The magnolia tree in the garden that I cut these branches from is still tightly in bud (and what hairy buds they are), and I am guessing I have flowers at least a month earlier than their usual flowering time.

How do you do it?

I faked spring. Once the trees have had a good dose of cold and are sensing the new blooming season, they will put out buds, but then they will time it so that the blossom comes out after the last frosts have gone. This is the plan anyway, as frost will knock blossom out, as anyone who has an orchard will tell you. A late frost devastates fruit harvests. I noticed the buds, and I cut these branches in the first week of January, then put them into an urn of water, and put the whole thing in a warm, dark room where I couldn’t keep fiddling with it. After three weeks, the buds started to split open, and these incredibly flowers emerged.

What can you force?

I have also got some pear blossom that might or might not come good. If you cut it too early, the blossom can look a bit wrong, a bit pale or not quite formed. But I did my pear espalier pruning before Christmas so that’s when I brought it in.

There has been a gap between me first writing this and publishing it so I have an update - the pear blossom is lovely.

As well as magnolia, try:

Fruit blossom (especially the early ones, sloe and plums).

Viburnum

Flowering quince

Willow

Forsythia

If you have tried anything else, let me know below. I’d love to try some other blooms. They make all the difference in the world whilst we wait for the spring bulbs to come in properly.

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