Ward Upham, extension associate with Kansas State University, published a well-quoted article in 2007 that still retains the essence of this procedure:

“My spring fever is getting higher as we are tempted by the few warm days. There is an aspirin that we can use.”

Stems of a number of woody plants can be forced into bloom for indoor display. Of course, some are easier to force than others. Three of the easiest are forsythia, pussy willow and flowering quince. These plants have now gone through enough cold weather to satisfy their chilling requirement and should bloom if given the right conditions. Remember that the flower buds on forsythia are killed as temperatures reach -10 degrees F. If your area has had temperatures this far below zero, use one of the other woody plants.

A red flowering quince is among the woody plants that can bloom indoors while it’s still below freezing outside.

Choose a day that is above freezing for collecting branches for blooming. Keep the stem length to 3 feet or less. As you cut, place the stems in a bucket of water.

Once you have the number of branches you want, bring them into the house and soak them in warm water for several hours — a bathtub works well for this. This ensures that the stems and buds are fully hydrated. Next, place them in a container that has a warm, preservative solution and place them in an environment with high humidity and plenty of light.

Many times our houses have a low relative humidity during the winter. The low humidity can lead to dehydration of flower buds and blossoms. To raise the humidity around your plants, mist the plants or drape a dry cleaning bag over your stems. If the bag is too small, use a painter’s clear plastic drop cloth.

Humidifiers can also help raise humidity levels. Normally, forsythia will take about nine days to flower, quince will require between 12 to 20 and pussy willow needs from five to 15 days. The time required will vary depending on indoor conditions and how late in the winter the branches were collected. Most woody plants should be in flower within three weeks of collection and will remain in flower for about a week before blooms start to fade.

Additional shrubs and trees that can be forced include: alder (Alnus spp.), bridalwreath spirea (Spiraea prunifolia), cornelian cherry dogwood (Cornus mas), honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), cherry (Prunus spp.), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), magnolia (Magnolia spp.), sweet mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius), lilac (Syringa spp.) and redbud (Cercis canadensis).