Something I wrote for ..... I forget what. :o) Forcing Woody Plantssize> When the hustle and bustle of the Christmas and New Year holidays are behind us, our thoughts often turn to spring and a longing for the flowers it brings. While many of you are already familiar with forcing bulbs and branches of woody plants, but its likely a few might not be as familiar with the woody plants as they are with bulbs. IÂll try to give a little overview on forcing twigs and branches mixed with some of the science that drives it. Branches clipped from flowering trees and shrubs can easily be forced into bloom. Trees and shrubs that bloom early in the spring form flower buds the previous fall before dormancy. Successful forcing depends on the type of plant, cultivar, stage of dormancy, and temperature. Plants begin preparing for dormancy as soon as the length of night becomes longer than day length, around June 21. Changes in growth includes directing energy to newly forming buds and storing energy in roots and cambial tissues. As nights grow longer and temperatures fall, leaves drop and the plant is moved to dormancy. During true dormancy, the tree is in a deep state of rest and protected from cold. The mechanism by which the plant is released from itÂs dormant stage is an accumulation of chill units or roughly - hours of cold temperatures between freezing and 45* F. Different plants require different amounts of chilling, but most growing in MI need from 1000 - 2000 chill units (or hours). Once chilling, sufficient to release the plant from dormancy has occurred, the plant is capable of beginning growth - usually after several consecutive days of root temperatures near 50*. By mid-January, most temperate plants have had sufficient chilling and are technically no longer dormant. This stage is often called a period of quiescence, or quiet. It is in this period that woody branches should be cut for forcing. Those that are cut too early will perform weakly with unimpressive displays. Select the younger, more vigorous branches which will have a larger number of flower buds. Flower buds are usually larger and rounder than leaf buds. If you have trouble telling the difference, cut a few buds open and look for flower parts. Some fruit trees bear flowers on short fruit spurs. Watch for these on apples, pears, and ornamental crabapples. Select branches at least 12 inches long, pruning them flush with the trunk or main branch. By pruning small branches flush, the wound will heal over quickly, with little danger of insect or disease damage. Be sure to use sharp pruning shears or your concave cutters to minimize damage. Once the branches have been cut, bring them indoors and place the stem ends in water immediately; or better, totally submerge the branches in room-temperature water overnight. A washtub or bathtub works well for this. This soaking allows the branches and buds to begin to break dormancy. Following this, place the branches in a bucket of water. Water may need to be changed often to prevent it from becoming foul. Another method, if soaking is not possible, is to place the cut ends of the branches directly into buckets of water and mist the branches frequently the first few days. You might wrap a piece of damp burlap around the branches to help maintain high humidity. After spraying or soaking, the branches are ready for forcing. The branches should be placed in a relatively cool place (60 to 65 degrees F.) to develop. Higher temperatures will cause the buds to develop more rapidly, but size, color, and quality may be sacrificed. Along with higher temperatures often goes lower humidity, which may cause buds to dry out and fall off. Branches need light for forcing, but not direct sunlight. Heat from direct sun is too intense. If you remember the springtime conditions when these plants bloom naturally, it will be easy to remember the conditions they need. How can branches, completely isolated from roots, be forced to give up their blooms? As the plant goes from dormancy to quiescence, root activity increases and stored energy (photosynthate, in the form of starches) is moved upward where it adds to the concentration already stored at the base of each bud. As a water supply is introduced, a complicated chemical process begins, turning starch into usable energy. Turgidity increases, cells elongate & the bud opens. To help the buds open and keep them from drying, mist the branches occasionally during the forcing period. The closer to spring that branches are forced, the shorter the time required until bloom. When the flower buds are well developed and starting to show color, remove the branches from the bucket and arrange them. Branches that are removed from the buckets at this stage are less likely to have bruised and broken flowers. Arranging the branches at this stage also allows the enjoyment of watching the flowers open. The branches should be kept in a bright, but not sunny location and will last longer if they can be moved to a cool (40 to 50 degrees F.) location at night. Some common woody plants you can force: Red Maple Alder Serviceberry Quince Hawthorn Forsythia Witch Hazel Beauty Bush Honeysuckle Magnolia Apple Cherry Pear Rhododendron Pussy and other Willow Spirea And many others I cannot think of. Have fun. Al Fassezke

When I lived in CA it was assumed apricots were entirely self fertile and I had a tree that was, but when I tried growing them in the NE I noticed that at sites with two varieties, cropping seemed much more consistent. There was no info in the literature that suggested they performed differently here at that time but now they are considered only partially self fertile here. You should consider a peach if you only have room for one tree. Order a Desiree from Adam's right now for delivery in fall or next spring and I think you might get fruit from it in about 3 years without spray where you are. Unless the squirrels take it.

Hi Kubotabx2200, Thank so much for your suggestion. I have been debating a lot between NorthStar and Montmorency. Its not an easy decision for me. I love the look of dark red cherries. And they say NorthStar bears heavily too. And it stays a small tree. But since I already have two red cherries, my husband is pushing to get the dwarf Montmorency. Besides, my neighbor has a standard Montmorency (I am certain its a Montmorency, he does not know) and the birds and squirrels don't eat the fruit and they are tasty when cooked. Can you describe the flavor of NorthStar to me if you a little time? Yeshwant, I got my Surefire from Raintree and I planted it in 2004. It is a small tree no doubt. Now its just about 6 feet or so and upright. Last year it had flowers but set only a few fruit that fell off. This year it had many clusters of flowers and all of them have turned to baby fruit. I have big hopes for this tree(!) I don't have a picture of the tree in bloom but I could still take a picture now. But for the life of me I can't figure out how to post a picture into a message? So the answer is I think you will have to wait 2-3 years for good fruit on the Gisella 5 rootstock that Raintree sold it on. I live around Riverdale. Some parts of my yard does seem like 7a but some parts are definitely colder. The trouble with Starkbros is not that they sell you poor trees but that they don't tell you what the rootstock is so I don't have some important information. But I still did get some trees from Starkbros in the past and I ordered dwarfs only. However some of my trees turned out not to be dwarfs, they are huge. So I find them hit-or-miss. I think your Suerfire will grow quite a bit more, specially this year but it won't be a big tree. If I figure out how post pictures I will share. Katyajini

diane, I thought I sent in a response but apparently not.... I understand what you mean by the WOW effect - which is why I brought up the point that these trees will flower only for approximately a 1 week. I thought perhaps you could choose a couple of varieties if possible, to get trees to bloom at different times and therefore stretch your bloom period. The greenhouse Judy mentioned might be able to assist you select the trees suitable for your zone. Sunita, Bing Cherries will blossom but not as much as ornamental cherries. Many ornamental fruit trees will still produce fruits but these are not edible. I have an ornamental pear tree (chanticleer) which produce white blooms. The thing with trees that blossom, is that you have to be prepared to deal with the mess of rotting flower petals afterward. The thing with any trees of the apple varieties is that you'd have to be prepared to deal with mildew because it happens every year. My cousin has 2 huge trees that suffer from this yearly. Ianna