How to Force Quince Blooms Indoors

Flowering quince is a wonderful shrub that has a delightful blooming habit. In early spring, this plant bursts onto the scene with a mass of flowers in shades of red, pink, or white. Among spring bloomers, this one holds its own in the company of others like cherry, forsythia, and eastern redbud. 

These flowers are so beautiful that you’ll want to enjoy them indoors as well as in the garden. Through a process called forcing, this is easy to do. Forcing blooms is the process of cutting branches while they are still in the bud, and encouraging them to bloom indoors. It’s the same idea as cutting roses and other flowers before they open fully.

The reason for forcing flowering quince, rather than waiting for it to bloom and cutting the branches with flowers, is the same as with roses. The opened flowers simply don’t last as long. When you cut branches early and force them indoors, you get to enjoy the bloom for the full life of the blossoms. Here’s how you can force those quince branches to bloom indoors for stunning floral arrangements.

Step 1: Timing Is Important

The first important factor to consider is timing. Taking your cuttings too early probably won’t result in many flowers. If you wait too long, you may shorten the life of the blossoms. There is a sweet spot where most of the buds will open, and they should last long enough to enjoy them. 

Flowering quince shrubs are early bloomers. They typically flower between January and March, depending on your climate. The warmer your climate, the earlier they will come out of dormancy. Likewise, near the top of their range, they will remain dormant for longer and flower later. 

If you’ve paid attention to bloom time in previous years, you can use this as a timing tool. If not, watching the buds is the best way to make the call. You want to take your cuttings when the buds are fat but before they begin to open. 

Blooms typically open before the leaves are fully present, so this is another indication that it’s time. Once cut, you can expect quince branches to bloom in two to five weeks, and once open, the flowers should last for a week or more with proper care. 

Another factor to consider is the temperature on the day you gather your branches. Because you’re bringing them indoors, you want to harvest them on a warm day, if possible. If not, at least harvest them mid-day, when the sun is warmest. 

Step 2: Use the Right Tools

Using the right tool is important, not just for your cuttings but for the plant itself. The most important factor is that your tools are sharp and clean. These will make the cleanest cuts, which are easiest for the plant to heal. 

A sharp pair of hand shears should be good for this task. Loppers are too large for cutting the branches you’ll want to use. You won’t want to take any significant limbs from your plant. Make sure that you clean your tools before you prune so that you don’t risk transferring diseases from one plant to another. 

Step 3: Choose the Right Branches

Think of selecting your branches as part of yearly pruning. You don’t want to remove anything that interferes with the shape or structural integrity of the shrub. Don’t sacrifice the health of the parent plant. Try to select stems with plenty of buds on them.

When pruning this shrub, you’ll want to remove any crossing limbs. That is, branches that grow in the wrong direction through the center of the shrub, as well as any that cross over other branches awkwardly. You can also take this opportunity to thin out the crown and any spots where there is crowding.

Step 4: Make Your Cuts

In order to maintain the shape and growth habit of your blooming quince, it’s important to be deliberate about making your cuts—the health of the outdoor shrub is ultimately more important than forced blooms indoors. If you cut just below a bud, you will end up with branch ends that stick out past the foliage. Since leaves will grow from the buds, you want to leave one close to the end so that new growth will cover it. Take your cuttings from just above a bud or node. 

Consider the direction of the node when you snip. You want the plant to continue to grow outward, so cut just above an outward-facing node. This will cause the new growth to form in an outward direction. Cutting above an inward-facing node will result in crossing limbs. 

Another important step when snipping is to cut your branches at a diagonal. This causes any water that falls on them to roll off rather than pooling, which can cause the ends to rot.

Step 5: Prepare Your Cuttings

Once you have cut quince branches, you’ll want to get them in water as quickly as possible to successfully force blooms. Just as with herbaceous flowers, these stems need to take in water right away to keep the flowers hydrated. If you’ve let them sit for more than an hour, it’s important to make a fresh cut on the end before you put it in the water.

Since the bark is tough and doesn’t let much moisture in, there are things you can do to help them along. You can use a hammer or rock to bruise the lower portion of the branch. This opens up more space for it to take in water. Alternately, you can shave off some of the bark from the end, exposing the more permeable tissue underneath. 

Immediately place your stems in room temperature water, and set them in a cool, dark room overnight. In the morning, they should have taken in a significant amount of water. Make a fresh cut, at a slant, and place them in fresh water. 

Step 6: Keep the Water Fresh

Keeping the water fresh is the most important thing you can do for your forced quince blooms. This is true of herbaceous flowers as well. Any time you have a floral arrangement, you should change out the water every two to three days to prevent bacteria from doing damage. 

When you change out the water every couple of days, it’s good to take another snip off the ends. This isn’t necessarily imperative, but it will help them to continue taking in water. The more hydrated they are, the longer the flowers will last. 

To increase hydration, consider misting the buds occasionally, as well. Don’t overdo it or mold can form, just a light misting once or twice a day is good. 

Step 7: Choose the Right Spot

The first night, you’ll place blooming quince branches in a cool, dark spot to force them to acclimate and produce more flowers. After you change out the water on the second day, it’s time to find the perfect location. You want to keep them away from heat or drafts, as these will both dehydrate and cause stress. 

You also want to keep them out of direct sunlight. Direct exposure is drying, and the heat will shorten the bloom time of your flowers. We want them to last as long as possible, so there is a sweet spot to find when choosing a location.