Welcoming Spring with Native Plants Indoors!

2 hours ago
3 min read

Add some natives along with those cut flowers.

branch with yellow flowers and grey wall with gold dots — Branch of Native Spicebush Forced Indoors

I don't know about you but at this time of year, when the occasional almost spring like day arrives, I am so likely to add those beautiful bunches of cut flowers at the grocery store to my cart. I like to live in the season but once spring is near, all bets are off. A bunch of non-native daffodils (Narcissus) - oh so tempting. After buying a gorgeous bouquet of tulips (Tulipa) and hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis) last week, locally grown in greenhouses (a great alternative to those flown in from South America), I started wondering what I might bring in from the garden or from a nursery instead. It turns out there are options!

Cut Branches of Native Plants for Forcing Indoors

Serviceberry (Amelanchier leavis), spicebush (Lindera benzoin) and redbuds (Cercis canadensis) are all good candidates for cut branches that will flower indoors. These spring blooming trees and shrubs produce flower buds the previous year. Once temperature and day length begins to change as spring approaches, those buds begin to swell. Cutting a branch and placing it in water indoors will accelerate the bloom time by exposing the branch to more moisture and warmth. This is not an exact science and the timing for this can vary from year to year depending on the weather. Once you see buds on a branch begin to swell, typically late February to late March, you can cut the branch and bring it inside.

If the branch already has buds that are beginning to flower, you can make a fresh slanted cut at the end of the stem and place it right into a vase with water and it will likely bloom. If you have cut your branches earlier as above and the buds have formed but not begun to swell, try placing the entire branch in a bathtub filled with 4" or so of lukewarm water overnight - enough water to cover most of the branches. Then add the branch to a vase with water in a cooler location in your home. Once flower buds begin to swell, you can place the vase in your location of choice. In either case, change the vase water every other day to extend the life of your branches.

Potted Native Perennial Flowers Indoors

plants with white flowers on table — Pots of Perennial Native Foamflowers Grown in Greenhouse

A fail safe way to get native blooms indoors is to head to your favorite native plant nursery. Starting in early March, shipments of plants typically begin to arrive. Sometimes, these plants have been grown in greenhouses and will already be flowering. These foamflowers (Tiarella cordifolia) were flowering in late February in a garden center greenhouse. Since they are flowering a month ahead of schedule, I know they have been in an indoor situation - perfectly acclimated for bringing directly inside your home. Once the outside temperatures warm up, these can be planted out in your garden in shade. If in doubt, you can ask your nursery for good candidates for natives that will fare well indoors for a few weeks.

One advantage of a potted plant over cut flowers is the length of bloom time you will enjoy. These will likely flower for at least several weeks. When choosing your plants, look for those with both flowers and emerging buds to get an extended bloom time. Once spring truly arrives, you can plant these outside and enjoy them from years to come!

Look for blooming foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), Jacob's ladder (Polenium reptans), creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera), wood poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum), woodland stonecrop (Sedum ternatum) and coral bells (Heuchera) to name a few. There is no telling what you might find!