Force/Forcing

The process of making a plant grow or flower outside their natural seasons.

Forcing is done to stimulate flowers or growth by controlling light and temperature. Bulbs such as paperwhites, hyasinths and amarillis are the usual candidates to force, however, branches can also be forced into bloom (forsythia or eastern redbud). Forcing is typically done indoors. This process may also be done to speed up the maturation of a plant.