Fabulous Flowering Forsythia

Drifts of yellow in the landscape in April can only mean one thing – spring has arrived when forsythia bloom!

Easily recognized by its yellow flowers, forsythia has been used for hedges, screening, and massed plantings in gardens and landscapes, and along highways for decades. And for good reason – it’s tough, hardy, fast growing and reported to be deer resistant. Our favorite variety, Forsythia ‘Lynwood Gold’, delights with brilliant yellow flowers that cover the stems of this deciduous shrub before the leaves emerge.   Like all forsythia, ‘Lynwood Gold’ prefers full sun (for best flowering), but will tolerate light shade. Give it well-drained soil and some room as it can grow 6-9’ wide and tall. Truly low maintenance, prune when needed and do it soon after flowering. Forsythia blooms on old wood so avoid pruning in late winter or you will sacrifice flowers for that season. And if you wait until fall to prune, flower buds for the next season will be removed.

Did you know?

• Blooming forsythia is often used as an indicator plant to apply pre-emergent crabgrass control.

• You can force forsythia to bloom indoors during the winter months. Cut and place a few twigs in a vase of water, and flowers appear a week or so later.