Forsythia
Forsythia X intermedia (OLEACEAE)
Planting and Growing Forsythia
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow forsythia in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and seeds of forsythia
- Growing conditions for forsythia
- When and where to plant forsythia
- How to plant forsythia
- How to shape, prune and control growth of forsythia
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of forsythia
- Landscape uses of forsythia
- Pest and disease control for forsythia
Growing Forsythia
Many hybrids and cultivars of dainty, fast-growing, arching, open, deciduous shrubs, to 10 ft. (3 m) tall, with bright green, oval, simple, sometimes 3-lobed, pointed leaves, to 5 in. (13 cm) long.
Common cultivars include Forsythia X intermedia ‘Fiesta’, ‘Goldzauber’, ‘Lynwood’, ‘Spectabilis’, and ‘Spring Glory’.
Closely related species with similar care needs include Korean forsythia, Forsythia ovata; weeping forsythia, Forsythia suspensa; and green-stem forsythia, Forsythia viridissima.
Forsythia Planting and Care Guide
Flowers and Seeds
Many yellow flowers in spring, to 1 in. (25 mm) long, in showy clusters along arched branches, form winged seed in autumn. Flowers appear before leave, on second-year wood.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 4–8.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, average loam. Fertility: Average. 6.5–8.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full sun. Space 8–10 ft. (2.4–3 m) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep moist. Fertilize quarterly spring–autumn. Mulch, zones 4–6. Prune by thinning oldest, canelike stems after bloom. Propagate by cuttings, layering, seed.
About This Species
Good choice for backgrounds, borders, hedges, mixed plantings in natural, woodland gardens. Good for cutting, indoor floral display.