Forsythia Care Guide: How to Grow Forsythia in Your Garden

Forsythia (Forsythia vahl) is a flowering shrub in the Oleaceae family, or olive family. This deciduous flowering shrub, nicknamed golden bells, is best known for its bright yellow flowers, which grow along the length of arched branches and bloom in early spring. In the fall, some varieties of the plant feature red, green, or purple foliage.

Forsythia is non-toxic for humans and animals, and its bitter fruit and seeds are used in herbal medicine. The fruit of a forsythia appears in the fall and contains the seeds of the plant. This brown, pod-shaped fruit is a common ingredient in Chinese herbal medicine for relieving inflammation, colds, fevers, and respiratory infections.

These fast-growing bushes can grow ten feet wide and up to 24 feet tall in a single growing season. Different varieties of the plants stem from three main species:

1. 1. Forsythia suspensa: This weeping forsythia, native to Japan, features tiny flowers and hanging branches that can climb up trellises.
   
2. 2. Forsythia viridissima: First discovered in China, this green-stemmed forsythia plant has an upright shrub shape.
3. 3. Forsythia × intermedia: This hybrid of F. suspensa and F. viridissima features upright branches with bright yellow flower blossoms and can grow up to 10 feet tall.

There are many cultivars of forsythia that differ in size, shape, and blooming season:

1. 1. ‘Border Forsythia’: This cultivar is a multi-stemmed shrub commonly planted as hedges or edging plants.
2. 2. ‘Courtasol’: This cultivar grows fast, blooms early, and has semi-arching branches.
3. 3. ‘Lynwood Gold’: This cultivar has relatively large flowers, and in the fall, the leaves turn yellow with purple tinges.
4. 4. ‘Meadowlark’: This cultivar is notable for being able to withstand pests and diseases.
5. 5. ‘Northern Gold’: This medium-size forsythia is hardy to cold weather—the flower buds can withstand temperatures as low as negative 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. 6. ‘Northern Sun’: This type of forsythia can also withstand cold temperatures.

Forsythias can be shrub borders and ground cover, but their bright colors and height also make them an ideal centerpiece in a garden. You can also plant them on a slope to prevent soil erosion. Here’s how to best grow them in your garden:

• Plant forsythias during the late fall or early spring. If you live in a place that is warm year-round, you can plant them in the winter.
• Choose a spot that gets direct sunlight. Forsythia bushes bloom best with full sun.
• Plant forsythias in moist, fertile soil. If your soil needs more nutrients, add in compost before backfilling the hole. If your soil dries out quickly, add mulch to retain moisture and prevent weeds from sprouting.
• Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball. Place the root ball deep enough so that it is slightly above or level with the surrounding soil.
• Give the plants room to grow. Choose a space where the plants can spread out and grow with good air circulation—airflow helps prevent pests and disease.
• Water forsythia regularly with two inches of water. Forsythia can tolerate the occasional drought, but water regularly, especially if there is little rainfall. Be sure to water at the plant base and not from the top down, which can attract pests and disease.

Forsythias are relatively low-maintenance, but follow these tips to keep your plants a pleasing shape and size:

1. 1. Prune the branches in the spring. Forsythia flowers bloom on old wood produced the previous growing season, so it is best to prune in the spring. (Note that if you prune in the fall, you will cut off next spring’s growth, making for a less flowery plant.)
2. 2. Use forsythia for indoor flowers. You can cut off individual branches of the flowering bush in the spring and bring them inside, where they can bloom in a vase of water in a sunny spot.
3. 3. Propagate the plants in the winter. After the plant has finished flowering, take a four- to 10-inch stem cutting. Remove the bottom leaves and plant the cutting in a pot with a moistened mix of peat moss, perlite, and sand. Mist the stem once a day until the roots are an inch long, which will take about a month. Transport the potted stem inside to keep it from a harsh winter, and transfer it to your garden in the spring.

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