Forsythia
Prune on a strict after-flowering schedule from the first year — this is the single habit that keeps the shrub flowering well and stops it becoming a bare, congested thicket.
Care
Flowers most freely in full sun; tolerates part shade with a slightly lighter display.
Fairly drought-tolerant once established.
Adaptable, well-drained soil of most types.
Prune immediately after flowering, cutting back flowered shoots to strong new growth — this genus flowers on the previous year's wood, so pruning later in the year removes next spring's display. Renovate hard if overgrown or bare at the base, though this sacrifices a year's flowers.
A general feed after the post-flowering prune, on poor soil only. Forsythia is undemanding; poor flowering is almost always a pruning fault — cutting in winter removes the flower buds — rather than a feeding one.
Hardwood cuttings in late autumn: 25cm lengths of the year's growth pushed into soil outdoors. It is one of the easiest shrubs of all to root, and prunings left lying on damp ground sometimes take by themselves.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchEnjoy the vivid yellow spring flowers, produced on last year's wood before the leaves emerge.
- AprilPrune immediately after flowering, cutting back flowered shoots to strong new growth. how ›
- JuneFeed lightly as new growth extends after pruning. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchEnjoy the vivid yellow spring flowers, produced on last year's wood before the leaves emerge.
- AprilPrune immediately after flowering, cutting back flowered shoots to strong new growth. how ›
- JuneFeed lightly as new growth extends after pruning. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryEnjoy the vivid yellow spring flowers, produced on last year's wood before the leaves emerge.
- MarchPrune immediately after flowering, cutting back flowered shoots to strong new growth. how ›
- JuneFeed lightly as new growth extends after pruning. how ›
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryEnjoy the vivid yellow spring flowers, produced on last year's wood before the leaves emerge.
- MarchPrune immediately after flowering, cutting back flowered shoots to strong new growth. how ›
- JuneFeed lightly as new growth extends after pruning. how ›
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Sparse flowering, sometimes only near the base of the plant.
What to do. Usually from pruning at the wrong time of year (removing the flower buds) or old, congested wood — prune promptly after flowering each year, and renovate congested plants over two to three years.
How to spot it. Dark spots on leaves in wet summers.
What to do. Usually cosmetic; remove badly affected leaves if it recurs.
How to spot it. Small ragged holes in young leaves in spring.
What to do. Usually cosmetic on an otherwise vigorous shrub; no treatment normally needed.
Popular varieties
Questions
Forsythia: is it hardy?
H5: Hardy in most of the UK, but can struggle in the coldest inland or upland spots. It survives down to −15 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Tolerates a large pot for a few years while young, though it flowers and grows best in open ground long-term.
Forsythia: when do you prune it?
Prune immediately after flowering, cutting back flowered shoots to strong new growth — this genus flowers on the previous year's wood, so pruning later in the year removes next spring's display. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in April.
Forsythia: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in March–April.
When do you feed it?
A general feed after the post-flowering prune, on poor soil only. Forsythia is undemanding; poor flowering is almost always a pruning fault — cutting in winter removes the flower buds — rather than a feeding one. Feeding months, UK: April.