Forsythia

I have a question about forsythia. In the past, my forsythia and many around me have been fountains of golden flowers. The past few years mine and many others, have spotty flowers. I mean, many fewer flowers than normal. I presume this is because of our crazy weather patterns. Has anyone else noticed this? I'm trying to decide if I should cut the plant entirely down and wait for new growth or replace the giant shrub I have, or do a more gradual renovation which it undoubtedly needs. Thanks for comments.

Forsythia can be prone to losing its early flowers due to vagaries of weather. Warm spells before normal can cause the buds to swell toward flowering, and freezing temps kill them before opening.

Forsythia - whether satisfactorily blooming for you or not - benefits from periodic rejuvenation by cutting it to the ground. Some of the best displays of this plant (and other rangey growing shrubs) in the Ohio River valley region are treated exactly this way. If you have decent soil and normal moisture, the plant will rebound rapidly from its extensive root system reserves.

Thanks for that advise on the Forsythia . The one I have is experiencing the same problem with mine.

Sage advice from VV. They are most beautiful come spring after a good whacking.

Thanks for the information. I noticed that around town, some shrubs bloomed profusely and some were spotty like mine. I did some pruning but I really hate to lose the barrier to the road that would happen if I cut it to the ground. Nevertheless, probably next spring that's what I'll do as soon as the flowers are done.