How to prune Forsythia

I just bought a 'Lynwood Gold' forsythia and don't have a clue as to how it should be pruned. It looks to me like it has been pruned too heavily because it is very densely branched. Should I prune it to open it up a bit or leave it like it is?

It depends on what you want it to look like. I like mine in a fountain shape, so I keep the lower limbs removed:
http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL635/2413050/4795529/134760749.jpg

I am growing other plants beneath it, and want to give them room and sunlight.

The next pic is of a 4-5 year old cutting that I have pretty much left natural, but will limb it up too.

http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL635/2413050/4795529/134760704.jpg

Actually I like the way it looks now, but it too has lots growing beneath it .
I also clip off any wayward branch. It is best to do it right after they bloom, so you don't lose next year's blooms.

Best way to prune them is to place a stick of dynamite beneath the crown and detonate it. (I'm not much of a forsythia fan.) However, if I were a forsythia fan, IMO they always look better if planted where they can achieve full-size and when they are left alone.

Scott

Prune: whenever, and wherever you like.

Tool: paper scissors.

The less you prune, the more flowers you get.

Resin

escambia,
can you post a pic of it?

I only prune to remove any dead or bare branches, or those that are growing oddly or in the wrong place[ie thru the fence!] I also stick a lot of my cuttings in the ground to make more babies- roots like magic!

This message was edited Mar 22, 2006 7:06 PM

decumbent,
You would blow up this beautiful thing? Remind me to closely watch you if ever you come to my place- LOL! http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/582531/

I love to see forsythia planted where they have room to do what they want and that is to grow fast and relatively large. I hate to see them butchered year after year trying to contain them.

cuckoo

cuckoo,
I hear ya! You don't want to see my FIL's forsythia. He trims/shapes them square like hedges/boxwoods. They look HORRIBLE!! I'll try to sneak down there tomorrow and snap some pics and show them- yuck!

IMHO the main reasons to prune this plant are:

1. To force vigorous new growth loaded with next year's flower buds;

2. To remove innapropriate or wayward branches (by cutting to the ground or to another branch, not heading);

3. To remove dead, broken, and diseased branches (again by cutting to the ground or to another branch, not heading) --

In reverse order of priority!

Guy S.

Berrygirl, that is exactly how I do. I just stuck 10 or 12 more
around the perimeter of our yard , in spots where they can grow more naturally ( cuckoo ). Sorry, but I will continue to 'butcher' the ones that have plants beneath them.
I am rather like Dr, Huxtable ( Bill Cosby) , I brought them into this world , and I can take them out! LOL . My plants are one of the few things in this life that I pretty much have control over!
I am not into balls and squares when it comes to plants. :-)

Marian,
I was just about to post[again] and tell you that actually I kinda like the way you have pruned it in the first pic. I might try that with one of my smaller ones later on. I'd be scared spitless to try it with my big one- I'd probably decimate it like I do my rose- LOL!

Trust me y'all do NOT wanna see my FIL's yellow squares.

LOL!!! Take a look at our latest 'fun random image'! Perhaps Big Brother is watching? http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54756/

The good thing about Forsythia is the Deer don't seem to eat it. That is, of course, the bad thing about it, as well. It is a rather ramped, gangly, gigantic suckering monstrosity, with bad branching habits and unwavering tenacity. The flowers are pretty, if you like garish displays of School bus yellow. Shovel pruning is most merciful, for all concerned. And Its from China. Say no more...

Patrick, you seem to be describing the old fashioned F. suspensa. That is what I started out with but am removing them in favor of the more upright types.
Hmmmm, I sure hope you do not eat, wear, or grow, anything that came from China!

Marianinark..

Have you ever noticed how many Plants from China that are grown in our gardens are thugs or invassive? That was my point. What was yours?

Patrick, there are many good plants from Asia and a few bad ones. But you're right, it seems the majority of our few really bad plants do come from parts of Asia with comparable climates. Forsythia has been around forever and does not seem to be a problem, but the point was well taken, at least by me.

I think the form you choose (suspensa, xintermedia, bronxensis, whatever) depends upon your design intent. There's nothing wrong with suspensa where it fits in. It can be spectacular cascading over an embankment or retaining wall. The flowers, where they do not freeze off over winter, are vibrant in the right place and horrid in the wrong place.

At least the genus is very easy to grow for novice gardeners, and thus encouraging. To each his/her own. We have a couple of Forsythia here near the house, and every few years they bless us with flowers after a mild winter. But I would not like to see them out in the more natural parts of our landscape.

Guy S.

I can think of nothing more cheerful than a fully blooming forsythia accompanied with lots of golden daffodils to break the winter doldrums. To each his own. I live in a location where very few people even see my yard, so I am not offending any one in the neighborhood. Our yard is like an oasis in the spring (right now), while the surrounding woods still look like winter. After the forsythia and daffodil blooms are gone for the season there are many other beauties to take their place. I have filled our yard with blooming plants , from the lowest to the highest. Many are a struggle to grow because we are host to at least a dozen deer, and rabbits.
At least the forsythia and dafs do not need to be caged!

Wow! I come home from work to see this thread has exploded. LOL I would like the more open natural look when it comes to forsythia. I don't want it to look like a dense ball or square. Forsythia is not that common around here, so it would be something a little different. After looking at pepto-bismol pink azaleas and crape myrtles, school bus yellow is a nice change.

ROFLMBBO!!

Does the BB stand for Bubble Butt?

Patrick,
No- it stands for big. LOL!

Well, you know what they say: " Nothing worse than a small back yard."

I have a big one of those too- yard, that is.