Blooming out of season

My forsythia is blooming! What gives? Will this mean that it will not have any blooms left for next spring?

It has not lost any leaves yet, still has mostly green with 5% of the leaves beginning to change to fall color. It has had a great summer; not too hot, more rain that we've had for a decade, less competition from the neighbor's oaks as he has a chain saw to play with this year.
All in all it has been a great growing season for it - now this. Is this a bonus bloom from a super healthy shrub?

This message was edited Oct 7, 2008 2:36 PM

I have a Weigela florida 'Variegata' that has just started blooming. It is supposed to bloom in the spring and early summer. Last year it bloomed in the spring and again in the late summer. I made the mistake of pruning it after it bloomed in the late summer/early fall. I am thinking that is why it is just starting to bloom now. I looked it up and it blooms on old wood. Forsythia also blooms on old wood. Maybe it was pruned at the wrong time too? I am not pruning my Weigela at all this year and will wait until after it blooms next year. Good luck with your Forsythia

Quizzed the DH and he agrees that we only trimmed it right after it bloomed this spring. 10 days ago I bent about 8 low growing branches down to the ground and put rocks on them to make babies. That is the only thing either of us has done to it this year. Hmmm Last year was a different story... in fall he cut it in half. Would that have caused this out of season blooming? It did bloom this spring.

BTW, my weigela blooms sporadically after the big spring blooming. I have some flowers in my bouquets every week of the growing season.

Sometimes spring blooming plants will get their seasons mixed up and bloom a little in the fall, I think it has more to do with weather conditions than anything you did. Usually there'll just be a little bit of blooms in the fall, so it shouldn't have much effect on what it'll do in the spring.

This is the 2nd year in a row I've had spring bulbs sprouting in September, but they bloomed at their normal time.

There is an Evergreen Pear in full bloom at the moment, at a park near my house. Very odd.

We just had a lot of rain and the weather cooled off. I have a lavender crape myrtle that has bloomed a second time for this year and it has more blooms than it did for it's first bloom! I really think it's weather related.

I have Rhododendrons flowering again, they are the spring flowering type, very large shrubs, so I have had to just think it has been the wet weather of this summer and even though it has not been Sunny, I am assuming this is just good conditions for them, there are new buds still appearing so they will I hope flower again come spring, maybe not as many flowers though, but it is a case of wait and see I guess. WeeNel.

I'm so relieved to hear that they will still bloom this coming spring. I guess its been a strange summer all over the world, huh? We only got HOT for a week or less. That, added to all the rain, must have triggered it.

Update:

It is still in full bloom, except for the outside and taller top branches. There seems to be a slew of buds that are looking like they will wait for spring along with 5 or so per bunch that look like they will continue to bloom now. The leaves are turning purple and it looks lovely!

This message was edited Oct 7, 2008 2:37 PM

nanbernier, Several people in MO and me here in N AR have had plants bloom out of season this year. We've been blaming the strange weather we had this spring and it's been cooler than normal this summer. My mums and sedum budded out this spring and bloomed a few blooms all summer but filled with blooms this fall. My forsythia is behaving like normal.One group of lemon mint decided to bloom a month ago, when all my others had bloomed in June.
Have you been hearing too that we may have a c-o-l-d winter? Brrrrr
Vickie

Yep, I was advised to use every leaf off of the trees for insulation/mulch on the flower beds this year; we have had it easy for too long and this year we pay for that.

There are forsythias in the city that do never get pruned. They usually flower in the fall or sometimes even in the winter if it is mild enough! They are unpredictable. However they have never not bloomed in spring, so i think that yours will be fine. Chesnuts here also flower in fall.

Ah, Thanks.