Forsythia Bloom Problems

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jkramer Saint Charles, IL(Zone 5a) May 01, 2009

I've had a couple of Forsythias growing in sunny spots for six years. They had come as "volunteer" shoots from our previous house and are now about 7 feet tall. They bloomed pretty well for the first two years, but now the only branches that have flowers in the spring are those that are growing at the base of the bush, with no flowers at all on the rest of the shrub. Any ideas as to what might be happening?

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Quilter5bdsr (Barb) Manchester, NH(Zone 5a) May 01, 2009

The same thing has happened all over. Mine are the same way here in NH. The only thing I can relate to this is that they are growing well where they were covered in snow. The tops were exposed to severe cold and ice this year and I think it really effected them. I'm watching to see if the tops do anything more. If not I'll cut them back and hope for a bushier bush next year.

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Windy Belleville, IL(Zone 6b) May 02, 2009

Some plants bloom on old wood and others on new growth each year. I think the forsythia may need to be pruned a certain way to get lots of yellow blooms.
Last fall I pruned a lot of branches on my forsythia because it was getting a little crowded looking. I pruned out branches that were overlapping and really long.
I didn't do it to get more blooms, but it sure made a difference when spring came this year.
You could probably get more detailed info on how to prune and when. I just seemed to have pruned it right by accident.

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Windy Belleville, IL(Zone 6b) May 02, 2009

As you can see now that the flowering is over, the plant is still pretty dense, so you can imagine how over crowded it must have been before I pruned it. It is about 10 years old or so.
This picture was take in April, the other in early March

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tubbytee Ames, NE(Zone 5b) May 03, 2009

The one thing I know is prune right after they are done blooming..next year blooms are on new growth.

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