Many garden lovers would like to grow their forsythia as a standard tree. They hope that this will allow the bush to spread less and allow them to plant flowers under the standard tree. However, forsythia are shrubs and cannot easily be planted as a standard tree.
How do you grow a forsythia as a standard tree?
Forsythia cannot be grown directly as a standard tree, but gardeners graft cuttings onto a special base that forms a trunk to achieve the desired look. Regular cutting is necessary to maintain the spherical crown shape, but affects flower production.
Forsythia bushes cannot be cut to form a standard tree
The hobby gardener simply imagines growing a standard tree from his forsythia. But it's not enough to plant a cutting and prune it again and again.
Forsythia grows mesotonically. This means that most of the new shoots sprout from the ground in the middle of the bush.
The attempt to use a woody branch as a basis for the standard trunk also fails, precisely because new shoots continually grow back from the ground.
Buy high stem from gardener
Forsythias as standard stems are available from gardeners. However, these are always cuttings that have been grafted onto a base.
A plant that forms a real trunk is used as a base. When a cutting is grafted onto this trunk, the forsythia appears like a standard tree.
Groping a forsythia yourself is part of the fine art of gardening. Beginners rarely succeed in growing a standard tree this way.
Cut regularly
A gardener's standard forsythia must be cut continuously so that the crown retains its spherical shape.
Unfortunately, pruning is at the expense of the flower. The hobby gardener has to decide between form and flowering.
In order to obtain a compact, spherical crown shape, all protruding forsythia branches are cut as soon as possible. If you want the shrub to have a lot of flowers, only older branches may be removed.
Standard forsythia remain smaller than shrubs
While a fully grown forsythia can grow to a height of three meters, standard forsythia remain rather small.
Smaller, upright-growing varieties are usually used for standard plants. Regular cutting also means that the forsythia does not spread as much and grow taller.
Tips & Tricks
Another form of refinement is growing as a bonsai. Experience in growing bonsai trees is an advantage. Let an experienced bonsai gardener show you the necessary care measures.
