Many garden owners are surprised that their forsythia doesn't have any flowers in spring. Pruning the bush in autumn is often responsible for this. It is better not to cut forsythia in autumn, but wait until after flowering next spring.
Should you prune forsythia in the fall?
Forsythia should not be cut in autumn as this will affect their flowering in spring. The best time to prune is immediately after flowering in spring. In autumn, only dead or diseased shoots can be removed.
Do not cut forsythia in autumn
Hobby gardeners who want to prepare the garden for winter like to use scissors (€14.00 on Amazon) and trim all the trees and bushes in the garden. With forsythia - whether planted as a single plant, standard tree or hedge, this is not advisable.
If you want abundant blooms, autumn is a bad time to prune.
Forsythias bloom on last year's shoots
To know when it's best to cut forsythia, it's worth taking a look at the shrub's profile. Forsythia belong to the mesotonic plants.
Mesoton means that new shoots grow primarily from the center. They initially grow very straight in height. Most flowers develop on shoots that grew the previous year.
When pruning heavily in the fall, you remove exactly those branches that would bloom next year. Therefore, it is not recommended to cut forsythia in autumn.
What can you cut in autumn?
Severe pruning should be carried out in spring immediately after flowering.
When pruning your forsythia in the fall, only remove shoots that are dead or diseased.
Of course, you can also cut off protruding branches or thin out very old shoots. But remember that with every cut you reduce next year's flowers.
Perform rejuvenation pruning in winter
You should rejuvenate your forsythia every two to three years. All woody shoots are sawn off just above the ground and the branched branches in the bush crown are cut.
You can do this work in the fall if necessary. But there are better times for this too, such as winter or early spring.
Tips & Tricks
Even if you cut your forsythia at the wrong time, it's not a big deal. The shrub will have little or no flowering except the following year. It then needs a year to develop new flowering branches.
