Forsythia that are not cut regularly tend to spread and become woody. The out-of-shape bushes not only don't look nice. They also hardly have any flowers anymore. Forsythias therefore need a rejuvenation treatment every two to three years.
How and when should you rejuvenate a forsythia?
To rejuvenate a forsythia, you should remove the woody shoots every two to three years. The best time is winter or immediately after flowering. Remove strong branches and older shoots that have not flowered close to the ground.
Why do forsythia need to be rejuvenated?
If forsythia is not rejuvenated, the shoots become woody in the middle and branch out very much. The bush no longer receives any light inside, so neither leaves nor flowers can develop.
Rejuvenation can prevent the spring bloomers from getting old and hardly producing any flowers anymore.
Every two, or at the latest three years, you should grab the secateurs and saw and remove the woody shoots of the forsythia.
The best time to rejuvenate
Theoretically, you can do the rejuvenation cut at any time. However, the best time is winter. In cold temperatures, the shrubs survive pruning better. Fungal diseases can be avoided in this way.
Even immediately after flowering, there is still time to rejuvenate the forsythia. The shrub then has enough time to form new shoots. Many of the yellow flowers will only grow on these next year.
If you rejuvenate the forsythia heavily in the fall, you must expect that the shrub will have little or no flowering next spring.
How to remove old shoots
This is what you need to rejuvenate the forsythia:
- Sharp secateurs (€21.00 at Amazon)
- Hedge trimmer (for forsythia hedges)
- Pruning saw
- Possibly. Electric saw
- Gloves
Lighten the crown by removing strong branches. Also cut off any older shoots that obviously haven't flowered yet. This can be recognized by the fact that there are no flower remains on the shoots.
Cutting the woody branches can be quite laborious. They can often only be removed with a saw. Saw these shoots as close to the ground as possible.
Tips & Tricks
Even if the forsythia is very old, you can still dare to radically prune the shrub. It sprouts reliably again. You shouldn't expect just one flower in the first year after such pruning.
