With its bright yellow flowers, the forsythia signals the final end of the cold season. The lavish flowering shrub has also conquered a regular place in the ornamental garden thanks to its undemanding nature. Any questions you still have about cultivating gold lilacs will receive a tried-and-tested answer here.
How do I care for a forsythia?
Forsythia is a bright yellow flowering shrub that blooms in spring and is popular in gardens because of its undemanding nature. For optimal care, forsythia should be watered in dry conditions and cut every 2-3 years after flowering. They thrive best in nutrient-rich, humus-rich soil and tolerate both sun and shade.
Planting forsythia correctly
The ideal time window for planting forsythia opens in March. The soil should be completely thawed and there should no longer be any fear of severe frost. Follow these steps professionally:
- Place the still potted young plant in a bucket of water
- Dig a planting pit with twice the volume of the root ball
- Enrich the excavation with compost, horn shavings or guano granules (€13.00 on Amazon)
- Unpot the forsythia and plant it exactly as deep as in the growing pot
Press the soil with your hands without compacting the soil too much and water generously. A mulch layer of leaves, grass clippings or bark mulch proves to be particularly beneficial for the growth phase.read more
Care tips
In order to coax a forsythia's golden yellow blooms, a clear care program is required. The most important points at a glance:
- Watere thoroughly during summer droughts
- Water potted plants regularly when the substrate has dried out
- From April to August, fertilize organically every 3-4 weeks with compost or nettle manure
- Thoroughly thin out the entire bush every May/June
- Cut to shape every 2-3 years immediately after flowering
Golden lilacs in pots receive winter protection so that the root ball does not freeze. If you choose autumn as the planting time, we recommend piling up the young forsythia with leaf mold, straw or needle twigs in the first winter. The shoots are given a cover made of jute or garden fleece. Established plants bravely face the winter without additional protection.read more
Which location is suitable?
Forsythia develops optimally in a sunny, warm location. Since its character is characterized by good-natured flexibility, the spring beauty also tolerates a partially shaded to shady location. Under reduced lighting conditions, however, you can expect a slightly reduced number of flowers and a looser habit.read more
The correct planting distance
The selected variety and intended use define the planting distance. Experience has verified the following values:
- Varieties with a growth height of 300 cm: planting distance 50 cm for cut hedges, 100 cm for open flower hedges
- Varieties with a height of 150 cm: planting distance 35 cm for cut hedges, 70 cm for open flower hedges
If the forsythia functions as a solitary plant, a distance of at least 120 cm should be maintained from neighboring plants.
What soil does the plant need?
Forsythia thrives in any good garden soil, which is ideally rich in nutrients and humus. A low to moderate lime content is accepted, as is a slight tendency towards acidic pH. However, the flowering bush should not be confronted with waterlogging or soil compaction.
What is the best time to plant?
Young plants in containers can be planted throughout the entire growing season. You can create the best starting conditions for a forsythia if you choose early spring as the planting time. In this case, the ornamental shrub has enough time to establish itself at the location before winter sets in.read more
When is flowering time?
The flowering period extends from the beginning of March to the end of April/beginning of May. The flowers unfold in their most beautiful splendor on the three-year-old shoots. If you don't want to wait that long for the gold bells, cut some shoots on the 4th. December to use them as Barbara branches. Then you can look forward to the yellow flowers in the vase at Christmas.
Cut forsythia correctly
The pivotal point of professional care is pruning. The timing plays just as important a role as the cut itself. You will get a forsythia in top shape if the flowering bush undergoes a maintenance cut every 2-3 years. How to do it right:
- Cut forsythia after flowering
- Choose a day with dry, overcast weather
- Short shoots that are too long by up to two thirds
- Place the scissors 2-3 mm above a sleeping eye
- Cut inward-facing, crossing and rubbing branches
Although topiary is only necessary every few years, thinning takes place every spring. Once the golden lilac has finished flowering, cut off any dead wood at the base. Create space in the crown for young shoots if older branches threaten to overgrow them. In the end, light and air should reach all regions of a forsythia and the shrub should present itself in a harmonious silhouette.
Watering forsythia
As a shallow-rooted plant, forsythia quickly suffers from a lack of water in dry summers. If the natural rainfall does not provide enough moisture, water the shrub in good time. In the limited substrate volume of a bucket, water the ornamental tree as soon as the top 3-4 centimeters of soil have dried.
Fertilize forsythia properly
The nutrient balance of a forsythia works in good garden soil without the addition of fertilizer. If you are already out in the garden with a wheelbarrow full of compost, the flowering bush will happily accept a portion of the organic fertilizer between April and August. A commercially available liquid fertilizer fulfills this task in the bucket.read more
Diseases
You will rarely have to complain about forsythia diseases - if at all. If he alth problems occur, they are caused by failures in care. A weakened shrub is susceptible to fungal and bacterial infections, such as powdery mildew, leaf and shoot wilt or Monilia tip drought. Cut out diseased shoots immediately and put your current care program to the test. It is usually not necessary to resort to chemical control agents, as there are a we alth of biological control agents available for the hobby garden.read more
Pests
When the forsythia blooms, most of the garden's pests are still in their starting blocks. The only exception are leaf bugs, as they overwinter as adult insects. The 5-10 mm small, winged parasites resemble aphids. If you fight leaf bugs when they first appear with the classic soft soap solution, there will be no major impairment of this year's flowers.
Wintering
Forsythia is completely hardy as soon as it has sufficiently rooted in the bed. From the second year onwards at the latest, no special protection is required. An exception applies to young plants that are planted in autumn and to golden lilacs in pots. This is how you overwinter the shrubs in an exemplary manner:
- Wrap young plants loosely with jute ribbons or garden fleece before the first frost
- Hill up the root area with straw, leaf mold, compost or pine fronds
- Wrap the bucket thickly with bubble wrap and place it on a wooden block
- Cover the substrate with sawdust, wood shavings or leaves
If winter comes with frost, a shallow-rooted forsythia quickly suffers from drought. If there is no snow while Grim Frost dominates, water the ornamental shrub on a frost-free day.
Propagate forsythia
One of the many pleasant characteristics of a forsythia is its uncomplicated propagation. If you would like more specimens of the cheerful yellow spring bloomer, you can choose from these methods:
- Cuttings: cut in July/August, defoliate the lower half and plant in a lean substrate
- Lowering: pull one-year-old shoots to the ground, bury the middle part and let them root until the next year
In contrast to the pure wild species, the garden forsythia rarely develops capsule fruits with seeds. Sowing for offspring is therefore out of the question or involves considerably more effort.read more
How do I transplant correctly?
Forsythia benefits from its natural resilience when the ornamental shrub is transplanted. To ensure that the tree roots quickly in the new location, we recommend this procedure:
- After flowering, cut back the forsythia by half to two thirds
- Thin out all dead wood, stunted and damaged branches
- In the radius of the growth height, cut off any root strands that are too long with a spade
- Use a digging fork to loosen the root ball and lift it out of the ground
At the new garden spot, dig a pit with twice the volume of the bale. You can optimize the excavation with compost and horn shavings. Place the forsythia in the middle of the pit and muddy the bush. Do not plant the tree deeper than its current location, otherwise it will take 1-2 years until the first flower after transplanting.read more
Is forsythia poisonous?
Due to its content of saponins and glycosides, forsythia is one of the mildly poisonous plants. Therefore, wear gloves during all planting and care work. Small children and pets should not be within reach of golden lilacs without supervision.read more
Forsythia not blooming
If the longed-for flowers don't appear, the forsythia demonstrates its dissatisfaction with incorrect care. These causes are hidden behind it:
- Pruning in autumn
- Waterlogging or drought stress
- Delayed ground frosts
Goldbells in pots will miss a bloom if they are not protected in winter. Due to the exposed location of the root ball, it freezes in severe frost. The subsequent thaw then causes the stressed tissue cells to burst, so that the flower shoots are no longer supplied with water and nutrients.read more
Brown leaves
Brown leaves on a forsythia are considered a symptom of shoot rot. This is a bacterial disease that appears in the form of brown spots that are constantly spreading. As it progresses, the foliage and shoots turn dark brown to black. Immediately cut the bush back to the he althy wood.
Yellow leaves
If the leaves of a forsythia turn yellow in the middle of the season, this damage indicates Monilia peak drought. This fungal infection first attacks the flowers and spreads to the foliage as soon as it sprouts on the bush. In the absence of effective control agents, only radical pruning can save the flowering tree. Please burn the clippings or dispose of them in household waste to prevent them from spreading further in the garden.
The most beautiful varieties
- Dresden early spring: the earliest forsythia ever with large, rich yellow flowers from mid-February
- Lynwood Gold: favorite variety of hobby gardeners thanks to bright yellow flowers and powerful habit up to 300 cm high
- Goldzauber: the noble forsythia with 4 cm large flowers and a robust frost tolerance up to -8 degrees
- Minigold: a magnificent specimen for the bucket, as a height of 150 cm is not exceeded
- Maree d’Or: scores with compact growth up to 100 cm and acts as a lush ground cover with a width of 150 cm
