Forsythia is a perennial shrub of the olive family. Forsythia decorates the blooming gardens from March to April. Its golden-yellow four-leafed flowers, similar to bluebells, are shaped like a fluffy cloud wrapped around flexible leafless stems. But the oval, slightly toothed leaves appear later after the end of the flowering period. Here is a very unique plant: it has a flowering cycle, and then gives leaves and young shoots.
Forsythia grows in East Asia. A beautiful Asian plant conquered Europe in the 18th century and now occupies a worthy place in various gardens. It attracts gardeners with its unique shape, and its bright flowering against the background of “bare ” trees after winter is truly admirable.
Reproduction
Golden forsythia propagates in autumn by cuttings or layering (weeping form), rarely by seeds. Layering is the easiest way, because the lowered branches in contact with the soil can take root on their own. But in order to propagate the plant with cuttings in the fall, lower the branches to the soil, simply cut the bark in the place where the seedling will appear, cut the branches and sprinkle with earth for 10-15 cm (3.9-5.9 inches). In the spring, cut the cuttings from the mother plant, and finally, after a year, the young plant will bloom.
Propagate it by cuttings: green or lignified. Green cuttings are cut in early June, incubated in a solution of stimulants, then rooted and covered with a film. By autumn, the plant survives and is ready for wintering. Do not forget that in winter, the soil is sprinkled with dry leaves or straw to a height of 15-20 cm (5.9-7.9 inches).
Reproduction by lignified cuttings is also not particularly difficult. In the fall, the thick branches are cut into cuttings measuring 15-18 cm (5.9-7 inches), then they are buried in the ground for 8-10 cm (3.1-3.9 inches), so that the upper part of the bud remains. Then carefully cover the plant with foliage. In addition, you can buy ready-made plant seedlings.
Planting
Forsythia seedlings are planted in autumn, choosing sunny, windless places and taking into account the characteristics of each variety. However, it can feel good in partial shade, so it looks appropriate under the windows of a country house. The plant likes light and fertile soil. The ideal soil mix for it consists of humus, leaf soil and sand in a ratio of: 1:1:2. The planting pits are made 60×60 cm (2×2 ft) and deepened by 70-80 cm (2.3-2.6 ft), keeping a distance between them of 1-3 meters (1.1-3.3 yards), depending on the size of the adult plant. The hole is filled in a quarter of the drainage layer with gravel or broken bricks. Then carefully place the seedling in the hole, sprinkle it with the prepared soil mixture and pour it abundantly.
Taking Care
Every autumn, forsythia bushes are mulched with leaves or straw, and a flexible hanging branch is bent to the ground, secured and carefully covered with spruce branches. In the spring, the mulch layer is removed, the branches are released, and a thick layer of humus or manure is placed under the bushes (but not too close to the base of the stems) and fertilizers at the rate of 70-80 g per square meter (2.5-2.8 oz per 3.2 ft2). During the growing season, you should forget to water the plant. It tolerates drought better than excess moisture, so it needs watering only in the driest months.
But the most important event in the care of forsythia is the annual pruning. Note that strongly cut bushes bloom very poorly, so young shoots are cut only from the top, and decorative pruning is cut so that the stems do not differ much from the overall composition. After wintering, dry branches are cut to healthy wood, and after flowering, slightly less than half of the withered shoots are cut off.
With proper care, forsythia will greet you every spring with golden clouds of bright yellow flowers, and in the fall it will turn the garden into a beautiful fairy tale, because its autumn foliage is extremely beautiful.
Best Types and Variations
Forsythia has seven species and many varieties with similar biological characteristics. European forsythia and dark green forsythia have perfectly adapted to the warm climate of the southern regions. Consider the characteristics of each of these types.
Weeping Forsythia
Weeping forsythia is a spreading shrub up to 3 m (3.3 yard) with drooping arched branches. Its bright golden flowers are 2-2.5 cm (0.8-1 inch) in diameter in racemes of 3-5 pieces (sometimes they grow one at a time). The olive-green stems are clustered in simple oval leaves with serrated edges and young trifoliate leaves. In landscape design, forsythia hanging is successfully used to decorate the walls of houses, located on a trellis. I will mention two of the most decorative forms of forsythia hanging: Forsythia variegated, Forsythia hanging “Fortune”.
It blooms with bright yellow-orange flowers. It has serrated dark green leaves of xiphoid shape, surrounded by a bright yellow border. The landscape with it looks very decorative.
Fortuna Forsythia
It is an ornamental shrub of the first two or three years, with erect branches, and then forming arcuate curved shoots. The flowers are orange-yellow in racemes of 2-5 pieces and abundantly spray the bush during flowering.
Hardy Hybrids
As a result of successful experiments of breeders, a winter-hardy and drought-resistant species of forsythia was obtained, which is called hybrid or intermediate. Its magnificent shrub reaches 3.5 m (3.8 yards) in height, has straight and drooping shoots, strewn with bright yellow flowers. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate, simple, rarely trifoliate.
Ovate Nakai Forsythia
Elegant shrub up to 2 m (2.2 yards) tall) with a wide-spreading crown. Its single bright yellow flowers of golden mist cover the entire bush. The flowers are replaced by long oval leaves, pointed to the top. It blooms earlier than other plants, but it does not bloom for long-from 12 to 18 days. But it is very elegant in autumn, its orange, yellow and dark purple withering leaves will perfectly decorate the garden.
Europaea Forsythia
The thick, elastic stems of the European luxury forsythia form a hemisphere with a diameter of up to 3 m (3.3 yards) and extend to 1.5-2 m (1.6-2.2 yards). The flowers are large bell-shaped, bright lemon-yellow. Its long oval leaves (4 to 8 cm/1.6-3.1 inches) have a delicate light green hue. They are durable, can live for more than 70 years.
Viridissima Forsythia
This type of forsythia gets its name because of the dark green color of the branches, reaching 3 m (3.3 yards) in height. Its bright purple flowers are collected in bunches of 3 pieces, rarely singly. The leaves are simple, lanceolate, toothed at the top. This species is very resistant to drought and is more thermophilic than other plant species.