GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

04-05-2005, 12:45 PM

wrote:

This is the second year that forsythia have not bloomed. Midstate NY,
zone 5 ... 50 ft row ....six to eight foot high, 20+ years established
...they get trimmed back every summer by mid Aug at the latest so as
not to clip off next year's flower buds ...but parts that haven't
required trimming also haven't bloomed.

Stew,

1. Try cutting some of the oldest canes down to the ground.
New, younger (and likely more productive) ones will emerge.

2. Apply a little fertilizer (and water if needed ) during the
growing season.

3. As others have noted, you are pruning rather late in the
year. Best time is immediately following flowering season, so
that new growth (which will flower next spring) is not
removed.

4. Many folks (including me) think forsythia looks best if
unpruned or pruned as little as possible -- that encourages
the crazy sculptural form of the branches. I realize it
doesn't suit everyone's taste, but if you have space and
inclination for that, consider it. It can be supplemented
with #1.

Best of luck.

Mike Prager
On the North Carolina coast - Zone 8a
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