My friend has a plant that is growing up to 10 feet high. She is
wondering if she could cut it back to maybe a foot high this next
winter, and expect it to survive and hopefully thrive and flower as a
somewhat smaller plant. Does anyone know if forsythia can handle this
kind of abuse?

Bob

Bob F wrote:
My friend has a plant that is growing up to 10 feet high. She is
wondering if she could cut it back to maybe a foot high this next
winter, and expect it to survive and hopefully thrive and flower as a
somewhat smaller plant. Does anyone know if forsythia can handle this
kind of abuse?

Yes. I'd often cut mine back in early Spring, too.

--
john mcwilliams

In message , Bob F
writes
My friend has a plant that is growing up to 10 feet high. She is
wondering if she could cut it back to maybe a foot high this next
winter, and expect it to survive and hopefully thrive and flower as a
somewhat smaller plant. Does anyone know if forsythia can handle this
kind of abuse?

Bob


Forsythias can be pruned hard. If I recall correctly the usual advice to
cut back one third of the canes each year.

I have seen Forsythias trimmed to shape, but this tends to inhibit
flowering.

Pruning of Forsythias is normally done after flowering - it flowers on
the previous year's wood, so that later it is pruned, the more flowers
that you lose. It would seem better to prune it now, rather than wait
till winter.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

On Jul 1, 11:07?pm, "Bob F" wrote:
My friend has a plant that is growing up to 10 feet high. She is
wondering if she could cut it back to maybe a foot high this next
winter, and expect it to survive and hopefully thrive and flower as a
somewhat smaller plant. Does anyone know if forsythia can handle this
kind of abuse?

With a forsythia that size it's best to split it into a couple three
smaller plants. With heavy pruning your forsythia will just come back
bigger and badder than ever.

Thanks for the help. Messages forwarded.

Bob

"Bob F" wrote in message
. ..
My friend has a plant that is growing up to 10 feet high. She is
wondering if she could cut it back to maybe a foot high this next
winter, and expect it to survive and hopefully thrive and flower as
a somewhat smaller plant. Does anyone know if forsythia can handle
this kind of abuse?

Bob

On Jul 1, 11:07 pm, "Bob F" wrote:
My friend has a plant that is growing up to 10 feet high. She is
wondering if she could cut it back to maybe a foot high this next
winter, and expect it to survive and hopefully thrive and flower as a
somewhat smaller plant. Does anyone know if forsythia can handle this
kind of abuse?

Bob

Oh geez, yeah. An overexuberant 11 year old pruned the huge forsythia
down the street back to a 6 foot wide collection of vertical sticks
and one green shoot about a month ago. It's already leafing out again.

With a forsythia that size it's best to split it into a couple three
smaller plants. With heavy pruning your forsythia will just come back
bigger and badder than ever.

**** Can you start the cuttings ? If so, how, when and how to do
it... in water or ?

Thanks