Forsythia flowers are always on the previous year's shoots. The shrub should therefore be pruned every spring after flowering.
Stretched densely with yellow flowers, bushy and sprawling, that's how we know and love the forsythia (Forsythia). Many gardeners also know this richly flowering shrub as gold bells or gold lilac. Unfortunately, many forsythias are just dying and looking rather desolate.
With a targeted pruning, you can remove non-blooming branches and give the plant new strength, so that the yellow splendor can fully unfold next spring.
Pruning after flowering
First of all: It is not because of the location that the forsythia does not bloom or blooms too weakly. The shrub is easy to care for throughout and can cope with most soils and any amount of sunlight.
However, regular pruning is necessary for the flowers to develop. However, with solitary forsythia, it is sufficient if the hedge trimmer is used every two to three years. The so-called clearing out or maintenance pruning ensures that the center of the bush does not become too dense and woody without flowers.
Long, overhanging shoots that grow far beyond the crown are also shortened.
Remove old shoots
The flowers sit directly on the wood and are created in the previous year. However, old shoots lose their willingness to flower after about three to four years. Remove these branches.
- The right time is just after flowering, recognizable when the yellow petals wither and contract.
- Remove heavily ramified branches as well.
- Shorten very old branches directly at the base. This will prevent the plant from aging. The young shoots gain more vigour, and develop numerous flower buds for the coming spring.
☛ Tip: If you watch your forsythia closely during the flowering period and notice that individual branches are not bearing any flowers at all, you can radically remove these branches. Forsythia tolerates a lot and produces new, lush shoots next year.
Forsythia at a different time of yearcut back?
You missed the spring cut? Don't worry, the plants don't mind being cut back in early summer. And in this case you can even better recognize which young shoots have newly formed.
Forsythias planted as a hedge are also best cut back in May or June. It is important that the existing branches and the new branches are in the right proportion for dense growth and more buds.
You can even reach for the scissors in autumn and winter: this is the best time of year for pruning to remove old wood.
At a glance: How to flower forsythia
➫ Cut out non-flowering twigs
➫ Cut back old twigs in the middle of the bush every two to three years
➫ Cut off long, overhanging young shoots
➫ Cut off densely branched twigs
➫ Recommended pruning time: after flowering, but also possible at other times of the year