Plant of the Week

Forsythia

​The Basics:

Forsythia or Golden Bells, Forsythia spp.
2-10 ft tall and wide depending on the species
Full sun to part shade
Bright yellow blooms in early spring before leaves
Perennial shrub

Nothing announces spring is finally here quite as cheerily as a forsythia.  The bright yellow blooms are one of the first things to bloom in the spring when the forsythia becomes covered in small, bell shaped flowers.  Though the rest of the year you are left with a simple, green shrub, the spring display makes this one absolutely worth it.

Uses:  Forsythia comes in a wide range of sizes from the low, spreading Gold Tide forsythia at only 1-2 feet tall and wide all the way to Beatrix Farrand forsythia which stands at 10 feet tall with blooms up to 2 inches wide.  So whatever size space you look to fill, forsythia is a good option!  

Fun Fact:  Already have a forsythia bush?  Want more?  To propagate your forsythia, just take a cutting of a stem and set it a good, wet potting soil.  Wait a few weeks and it will root and become a new shrub!  forsythia will also spread naturally, slowly colonizing an area via the roots.  

Hardiness zones:  3-8

Plant of the Week by Erica