Forsythia is a bushy plant. In nature, there are dwarf varieties, up to one meter in height, and species up to 3 meters, forming a full crown of a tree. The bark of the trunks is a rough texture, gray with a brownish tint. The leaves are simple, oval in shape, serrated at the edges, from 2 to 14.5 cm long. The flowers are bell-shaped, bright yellow in color, form small fruit-boxes with seeds of the plant. Trimming Forsythia and caring for it are not difficult, because special skills are not required here.
Features of growing Forsythia at home
In European countries it is surprising if Forsythia is not planted along the alley or in the square. This is a common plant in Central Europe. The tree is a symbol of the arrival of spring, because it blooms one of the first. It is joyfully grown in their courtyards, gardens and is actively used by city residents for decoration in landscape design.
Ornamental plant undemanding to care and unpretentious in relation to the soil. Therefore, if you tried to pamper the forsythia in the fall, in the spring the tree will thank you with lush flowering.
Forsythia begins to dazzle with a yellow flame when the gray streets have not yet awakened from the winter cold. Earlier flowering bushes - a property that distinguishes the plant from other green spaces.
So what are the features of the plant, how to care for it, and what will it take to trim forsythia in the fall to grow a lush and healthy bush that is popular with gardeners? Read on.
When to plant a decorative plant
Planting and replanting bushes are carried out in spring or early autumn, before the first frosts appear, so that Forsythia has time to take root before the cold. The best place to grow is a sunny or semi-shaded area protected from the wind. Although Forsythia is shade tolerant, but what a lush flowering plant does not like light!
You can plant bushes on soils of any type, but forsythia is best established on slightly alkaline dry soil. If the site is soil with high acidity, then before planting seedlings, dig it with wood ash.
Forsythia landing pattern
Wells with a diameter of up to 50 cm and a depth of up to 60 cm are prepared for seedlings. This will ensure the optimal position of the roots at a depth of up to 35 cm. If several plants are planned to be planted, the distance between them should be at least 150 cm.
Preparing pits for landing
Before placing seedlings in the ground, drainage (broken brick, gravel) 15 cm thick is poured on the bottom of the hole, on top is a mixture of sheet earth, sand and peat in a ratio of 2: 1: 1, supplemented with wood ash (not more than 200 g). Seedlings are placed in the hole, dug in. The trunk part is necessarily compacted and watered abundantly with water.
Important! Forsythia pruning in the fall applies not only to adult trees, but also to planting material, therefore seedlings are pre-cleaned.
Plants planted in the spring, in the future require routine care.
Trimming Forsythia in the fall, planting and caring for plants are different from those carried out after winter. In this case, it will be required to mulch the plot, regardless of the planted species. Covering material should be selected taking into account breathability, so that in the winter season, during periods of thaw, under the “hood” flower buds would not be sung.
Forsythia Care Rules
Caring for a plant is practically no different from the classical scheme for caring for any other bush or tree. If there is enough rainfall in the summer, then there is no need to organize watering. Forsythia gets enough water and moisture from the atmosphere. In the dry season, the bushes are watered 1-2 times a month at the rate of 10-15 liters of water for each plant.
After watering the trees, under them they loosen the soil to the depth of the bayonet of the garden shoulder blade, weeds are removed. Such simple actions provide free access of air to the roots of plants. After loosening, the area around the trunk of the bush is mulched using compost or dry ground.
Forsythia fertilizers are applied three times per season:
- With the onset of spring in the near- stem circle, retreating from the trunk itself about 3-5 cm, spread overripe manure with a thick layer. After - water abundantly. Manure simultaneously performs two tasks: nourishes the bush with organic substances, acts as a mulch.
- During the April flowering, a complex of mineral fertilizers is introduced: 60-70 grams per 1 m 2 .
- At the end of the flowering period, when the plant lays flower buds for the next year, Kemira Universal is used for top dressing: 110 grams per 1 m 2 .
Forsythia Trimming
Trimming Forsythia in the fall for beginners will seem difficult, but these are just general rules for caring for the plant.
Young bushes lend themselves only to sanitary cleaning. At the same time, frozen, shrunken, broken shoots are removed. In adult bushes and trees with the beginning of the spring thaw, the tips of the branches affected by frost are cut. The main pruning will take place in the summer, after forsythia has faded: the branches are cut in half, the old and dead branches and shoots are cut off, leaving 4-6 cm from the soil level (base of the trunk).
Trimming Forsythia to prepare for winter involves cleaning and forming the crown of the bush (cupped or spherical). If necessary, rejuvenate an adult plant, cut off all branches, leaving 2/3 of the base to activate the growth of young shoots. It is not recommended to abuse such “haircuts”, otherwise the bush will give abundant growth, but small flowering. Anti-aging trim without damage to the decorative properties of Forsythia recommended 3-4 per year.
How to approach the procedure
Pruning European Forsythia is an important stage in the care of plants, affecting the further development and flowering of bushes. If you have not had to deal with such a procedure, and you have little experience in removing wilting shoots, leave the cleaning for the summer. The end of flowering means that you can start cutting branches.
Autumn pruning of Forsythia can negatively say at spring flowering - the buds simply will not bloom. Therefore, it is better if you do not have experience with garden plants, leave this matter for the summer or seek help from a gardener.
Off-season pruning involves cleaning the bush from overly thickening the central part of the plant branches. In the future, this procedure is carried out in order to update the decorative form of the bush, if the shoots are knocked out of a crown ball.
Forsythia pruning in the fall is a way to get rid of excess and damaged branches. Carrying out the procedure, make sure that it is not too intense, so do not get too carried away. Cutting off too many shoots, even if they are superfluous, you will weaken the plant, its immune system before frosts.
Another important nuance that you need to know when planning to trim the Forsythia for the winter: carry out the procedure in early autumn so that the slices heal before the onset of cold weather.
Bush pruning technology
In some cases, pruning of bushes is carried out in the spring, even before flowering. Carefully inspect the bush to identify broken, frozen or damaged shoots and remove them. Pay special attention to the tips of the branches of a decorative plant - they most often suffer from colds. Having performed the procedure correctly and removing a moderate number of weak branches, you will be convinced that pruning will not negatively affect flowering, but only contribute to its activity.
Gardeners recommend shortening the shoots by half immediately after flowering. The peculiarity of the procedure is that pruning is carried out either on the side branch, or over the strongest bud on the branch.
When cleaning the old shoots of Forsythia bushes, it is better not to cut them completely, but to cut them off, leaving a small ledge. Such pruning stimulates a new growth of strong young shoots, which in the future will form a lush crown of the plant.
Forcingi Trimming Scheme
The cropping scheme is not difficult. Usually young, highly branched shoots are shortened by about 1/3. Old ones are removed almost completely, but only in the spring, since in the autumn new buds are laid on them. Putting off the procedure until September, next year you can not wait for the flowering.
Those of the branches that spread along the ground or come into contact with it, must be removed. Such shoots can give new roots and grow into the ground. Once every four years, the shrub is completely rejuvenated in order to extend its life and renew the crown. When pruning, all old shoots are cut to the root, leaving up to 5 young healthy shoots.
Forsythia is an ornamental plant of unsurpassed beauty, giving joy and delight from contemplating the bright appearance of bushes that adorn and revitalize the territory adjacent to the house, a summer cottage, an alley.