With its vibrant yellow blooms, the forsythia is a total showstopper in the spring garden. To keep it looking its best year after year, it needs a little TLC—specifically, the right pruning technique and the occasional rejuvenation.
When should you rejuvenate a forsythia?
If you stay on top of things and prune your forsythia regularly, you might never actually need to do a full rejuvenation. However, it’s a different story if your shrub has been neglected for a few years or has stopped blooming as well as it used to. If it’s looking a bit “tired” or sparse, it’s definitely time for a fresh start.
How do you perform a rejuvenation cut?
You’ve basically got two ways to give your forsythia a makeover. One is a “radical” hard prune, and the other is a more gradual approach spread over two or three years. With the radical method, you simply cut all the branches and stems back to about 8 to 12 inches above the ground and let the plant focus on recovering.
Rejuvenation over several years
If you’d rather not be quite so aggressive, you can prune in the winter or very early spring. Pick out four or five strong, relatively young stems to keep, and cut everything else down to ground level. You can skip the usual maintenance pruning that normally happens right after the blooming period.
At the end of the following winter, cut those older stems you saved down to the ground as well, and clear out any weak or thin new growth. Trim the remaining healthy shoots to encourage a nice, bushy shape. Just keep in mind that it will take two or three years for your forsythia to get back to its full flowering glory.
Quick Summary:
- Rejuvenate when the plant looks old or stops blooming
- Can be done almost year-round
- Best time: Winter
- Option 1: Radical hard prune
- Option 2: Gradual rejuvenation over 2 or 3 years
- Expect a 2 to 3-year wait for full blooms to return
Pro Tip: You can rejuvenate a forsythia pretty much whenever you want, no matter how old it is. Just be prepared for the fact that the plant won’t bloom the following spring.
