Forsythia
Few plants are as bright andcolorful in the spring as the forsythias. Theseare opposite-leaved shrubs native to the Orientwith the exception of 5 species which is nativeto Europe. They all produce yellow flowers inthe spring before the leaves appear. They arefast-growing shrubs varying in shape accordingto variety, easily propagated by hard or soft-wood cuttings and cut branches are easily forcedinto bloom when brought into the house andplaced in water some time after Christmas. Theyare long-lived, 50- and 6o-year-old plants, oftenflourishing in perfect condition.
At the turn of the century there were onlyabout 4 forsythias available—now Americannurserymen offer many. They are not susceptibleto severe disease or insect pests and hence require little care. Since they bloom on woodmade the previous year, they should be prunedonly after they flower, for if this is done before-hand, many potential flowers will be cut off inthe process. They grow in almost any kind ofsoil and can be grown in urban conditions. Theycan be sheared to make a formal hedge, but thisdetracts from the graceful habit of growth.The hardiest, as well as the earliest to bloom,is F. ovata, usually blooming a week or to daysbefore the others and satisfactory in placeswhere winter temperatures do not go below— to° F. All of the others will have their flowerbuds killed or partially killed at this temperature.Pruning should not be a shearing process;rather it should be a thinning out of the olderbranches at the base of the plant, that allowingthe younger, more vigorous ones to take over.Too often one sees them indiscriminately hackedoff at the top, resulting in unsightly plants forthe remainder of the year.
Propagation
Seed is produced sparsely, but it can begerminated after stratification for a months at40′ F. Plants may be easily divided with a sharpspade, some species easily form layers, andsoftwood and hardwood cuttings all root very.easily.
Some of the more important species andvarieties are:
x ‘Arnold Dwarf’ 4′ Zone 5
Resulting from a cross between F. intermediaand F. japonica made in the Arnold Arboretumin 1941, this hybrid should never be planted forits flowers, which are small and greenish yellowand are produced sparsely. In fact, plants maybe 5 or 6 years old before they produce anyflowers at all. As a woody ground cover, it isexcellent chiefly because of the fact that itsprocumbent branches root readily whereverthey touch moist soil. A 6-year-old plant may beonly 2-3 ft. tall, but nearly 7 ft. wide, and as itgrows older it may grow a few feet taller.However, if desired, this taller growth can beremoved easily with brush scythe or pruningshears. Its ability to remain comparatively lowand to spread regardless of the slope on whichit is planted, are its chief merits.
europaea 6′ Zone 5 European Forsythia
Native to Europe, this has entire leaves, nottoothed like most of the others, and it does notbloom so profusely as do some of the otherspecies.
x intermedia 9′ Zone 4 Border Forsythia
Actually, this is a hybrid species (F. saspensa xF. viridissima) originating in Europe before1880. It is rather stiff and upright, although thebranches do arch slightly. It is best to grow named clones of this variety which have beenasexually propagated, for these retain their trueshape and habit. Some of these would be:`Beatrix Farrand’‚Äîthis is a cross between acolchicine-induced tetraploid and E ovaia,being a triploid, originating in the ArnoldArboretum in t939 as a result of the plant-breeding work of Dr. Karl Sax. The flowers areoften as much as 24 in. in dia. and, in certainsituations, are slightly darker than those of F.intermedia ‘Spectabilis’. It is upright and densein habit, produces heavy bloom, and is becom-ing popular for its vivid yellow, conspicuousflowers.
`Densiflora’‚Äîthis originated in t899 and haspale yellow flowers. The plant is more uprightthan some of the others.
‘Karl Sax’‚Äîsimilar in most respects 10′Beatrix Farrand’, this is supposed to be slightlymore flower-bud hardy in the Middle West. Itoriginated in the Arnold Arboretum in 1944 andwas named in 196o.
`Lynwood’‚Äîthis was originally found as abranch sport of F. intermedia ‘Spectabilis’ in agarden in Cookstown, County Tyrone, Ireland,and was introduced by the Donard Nursery ofNewcastle, County Down, Ireland. It wasintroduced into America in 1953 by the GulfStream Nursery of Wachapreague, Va., and isconsidered an improvement over F. intermedia’Spectabilis’ in that its flowers are more openand seem to be better distributed along thestem; that is, not so bunched. It, too, is abrilliant yellow, only minutely lighter in shadethan F. intermedia ‘Spectabilis’, is upright inhabit, possibly a little stiff, but still mostbeautiful in flower.
`Nana’‚Äîhere probably belong several plantslisted by various nurseries as “dwarf.” It maytake the plant 7 years to bloom from the timethe cutting is taken and rooted and even then theflowers are not profuse, but small and of poorquality, being merely a greenish yellow. One2o-year-old plant was 5 ft. tall and 8 ft. wide,but in all that time it could not be called a goodflowering specimen.
`Primulina’‚Äîoriginated in 1910 as a chanceseedling in the Arnold Arboretum and namedbecause of its light, primrose-yellow flowers.’Speetabilis’‚Äîcommonly called the Showy-border Forsythia, this originated in the greatSpaeth Nurseries of Berlin, Germany, in 19¬∞6; itwas introduced into America by the ArnoldArboretum in 1908. It is still one of the mostpopular of all, with flowers that are as vivid ayellow as ‘Beatrix Farrand’. Being an F.intermedia variety, it is more upright andsturdy than F. suspensa, the flowers are larger(about ti in.) and are produced in greaterquantity and in clusters. Some consider the color display is almost a -brassy” yellow, yetthere are many who prefer it for just this reason.It is a darker yellow than the F. suspensavarieties (vivid yellow, 2.5Y 8.5/13 of theNickerson Color Fan) and with `BeatrixFarrand’ can be classed as having the darkestyellow flowers of the entire group.
`Spring Glory’‚Äîa branch sport of another ofthe Arnold Arboretum’s introductions (F.infermedia ‘Primulina’), this was found in thegarden of Mr. H. H. Horvath, Mentor,Ohio, about I930 and was introduced by theWayside Gardens of Mentor, Ohio, about 1942.This and its parent, the Primrose Forsythia,have flowers that arc a lighter yellow than theothers, without being the objectionable greenishyellow of ‘Arnold Dwarf’. It is an improvementover the once popular Primrose Forsythia in thatit has larger flowers (about 2 in. in dia.) andmore of them; hence it makes a much betterdisplay. Because of this, it may well replace thePrimrose Forsythia in general landscape use.ovata 4′ Zone 4 Korean ForsythiaThis should not be considered as one of thebest forsythias in Hardiness Zone 4 or inwarmer areas, since the flowers are small andoften are produced erratically. However, inslightly colder areas where the flower budsof the above-mentioned forsythias are known tobe killed by winter cold, this might be tried, if aforsythia must be planted. Hence its uses arelimited greatly, but it is worth mentioning. Theflowers appear about to days before most of theother forsythias. Mr. E. H. Wilson first sentseeds to the Arnold Arboretum in t9 t7,collected from native plants in the DiamondMountains in Korea. The original plant fromthese seeds is still growing well.
suspensa 9′ Zone 5 Weeping Forsythia
A native to China, this has widely archingbranches that may touch the ground. It isinteresting, but some of its varieties are evenbetter. This species and its varieties are usuallyidentified by the hollow pith (solid at thenodes) in their stems and by the leaves whichare often deeply lobed or divided into 3 separateleaflets. Neither this nor its varieties produce asmany flowers as does F. inrermedia and itsvarieties. The two most popular varieties are:
fortunei‚Äîthis is the form with gracefullyarching branches, more upright in habit thanSiebold’s Forsythia, and because it has been sopopular for so long, it is the form of F. suspensawhich everyone has come to associate with thisgenii… The flowers are the same color as thoseof Siebold’s, only slightly larger.
`Sieboldii’‚Äîthis is the first forsythia to beintroduced into European and Americangardens; in Holland, in 1833; in England, about
20 years later; and in America, probablyshortly thereafter. It is the form with the long,graceful, often procumbent branches that issometimes seen planted at the edge of a wallwhere the long stems have an opportunity tohang down vertically for several feet. The stemsroot easily wherever they touch moist soil;the flowers arc a brilliant yellow (NickersonColor Fan 5Y 9113) and are about t f M. in dia.viridissima ‘Bronxensis’ Zone 5Originating in the New York Botanical Gardenin 5939, this is a very dwarf shrub with leavest-ti in. long and in. wide. However, unlike’Arnold Dwarf’, this one blooms profusely andvery early in its life, too. The flowers are small,but are a good yellow and they appear in mid-April. Unfortunately, it roots with difficulty,but the heavy production of flowers, even onyoung plants, make it a desirable shrub to some.Ten-year-old plants may be only 1 ft. tall and2 ft. wide.
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