Border Forsythia- Forsythia x intermedia
Description
General: An upright spreading shrub with arching, square shaped canes. Grows anywhere from 2’ to 10’ depending on cultivar. Suckers slowly over time to form large colonies.
Leaves: Opposite, simple and toothed. 3 to 5” long.
Flowers: Four lobed and golden, appearing in clusters, each just over an inch long. Susceptible to damage by late winter freezes.
Fruit: Brown capsule, 1/3” long.
Attributes: Best if massed or grouped in an informal hedge or a screen. One of the earliest flowers in the northeast, a true harbinger of spring.
Culture
Hardiness: Zones 5 to 8.
Growing Conditions: Prefers loose, medium moisture, well drained soils in full sun to part shade. Tolerant of poor soils as well as drought conditions once established.
Maintenance: Benefits from pruning immediately after flowering to avoid removing next years buds. Is tolerant of heavy pruning for shape, as well as pruning to the ground every few years to reset overgrowth.
Our Experience
Experience at Great Hill
We have several forsythia x intermedia cultivars on Great Hill growing wild along the wood line, which are observable when in flower and which blend in to wild unkept borders when not. One cultivar that we feature is ‘Courtasol’ (Gold Tide), which is a dwarf form that grows to roughly 3’ x 4’. Gold Tide flowers a few days earlier than the larger cultivars with an abundance of very bright, large yellow flowers. This shrub is grouped along the sides of the driveway as you enter the estate, welcoming you in a blaze of yellow flower for 3 weeks in the very early spring.