| Author | Content |
sallyg
Anne Arundel Co., MD
(Zone 7a)
May 24, 2009
01:36 AM Post #6589998
| I always said and heard it as 'fors-ith-ee-ah' but my MIL says 'fors-eye-thee-ah' And now that I see it named after Mr. Forsyth I have to change my tune, or change the way I pronounce Forsyth. |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
May 24, 2009
03:24 AM Post #6590091
| Ha ha ha, definitely change the way you pronounce poor Mr. Forsyth's name! No, that's actually a bone of contention among true forsythia aficionados (of which I am not one), because of course they KNOW about Mr. Forsyth's role in all this. But come on, then we would have to call zinnias, 'tsin-nias', because they were named (by Linnaeus) in honor of Herr Zinn, which in German is pronounced with a 'ts' not an American 'z'.
Thanks for reading, Sally, and good morning! |
bbrookrd
nantucket, MA
(Zone 7a)
May 24, 2009
09:30 AM Post #6590515
| Carrie, We try to keep our one that is in the yard part of our property a manageable size. I like the weeping look, but now I know a whole lot more. Thanks.
We have another one which is in the totally wild part of the property and I will need to weed whack a path to reach it. I need to have at it probably with a chain saw to start. It is out of control and getting huge. Here is the tame one this spring. Do we pass Carrie's pruning tips? I have been doing the pruning in the fall, but I will do it now or soon. Patti
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
gloria125
Greensboro, AL
May 24, 2009
09:36 AM Post #6590535
| Hi Carrie:
In the South a spring flower shrub of the same general weeping form as Forsythia is Philadelphus - or Mock Orange. I think natural shapes are best and if you prune after flowering you allow next year's buds to develop.
http://www.kurowski.pl/foto/philadelphus_virginalis_1.jpg |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
May 24, 2009
09:36 AM Post #6590536
| Your forsythia are beautiful, Patti, and I GET my tips from you, silly. But yes, do it soon! |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
May 24, 2009
09:50 AM Post #6590605
| Hi Gloria!
We have Mock Orange up here as well, although in general they are more scraggly than that lovely picture. I don't believe I have seen them forced into shapes the way people are so eager to do with forsythia -- I think because the branches are not stiff enough to delude the person doing the pruning into believing that a geometric shape is possible.
Thanks for stopping by to comment, ladies. Have a lovely morning of pruning as necessary. |
gloria125
Greensboro, AL
May 24, 2009
10:07 AM Post #6590673
| As soon as the rain stops here it will be whacking time! |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
May 24, 2009
10:11 AM Post #6590688
| Enjoy whacking time! |
bbrookrd
nantucket, MA
(Zone 7a)
May 24, 2009
05:57 PM Post #6592194
| Carrie, too kind but not true. I will do it soon. Put the veggie bed mostly in today, have some seeds to plant yet. But I will get whacking soon, promise. Patti |
CapeCodGardener
Mid-Cape, MA
(Zone 7a)
May 24, 2009
06:46 PM Post #6592367
| Thanks, Carrie, for this timely reminder that my own 3-year-old bushy dwarf forsythias need a haircut now that the bloom is over. Mine are also at the far end of my yard, and out of sight, out of mind. So thanks!
I confess I don't know how to prune one, which has a Dr.-Seuss appearance: prostrate branches below and several springing up exuberantly from the top.
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
sallyg
Anne Arundel Co., MD
(Zone 7a)
May 24, 2009
07:19 PM Post #6592478
| C C G--sometimes I use the philosophy, prune off whatever I don't like and leave what I do.
Forsythia is sometimes used as a loose hedge, usually to bad effect as we try to hedgify it from either side because nobody wants to give it enough breathing room. If I owned the hedge next to me, I would try cutting it to 1-2 feet every year like butterfly bush. I swear it would regrow fine! |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
May 24, 2009
10:37 PM Post #6593220
| Hi Emily! Dr. Seuss is a good word for it, I'd have to agree. At least you know they're "bushy dwarf" ones. Start with that. If it were me, I'd try to imagine a roughly spherical shape with the original center of that bush at the center of the sphere. (The imaginary sphere -- more like a hedgehog -- should be smaller than what you've got now.) Then cut each branch back until it's back inside the sphere. You'll have to look at it from lots of angles. I just noticed today that my dwarf flowering almond which I ALWAYS prune from the front is actually starting to be rather crooked -- taller in the back and shorter in the front (where I can reach it).
Your imaginary shape doesn't need to be a sphere, just whatever 3D naturally occurring shape is most pleasing to you. Egg? Is that the word for a 3D oval? I don't think so.  |
CapeCodGardener
Mid-Cape, MA
(Zone 7a)
May 26, 2009
05:21 PM Post #6601163
| Thanks, SallyG and Carrie! I love the verb "hedgify"! And I am going to smile as I prune my Dr. Seuss bush into a hedgehog shape! Theodore G. would like that! |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
May 26, 2009
06:38 PM Post #6601414
| Good luck, Emily! |
2423dpn
Abita Springs, LA
May 27, 2009
04:29 PM Post #6605755
| I just planted a Forsythia bush and am reading all this information about it. Do I have to trim it every year in order to get the full effect the following year? |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
May 27, 2009
04:36 PM Post #6605792
| Probably not EVERY year but every few years would be optimal. |
gloria125
Greensboro, AL
May 27, 2009
04:41 PM Post #6605819
| What I have noticed here is that forsythias do just fine if you don't prune them at all and give them enough space to grow to achieve their natural form. |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
May 27, 2009
05:04 PM Post #6605903
| Up here, even left alone, eventually they run out of steam. I agree, natural is generally better, and thanks for stopping by, Gloria.
2423dpn, I did not notice you were in LA. You'll probably be okay, especially if you purchased it new. Many newer varieties are designed not to need pruning at all. If possible find out what type it is. Thanks for your comment! |
