Here to help: how to time Forsythia pruning

Time your pruning

Correct shrub pruning demands that we get the timing right. The shrub will probably recover if you get the timing wrong but there is nothing you can do about missing flower buds. You will have to wait for the following season to see your favourite flowers. And some people get upset when their shrubs fail to flower because they were pruned at the wrong time. One example is the Forsythia pictured below.

PTSD

This Forsythia shrub doesn’t look like much because it’s winter but, if you look closely, you will see buds that should pop in spring. That’s when Forsythias are hard to miss in the landscape because they explode in bright yellow color. It’s hard to miss the glow.

What is really noticeable is the sign attached to the shrub by the homeowner. A clear sign of garden PTSD.

And the sign is correct: the general rule for shrubs is to prune after flowering. And this lady walked out on her patio to intercept me as soon as she saw me. She was very calm and pleasant but she did make sure I had time to read and obey her sign. So I listened patiently and I could sense the frustration in her voice.

All she got last year was a few flowers on the bottom, inside the shrub, where power shears don’t enter. So, let’s add another rule to Forsythia pruning: prune after flowering in spring and not after July. After July the buds start to set for next season. Any fall pruning doesn’t give the shrub enough time to push out and set new buds for next spring. Then we don’t get the show we expected when we bought the shrub. The whole point of planting Forsythias is to enjoy the early spring burst of yellow color.

Large sites

I know that on large strata sites there is always a big mid-season pruning push and more pruning happens in the fall before the season ends. Still, you can’t power shear every single shrub you see; and that’s where the homeowner’s sign helps.

Rule to remember!

Prune Forsythias after flowering in early spring and never past July as this will allow the buds to set for next spring. That’s it. If the shrubs looks spiky in the fall, hand snip the tallest shoots and everything should be fine.