Oh, those are stupendous. Unless you have a lot of room I'd be wary of it too. I planted a hedge of them about 36 years ago...someone gave me starts from their plants. Well, forsythia spreads from the roots. It's a thicket.

Extremely nice to see natural-style forsythia!! So many folks shear them into balls or cubes -- truly horrible, IMHO.

I enjoy forcing forsythia in February. By the time it blooms outside I’m sick of it. Because deer don’t eat it, its as ubiquitous as barberry - and ecologically even worse.

Isn't the second one a ball with shoots sticking up?

Yes! I love to see this shrub, especially when I don't have to grow it!!!

Or kerria - another one I can live without...(but might make an exception for a good single flowered one).

I remember having "Golden Guinea" many years ago. It was appealing to me as it was able to do quite well in lots less than full sun. But too often the foliage would develop unsightly...."rust", which I couldn't abide.

It would not be late winter/early spring without them.

I guess it's another case of "location, location, location". I would have expected any plant that could/would/might have a disease, to have it here in the muggy SE. But I've never seen even a spot of any kind on my K. 'Golden Guinea'. Maybe it actually prefers sweltering humidity? lol.

I think it is blight. My golden guineas were nearly defoliated last year from it(spots on leaves and stems) and was worried they may not make it but came back this year fresh! I prefer these much more than forsythias.

Rouge I agree. I have to admit I love seeing forsythia in the spring. It's bright yellow, cheerful blooms are a welcome harbinger of spring. But once that's done, meh. I do have some on my property - mostly as privacy screens - and I am gradually removing it as I replace it with other shrubs.

Can't agree on the lilacs though. Granted, I do not have any hybrids or cultivars (not for lack of wanting them!) but I do have some "old-fashioned" lilacs, as does my neighbor, and I do have to say I adore them. Always have, since I was a little kid and they were growing in the back alley. Perhaps if I ever do buy a cultivar and see the difference, I'll rip out the old ones but so far I am happy with them.

:)

Dee

Forsythia must be cut back to the ground by one third every year if you want to keep it controlled. Every branch will root if it touches the ground. Do I do this? No!

I would change the word 'must' for 'could' in the above. It isn't necessary at all to religiously prune to a schedule providing the shrub has sufficient space.

Add me to the group that has no interest in having a Forsythia in the garden. For the same reasons - after that burst of spring flowers, that's it. Nothing of interest the rest of the season. And I had a large shrub that had been neglected before we moved here and it was a real mess and I just dug it up and out it went. As Erasmus points out, they sucker and become a thicket.

My neighbor across the street has a hedge of them. His is like the photo at the top of the thread only three of them like that in a row. Quite a cheerful site. And he doesn't really garden so it doesn't matter to him that it does nothing else the rest of the year. And while I say it is a hedge....he didn't prune it, he lets it go and do it's own thing, which is part of the charm of Forsythia to me. So, I get to enjoy the spring cheerfulness of it without having to give it space in my small garden. Best of both worlds.

I also love lilacs. I wouldn't want to be without them. They were my mother's favorite flower and I had a beautiful patch of them when we moved here, and because the foliage always had mildew, I decided to take them out and replace them. Easier said then done. First of all, my daughter was so mad at me because I hadn't thought to consult her and she loved them too. And then I replaced them with a white hybrid that had huge flowers and was very tall. But it never thrived the way the old fashioned patch did. Aside from the PM - it was covered in flowers every spring. I still have the white one but it's meh....just okay. Not as fragrant, not as vigorous, not as floriferous, but it doesn't have powdery mildew.....lol.

Last year I removed a huge forsythia mess in my yard. Was probably close to 40 years old. It was constantly trying to take over everything. I found a big fairy rose growing under it. I think I planted it 20 years ago and it got swallowed. Somehow, it was very healthy. I kept it and it looks great.

Charles, I had the same experience. Our house was built in the 50s and I think the Forsythia was part of the original planting by the builder. And that was 20 years before we moved in and it was another 10 before we decided to remove it. I wasn't really gardening other than veggies at that point or I suppose I could have maintained it better.

I think the fact I have such a small garden has a lot to do with it. One quarter acre doesn't give you a lot of room and everything you grow has to earn it's keep.

I did have a neighbor who used it as a hedge and pruned it hard into horizontal lines and I just thought it was so ugly.

It was a lot of work getting it out of there, I remember.