Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
April 11, 2004, Issue 107
That old New England standard, forsythia brightens up a rainy spring day.
picture: Opening forsythia with, of course, yew, Hope Street, Stamford CT
Forsythia is so much a part of the Northern suburban landscape that it’s hard to believe it’s not native. The story goes it was “discovered” in China in the 1840’s by a plant hunter sneaking around in disguise. He smuggled it back to England where they named it in honor of the great Scottish horticulturist, William Forsyth. Around 1860, it was imported into the USA and spread from there.
The other thing that’s hard to believe is that it’s a member of the olive family. Yes, it’s an olive. Surprisingly, though, so are privets (the hedge), lilacs, jasmine, and ash trees. Who’d have guessed?
And the third surprising thing is that the deer don’t like it much. Now, that’s surprising. If you go to the, http:// Connecticut Gardener’s web site , there’s a study on what local deer do and don’t eat, and forsythia is rated as “unlikely to be damaged” by critters that think nothing of munching up the yew, euonymus, arborvitae, rhodies, holly, yucca, red cedar, and juniper. Go figure. Forsythia doesn’t show up on the major poison control sites (some actual go out on a limb and say that it’s not poisonous); it is used heavily in Chinese traditional medicine. Many animals shelter in forsythia thickets, and some of our small neighbors do eat the spring buds. Otherwise, the plant seems to be ignored by all and sundry. Even the Japanese beetles leave it pretty much alone.
Which leads to the next surprise: despite the lack of predators, it’s also not particularly invasive. My guess is that this is so because forsythia’s seeds are not bird favorites, forsythia’s some what shallow rooted and therefore is not all that tolerant of drought or bad winters.
Further south, at Kal and Roger’s in Maryland, the forsythia’s in full bloom:
Photo courtesy of Sarina Tsukerman
Photo courtesy of Sarina Tsukerman
Ah, so pretty. We need to thank Kal and her niece for the fine photos.
Culturally, there’s not that much to know about forsythia since it’s virtually care-free. You can force the branches in late wither and then root the cuttings. Branches will root if they touch the ground. It doesn’t really care much about soil conditions but wants full sun or just a touch of shade. Water during droughts, and mulch the feet in the winter. It grows cane directly from the root crown. Every few years, it doesn’t hurt to take out some of the bigger, older wood so that there’s plenty of room for fresh growth. (Despite what some do to the poor bush, hedge-clipping is not necessary).
Picture: Springdale, Stamford, CT
picture: Dentists’ office, corner Bedford and third Street, Stamford, CT.
Photo credits: Sue Sweeney
© Sue Sweeney 2005