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Forsythias, Cont...
TIMING:
When people ask how to prune a forsythia, they are usually treated to a lecture
on when to prune them. The pruner is admonished to prune only when
the plant is through blooming. This really is only necessary if the
stooling (also called coppicing) method is used and it's just common
sense. If you cut the entire shrub to the ground just before bloom time,
it doesn't bloom. But, if you wait until it's through blooming, it has
all spring and summer to regrow, set up buds and bloom the next spring.
When I renovate a shrub, (which occurs only once every fifteen years
in the life of a shrub), I often do so before bloom time. So the homeowner
misses their flowers for a year, big deal. Heck, they're already in
shock because I cut the whole thing to the ground! I prune early
because it gives me a larger window of opportunity and it gives the
shrub a few more weeks of warm (warm to a shrub) growing weather in
which to recuperate from surgery.
But for general thinning and pruning done as regular maintenance, anytime
is good in my opinion. The old adage is “Prune when the shears
are sharp.” Winter is a nice time to prune because all the leaves are off
and you can see what's going on in there. Spring or Summer is a nice
time to prune because it's nicer weather for the gardener. Thinning
out just before bloom time allows you to force some branches inside in
a vase of water. The only times I resist pruning are during a hard freeze
or a drought. Pruning is just one more stress for the plant. The great
thing about selective pruning is that it doesn't really matter when you
do it, there will still be plenty of flowers left on the
remaining canes.
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