General Description/History

Very popular garden bushes, especially in England where they herald the start of spring, Forsythia has a very short flowering period of 2 to 4 weeks. Branches are covered in small (2 to 5 cm), star-shaped, yellow flowers with 4 petals, and the flowers are produced before the leaves. This results in a wonderful display of solid yellow colour all along the branches.

Forsythia branches are harvested from bushes grown in plantations. Most are grown in Vic, NSW and QLD.

What to look for

• Buy when flowers are in bud, or just starting to open;
• Avoid branches where all the flowers are open.

Flower Care

1. Keep cool at all times.
2. Recut at least 2 cm off each stem and place in water immediately.
3. Do not bash or split stem ends.
4. Always use a preservative as this will help buds to open.
5. Replace vase water with fresh preservative every 1 to 2 days.

Interesting Facts about this Flower

This plant is named in honour of William Forysth, director of the Chelsea Physic Garden in the late 1700’s, and one of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society.

Forsythia branches in bud can be forced into flower early if the buds are large and plump. Cut the forsythia stems in lengths of less than a metre, bring them inside, and place the stems in a bucket of warm (about bath temperature) water. Cut about 2 cm off the bottoms of the submerged stems underwater. Allow the branches to soak up the warm water for 2 to 4 hours, then refill the bucket with floral preservative in warm water me. Once again, re-cut the stems underwater. Place the bucket in a warm room, in the sun if possible, and take the branches out if the flowers are all fully open and place in cold water.

Botanical Name: Forsythia suspensa

Common Names: Forsythia, Golden Bells

Stem Length: 30 to 60 cm

Country of Origin: China

Available Colours: Yellow

Season: Winter,Spring

Availability: July,August,September