Forsythia Lynwood Gold: Plant Care and Growing Guide
When spring arrives, you want bright blooms to celebrate those warmer days ahead. Forsythia ‘Lynwood Gold’ is a shrub here to help you usher in the changing season with wild, yellow flowers. Keep reading to learn how to grow the Lynwood Gold Forsythia or Forsythia × intermedia at home, including essential tips around planting, soil considerations, light exposure, watering cycles, fertilizing, pruning, and propagating.
How to Grow Forsythia Lynwood Gold
Best Locations to Plant
People often plant Lynwood Gold shrubs as hedges in parks and gardens. Additionally, it makes a great border plant for yards.
It’s also possible to plant Forsythia in a container. Just make sure to meet its growing requirements and repot every few years as needed.
When choosing a location, remember the plant has stoloniferous roots. So, if a branch touches the earth, it can take root and form a new shrub.
Make sure the plant has enough room to grow, and trim any low-hanging branches if you want to avoid new shrub growth.
Best Times of Year to Plant
Remember, the Forsythia ‘Lynwood Gold’ will likely go dormant in the fall. This is the best time to plant new Forsythia shrubs in your garden if you live in a warmer climate.
However, if you live in a location with frost and freezing conditions, you should wait until early spring. This ensures shrubs avoid the colder weather and enjoy a fruitful growing season.
Growing from Seed vs. Young Nursery Plants
Many gardeners see Forsythia seeds as unreliable. This is particularly true for hybrid varieties like the Lynwood Gold. This is because hybrid seeds may not produce plants with the same traits or features as the parent plant.
So, this indicates that it may be a better choice to plant Forsythia ‘Lynwood Gold’ as young nursery plants. You can find this hardy species at your local garden shop or plant nursery.
What to Do Before Planting
Before you plant Forsythia Lynwood Gold, there are a few factors you’ll want to consider. First, you’ll want to find a place to grow Forsythia.
Decide whether you want to plant the shrub in a container or your garden. Either way, make sure the plant can receive at least six hours of full sun each day and its other care requirements.
You should also have the right soil, fertilizer, and other necessary items for growing Border Forsythia. We’ll offer a complete list of the materials and tools in the Essential Tools section below.
The Best Soil
Forsythia enjoys loose and well-draining soil, though they can adapt to various soil types. It’s also tolerant of both salty and dry soil conditions.
This species prefers neutral soils to slightly alkaline, from around 5 to 8 pH.
How to Plant
Now, it’s time to plant Forsythia Lynwood Gold. Here are some steps for planting beautiful Easter Trees.
- Choose a location where the plant will receive at least six hours of direct sunlight daily.
- Ensure the shrub has enough room to grow at least eight feet tall and ten feet wide.
- Plant Forsythia in loose and well-draining soil if possible.
- Plant the Lynwood Gold in a hole at least twice as wide as the plant’s root system.
- Don’t place this plant too deep into the ground. You want the top of the root system to be almost even with the ground’s surface.
- Once you’ve planted the root ball, add soil to fill gaps around the plant.
- Water thoroughly.
Light Preferences
Forsythia ‘Lynwood Gold’ prefers at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. However, this plant is also tolerant of partial shade. If Forsythias get more sun, they will reward you with more abundant blooms.
Temperature and Humidity
Luckily, Lynwood Golds are a relatively cold-hardy species. Depending on location, they can endure temperatures down to around -10 degrees Fahrenheit. However, if temperatures drop too low, the buds may die or fail to bloom.
This plant prefers a slightly humid environment. However, this plant may not thrive if it sits too long in overly wet soil.
How to Care for Forsythia Lynwood Gold
Watering
If you’ve recently planted Forsythia, you should water it regularly during that first growing period. After that, rainfall may be enough to hydrate this plant. However, if weekly rainfall is less than two inches, consider watering the plant.
Fertilizing
Forsythia will thrive without fertilizer. However, it may appreciate a balanced, all-purpose fertilizer once every two or three months during the growing season.
Remember, you should avoid fertilizing Lynwood Golds once they go dormant in the fall. Allow the plant to rest during the winter and begin fertilizing again in the spring.
Pruning
It’s important to prune Forsythias each year to avoid too much growth. The best time to do this is right after its blooming cycle ends.
Prune Lynwood Golds by summer at the latest. That way, the plant has plenty of time to recover and produce new buds the following spring.
To prune Forsythia × intermedia plants, you’ll need both pruning shears and loppers. Use the pruning shears to trim back thinner branches and loppers to cut thicker growth.
Always cut branches where they connect with another branch or at the base of the plant. Remove dead or damaged stems. Cutaway around a quarter of the oldest stems at the base of the plant if Forsythia is overgrown.
Remember, you should avoid trimming the tops of Lynwood Gold plants. Shearing them can cause unsightly overgrowth concentrated at the top of the plant.
Propagation
As this plant has stoloniferous roots, it’s pretty easy to propagate. You can use Forsythia cuttings from pruning to grow new Lynwood Gold shrubs in your yard or garden. Here are the steps for propagating Forsythia from stem cuttings.
- After pruning Forsythias, find a healthy stem to use for propagation.
- Cut this stem into six-inch pieces, and remove any leaves from the lower half of each cutting.
- Apply root powder to the bottom side of each cutting.
- Dig a narrow hole in the ground about half as deep as cuttings are long.
- Place cuttings in their holes and pack soil around them.
- Water the plants and wait around one month to see new growth form.
Overwintering
Forsythias are cold-hardy, but they may need special treatment in the winter if temperatures are low.
You can apply mulch to the base of this plant to keep its temperature regulated during the cold months. Additionally, some gardeners use a screen with good airflow to protect their Golden Bells in the winter.
Repotting
Forsythias containers need repotting every two to three years. Do this after the blooming cycle in the spring or just before the plant goes dormant in the fall. Here’s how to repot Forsythia ‘Lynwood Gold’ grown in containers.
- Find a terracotta pot that is a similar size or slightly larger than the container your plant came in.
- Make a mix of potting soil and organic compost and add to the base of the container.
- Plant Forsythia in the container and fill in the gaps with soil. The top of its root ball should sit at the soil’s surface.
- Water deeply and place the plant in a spot that receives at least six hours o sunlight per day.
Common Problems and How to Treat Them
Signs of Watering Issues
If Lynwood Gold gets too much water or its soil does not drain well, it can develop root rot. If this happens, you will need to remove the infected area and plant the shrub in fresh, clean soil. Make sure its soil drains well and reduce any watering as needed.
Too Much Light
You Forsythia will enjoy full sunlight, so too much sun shouldn’t be an issue. However, if the plant’s soil becomes too dry, you may want to water it to supplement the precipitation it receives.
Signs of Temperature Issues
Forsythia is tolerant of a variety of temperatures. However, if it’s exposed to temperatures below -10 degrees Fahrenheit, you may notice that its blooms suffer or die. If you live in a cold area, you may need to protect the plant with mulch, a screen, or by planting it in a container you can bring indoors.
Common Pests and Diseases
Luckily, Forsythia Lynwood Gold doesn’t experience many issues due to pests or diseases. However, this species occasionally has problems with insects like weevils or nematodes.
If you notice an infestation, you can remove pests or introduce a natural predator species like spiders or ladybugs. Remove dead or damaged areas of the plant, and always keep garden tools clean.
Essential Tools to Have Around
Despite this plant’s easy care needs, you’ll want to have a few essential tools around for Forsythia plants. Here’s our list of the tools to have around when growing Forsythia Lynwood Gold plants at home.
- Loose, well-draining soil
- Moisture meter if needed
- Pruning shears
- Loppers
- Balanced or high-phosphorus fertilizer
- Root powder for propagation
- Shovel
- Mulch or a screen for winter protection
- Terracotta pot if planting in a container
Wrapping Up
If you’re looking for a low-maintenance shrub that stands out in your garden, the Lynwood Gold Forsythia is an excellent choice. This plant’s bright blooms announce the first days of spring and bring a touch of sunshine to any outdoor space. With a bit of care, you’ll be set to enjoy this sunny plant for years to come.
Brandy Wells is an American copywriter and content writer living in Spain. From hiking in her hometown near the Smoky Mountains to digging in the dirt in rural Oregon, she has always put a love of nature at the heart of her endeavors. These days, you’ll catch her writing content, and of course, taking breaks to tend to her growing houseplant collection.