Golden bells (Forsythia intermedia)

The Forsythia intermedia is an ornamental plant that lights up the garden with its sun-colored flowers from the beginning of spring, being a shrubby plant native to East Asia. This is a deciduous plant with a bushy habit composed of numerous semi-woody stems, with various branches. The long, rough branches with grayish-brown bark, opposite to the simple or trifoliate leaves, which settle in various ways after flowering.

Characteristics of the Forsythia intermedia

The numerous flowers that it has and in groups of three of an intense yellow color, completely cover the branches from March. The flowers are delicately scented and have a 4-lobed corolla supported by a small vase, with very deep lobes. Towards the end of April, the flowers are followed by the fruits, blackish spherical berries similar to those of the laurel, inside there are closed winged seeds like those of the oleander, very light and transported by the wind, they even disperse greatly. distance from the place of production.

Culture

The Forsythia intermedia blooms in spring and is one of the first to give touches of color from late winter with its beautiful flowers. This plant loves bright and sunny places for many hours a day, well protected from the winds. It tolerates the cold and cold of winter well and resists even temperatures below – 4 ° C. It is a shrubby plant, which is nothing more than a shrub that adapts to any type of soil, but it develops strong and exuberant in a light and fertile substrate, rich in organic substances and well drained. If grown in pots, periodic fertilizer additions are needed for flowering plants.

The plant grown in open ground is generally satisfied with rainwater, but in periods of prolonged drought it must also be watered regularly to promote flowering. To stimulate flowering and planting, the growing soil should always be enriched with a little slow-release fertilizer rich in phosphorus and potassium, especially during the vegetative growth period.

This deciduous shrub is  also easily grown in pots as long as it is wide and deep, and contains universal soil mixed with a part of sand to help drain water. It has higher water requirements than that grown in the open field and needs periodic fertilizer additions for flowering plants before flowering.

It should be replanted every year at the end of winter and using a container slightly larger than the previous one. A layer of drainage material is placed at the bottom of the pot and covered with fresh new soil. Then put the plant and add more soil. This splendid shrub reproduces by means of semi-woody cutting of young branches, by means of branches and layers . Cuttings are produced after flowering or in winter, between November and early February. The propagation branch is simpler and more successful, simply bend a long, flexible branch at ground level and cover with soil.

Pruning

The use of specific well-sharpened and disinfected tools will shorten the branches by approximately 1/3 of their length, both to give harmony to the shape and to stimulate the next flowering, since as is known, the flowers appear on the branches produced in the year. The Forsythia intermedia can also be raised like a tree if the available space is limited and in this case, pruning should be done as follows: the strongest and most exuberant branch is chosen as the central branch and then the lateral ones will be cut in the base.

Within two years and gradually removing the suckers that will form anyway, the plant will look beautiful and given its smaller size, it will be perfect to place even on balconies or terraces.

Plagues and diseases

It is a rustic plant that fears aphids and mites and if the climate is too humid it suffers from powdery mildew or the so-called bad white. In addition to restraint and rejuvenation pruning and periodic fertilizations, this shrub needs undemanding care.