Plant: Show Off Starlet® Forsythia

Plant description

A dwarf mounded forsythia growing just 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, spaced 36 to 48 inches apart, that covers itself in yellow flowers in early spring on old wood before the leaves appear. Medium to dark green lanceolate leaves 3 to 5 inches long follow and hold late into fall. It flowers best in part sun to full sun in well drained soil, resists deer, needs pruning only if wanted and then immediately after bloom, and works as an accent in mixed borders and foundation plantings or as a cut flower.

Foliage

Opposite, simple, medium to dark green lanceolate leaves 3 to 5 inches long, toothed on the upper half, lighter below and glabrous, holding late into fall.

Fruit

A two celled dehiscent brown capsule about a quarter inch long, non ornamental, with many winged seeds.

Bark & stems

Brown, four ridged stems heavily dotted with lenticels; nodes are solid but the internodes have chambered pith or are sometimes hollow.

Pruning

Prune in spring immediately after flowering by thinning out the older branches rather than shearing, which detracts from the graceful habit of growth.

Plant details